cola | Caffeine and You

3. Added Caffeine: Pumped Up Sodas, Energy Drinks and Shots

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

For centuries, people self-regulated their caffeine consumption naturally, by taking it in traditional ways. Coffee, tea, chocolate and other botanicals were primary sources. Then came cola drinks, and those led to energy drinks. Our caffeine rush went from bicycle power to fuel-injected engines.

Some energy drinks are no more caffeinated than coffee; others are off the charts. Sodas are as tame as tea. But with all drinks, size matters: sodas and coffeehouse coffees come supersized, and an energy drink may contain more than “one serving” of caffeine. This chapter covers the ups and downs of energy drinks; their powerful little cousins, energy shots; and the beverages that gave birth to the whole energy-craze, caffeinated soft drinks.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Profile: Caffeinated Soft Drinks

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Did you know that many fruit-flavored sodas – including carbonated lemonade – are caffeinated? Here’s the scoop on caffeine and soft drinks…

How much caffeine may a soft drink contain? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits soft drinks to no more than 71 mg of caffeine per 12-ounce serving, or .02 percent. (For comparison, a cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine.)

Are cola drinks the only soft drinks to contain caffeine? No. Any soft drink may add caffeine. Caffeinated non-colas include Sunkist Orange Soda, Sunkist Sparkling Lemonade, Sun Drop Citrus Soda, A&W Cream Soda, and Mountain Dew. Diet and flavored varieties often contain caffeine, or more of it, than a soda’s regular version.

Are soft drinks required to list caffeine in their ingredients? Soft drinks are not required by the FDA to list caffeine, but many brands now do so voluntarily. For more on caffeine labeling requirements, buzz over to Chapter 5.

Where does the caffeine in soft drinks come from? When coffee and tea are decaffeinated, the extracted caffeine is used in soft drinks, painkillers, and other products. Synthetic caffeine is also used in these products.

Fun Stuff: Jump to the next post to see how much caffeine non-colas contain…

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Sunkist Orange Soda: More Peppy Than Pepsi

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

caffeine-soda-675

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…

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Supersize Sodas: Caffeine + Sugar

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

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

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