caffeine amount | Caffeine and You

Energy Drinks: The Whole Story

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Are energy drinks as safe as a cup of coffee? It depends. Consider this…

Both statements are true:

Energy drinks contain only as much caffeine as coffee
Energy drinks pose risks because of their high caffeine content

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.

Bottom line:

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.

Low to moderate doses of caffeine are considered safe for most people, and can enhance mental and physical performance. (An average cup of coffee contains about 100 mg. of caffeine.)
High doses of caffeine over-stimulate the body, and can trigger sleeplessness, tachycardia, nervousness, impaired decision making, and other reactions. Large amounts of caffeine are riskiest when ingested in a short amount of time, and consumed by people who are more sensitive to caffeine’s effects – which includes pregnant women, children, teens, and people with certain health conditions or genetic sensitivity.

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.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Energized Number Crunching: Energy Drinks

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

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.

Energy Drinks Compared to Soft Drinks

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.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Calculate Your Caffeine

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

The infographic above shows caffeine concentration: it reflects the amount of caffeine per ounce – you can use these numbers to determine how much caffeine you’re consuming. Simply multiply the milligrams per ounce (in the graphic) by the ounces in a beverage.

*Note: Caffeine in coffee and tea varies; amounts listed are average.

Examples:

Mountain Dew: (40 oz fountain drink) x (4.5 mg caffeine per oz) = 180 mg total caffeine

Monster M3 Energy Drink: (5 oz bottle) x (32 mg caffeine/oz) = 160 mg total caffeine

Starbucks Roast Coffee Venti: (20 oz) x (20.7 mg caffeine/oz) = 414 mg total caffeine

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

5-Hour ENERGY Shot: More amps than advertised?

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

“It contains about as much caffeine as a cup of the leading premium coffee,” say the ads for 5-Hour ENERGY shot. But how much caffeine is that? The company won’t reveal how many milligrams of caffeine each 2-ounce shot contains, but CBS News had a bottle analyzed by ConsumerLab.com. The result: 207 mg – far more caffeine than in a cup of coffee. For comparison:

207 mg caffeine:

= 5-hour ENERGY Shot

= 2 cups average brewed coffee

= more than a Starbucks “short” (180 mg/8 ounces)

= six-pack Coca Cola

Want a bigger buzz? Extra-Strength 5-Hour ENERGY claims to have as much caffeine “as a 12-ounce cup of coffee.” No lab results are available, so it’s unclear how much caffeine this version actually contains.

Warning: 5-Hour Energy has come under federal scrutiny as a contributing factor in 13 deaths, due to the high caffeine content and other ingredients. The company claims its product is safe, but the Center for Science in the Public Interest issued a 2012 report warning consumers to avoid it until the FDA can resolve safety issues.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Taking Risks: Energy Drinks and Alcohol

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Got a thirst? Need a boost? Slurp down a can, or two – or more – of a refreshing, cold energy drink. Within minutes, moderate to high amounts of caffeine are churning through your brain and body. A moderate dose can be safe, even desirable. Too much caffeine, though, and you get the shakes, hands tremble, heartbeat races, and caffeine intoxication takes over. Like alcohol, the effects are intense, and they diminish over time.

This 16-ounce can of Xenergy contains 208 mg caffeine, considered very high; a same size Coke has 45 mg

Then there’s the problem of mixing caffeine with alcohol. Energy drinks and alcohol together are double-trouble. Caffeine does not reduce the effects of alcohol. You may feel more alert, but you’re just as impaired by the alcohol.

Studies have found that the combination of energy drinks and alcohol is more dangerous than drinking alcohol alone; caffeine’s stimulating buzz makes people less aware of being drunk. They perceive themselves as more in control than they really are; they’re likely to drink more alcohol, or feel confident about driving safely, for instance.

The effects go beyond mental perception; the physical risks are real, too. Caffeine is a stimulant. Alcohol is a depressant. Together they send mixed messages to the nervous system and the heart. The combination is especially risky for people with heart rhythm problems.

Teen deaths have been attributed to minor or undiagnosed cardiac problems and high caffeine, delivered in extreme doses by energy drinks. High levels of caffeine can boost heart rate and blood pressure in some people, causing palpitations. Some teens weren’t yet aware they had cardiac conditions, which under normal circumstances had never proved problematic.

Energy Drink Regulations Teeter on Teen Safety

Energy drinks make high caffeine consumption easy, especially in young people.

When energy drinks were linked to teenage deaths, the FDA became pressured to increase regulation and even ban energy drinks altogether. Some, including U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, say energy drinks use FDA loopholes to circumvent rules about caffeine content.

Motivated by the prospect of increased regulation, companies have slightly modified how they market energy drinks and soft drinks, especially to teens – a few have even altered their caffeine content and reclassified their products with the FDA as soft drinks, rather than dietary supplements. Chapter 5 outlines how energy drink and soft drink makers are choosing to list caffeine, including new marketing strategies by the ABA (American Beverage Association).

Conclusion

Energy drinks are as sweet, cold and bubbly as soda pop. They go down fast and easy. Some come in large containers, double or triple the size of a standard cup of coffee. Anyone could slurp up several cans in a day, especially thirsty athletes. But there’s a difference: energy drinks are often many times more caffeinated than sodas. Energy drinks can range from 50 to 500 mg of caffeine per container – while a 12-ounce can of Coke contains 34 mg of caffeine.

Energy shots aren’t bubbly. Most don’t even taste good. But since a 2-ounce shot amounts to just 1/4 cup, you can slam down 50 to 200 mg of caffeine in one or two quick gulps.

And this is where most criticism lies: With energy drinks and shots, it’s easy to quickly consume too much caffeine – especially unintentionally. Most people don’t realize that caffeine is biphasic: it’s safe in low to moderate doses, but can be risky in high doses. Soft drinks have a legal limit to the caffeine they may contain, and most are about as potent as brewed tea. Energy drinks and shots have no such limit. And just finding the amount of caffeine a product contains requires keen eyesight to read tiny print on labels, or in some cases, some online research.

Both soft drinks and energy drinks reflect flavors, packaging, and marketing designed to appeal to teenagers and children. But young people have brains and bodies that are still developing and don’t handle the drug’s effects in the same way as adults. From chocolates to coffee, and sodas to energy drinks, caffeine’s an everyday part of society. But no one wins when caffeine is taken in unsafe amounts. Chapter 11 dives deeper into the effects of caffeine in young people, as well as newborns and pregnant women.

In the next chapter: Store shelves buzz with new caffeinated products, from MIO to maple syrup, keeping everyone from Israeli pilots to average drivers alert.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents