Coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks, caffeine and people
Most of us treat caffeine like electricity: We don’t care to know how it works; we just flip the switch and the power turns on.
Here’s what happens when you flip the caffeine switch…
Look closely: Sunkist Orange Soda is even more caffeinated than Pepsi Cola, while Pepsi Max and Sun Drop Citrus Soda zoom to the top of the chart – they’re bubbling close to the FDA’s legal limit for caffeine in soft drinks (71 mg per 12 ounces).
And: Ounce for ounce, Pepsi Max and Sun Drop have twice the kick of Coca-Cola.
How do these numbers compare to coffee? Caffeine in coffee and tea varies, but for this book, the rule of thumb is: an average cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine, and an average cup of tea contains about 50 mg of caffeine. Starbucks lists their Grande brewed coffee at 340 mg caffeine.
What about the sugar content of caffeinated beverages? The next infographic shows how supersize soft drinks compare in caffeine, sugar, and calories…
The bigger the cup, the more sugar, calories, and caffeine it contains. Here’s a look at supersize fountain drink sizes, using Coca-Cola Classic as an example. (Mountain Dew, Sunkist Orange Soda, and Pepsi contain more caffeine; some drinks have none.) Note that ice in a cup will slightly dilute these numbers.
7-Eleven Fountain Drink Sizes
Are energy drinks as safe as a cup of coffee? It depends. Consider this…
Both statements are true:
Okay, so what gives? These sound like conflicting statements, but the devil’s in the details.
The energy drink industry likes to promote the first statement, which is partially true: ounce for ounce, some energy drinks really are as mild as coffee; but others are many times more caffeinated. So it depends on the brand of energy drink. And in most cases, the label does not indicate the amount of caffeine a drink contains.
The second statement, that large doses of caffeine create health risks, is also correct – and how these highly-caffeinated energy drinks are promoted and consumed makes them drastically different from coffee or tea.
If you want to consume caffeine safely, then you need to know how much caffeine you’re consuming – whether it’s in the form of an energy drink, energy shot, coffee, tea, or other substance.
You’ll find more details on caffeine’s overall effects, and how different individuals react to caffeine, in Chapters 8 through 11 of Caffeine Basics.
Next: Find out what the American Beverage Association, an industry lobbying group, tells consumers about energy drinks.
I wanted to know how energy drinks compared to soft drinks and coffee in terms of caffeine amounts. After all, energy drinks are sweet, carbonated and refreshing, so it’s as easy to drink them as you would a Coke or other soda. And coffee is still the top banana when it comes to caffeinated beverages, but a Starbucks coffee tends to be more potent than a home brew.
Even though a single “mainstream” energy drink delivers a solid caffeine rush, most fall within levels that health professionals consider safe. However, kicked-up versions of the same brand can more than double the caffeine. And drinking more than one can of any energy drink can push caffeine into risky levels – especially when teens slurp them up like soda.
A “mainstream” energy drink contains 160 mg of caffeine per 16 ounces – according to the American Beverage Association (ABA, the industry’s lobbying group) – or half as much as a “coffee house” coffee (i.e., Starbucks) of the same size. But the ABA doesn’t mention that a regular coffee (the kind you’d drink at the office or brew at home) has about 100 mg of caffeine.
I compared the ABA’s typical “mainstream energy drink” against other drinks and found:
1 Rockstar or other “mainstream” energy drink (160 mg/16 ounce)
= 5 (12-ounce) Cokes
= 3 (16-ounce) Cokes
= 3 (12-ounce) Mountain Dews
= 2 (8-ounce) Red Bulls
The more powerful version of Rockstar is even more caffeinated:
1 Rockstar 2X (12-ounce)
= half a (16-ounce) “mainstream” energy drink
= 6-pack of Pepsi (12-ounce cans)
So, you could drink 1 “mainstream” energy drink like Rockstar, or 3 Cokes. Or for more punch, you could drink one Rockstar 2X and get the same caffeine as a six-pack of Pepsi, but faster.
I’m not against energy drinks and slurp them myself from time to time. But it’s important for people to have a clear understanding of what they’re consuming, and comparisons like these help frame the whole story.