By
Justin Ecung
It’s a Thursday evening and Utah State University junior, Stephanie Rodriguez, makes her way to the Merril-Crazier library on campus. Before finding a nice quite area to study, she makes a quick stop at the library café. Rodriguez purchases a large, green Monster Energy drink and a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese.
“I hate the taste of coffee,” Rodriguez said. “But I need something to help me stay up late to study.”
Many students like Rodriguez rely on numerous types of energy drinks to help them stay awake and energized in the weeks prior to finals. It’s understandable that students need help to stay up late, but many of these energy drinks can lead to several dangerous side effects if not consumed in moderation.
Rachel Lewis, a sophomore at USU, works part-time at the library café. Lewis has noticed a steady increase in the purchases of both coffee and popular energy drinks.
“The energy drinks are pretty difficult to keep in stock because so many students prefer them over coffee,” Lewis said. “We only have a limited selection right now because many of the more popular brands are already sold out.”
When safely consumed, these energy drinks can be an effective source of energy. However, a recent 2008 study conducted at the University of Miami by Dr. Steven Lipshultz found that these drinks could pose a larger health threat than originally anticipated.
The study, published in the medical journal of Pediatrics, stated that some of the side effects of drinking too many energy drinks include nausea, diarrhea and extreme jittery effects often associated with coffee. More severe side effects include heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and in some instances sudden death. Furthermore, Lipshultz and his team of researchers feel that these drinks should be regulated as strictly as tobacco, alcohol and prescription medicines.
“For most children, adolescents, and young adults, safe levels of consumption have not been established,” Lipshultz said in a 2008 interview released by the UM.
Although critics of the study feel that the restriction of energy drinks may be excessive, others who have heard the story of Dakota Sailor feel it may be a necessity.
Sailor was just 18 when he experienced the dangers of energy drinks. The high school senior suffered a mild seizure and was hospitalized for five days after drinking two large Nos energy drinks. According to his family physician, caffeine or ingredients similar to caffeine may have been the cause.
Sailor’s experience with energy drinks is not at all an isolated incident.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers recently implemented the use of emergency codes to aid emergency response crews. These codes will help track energy drink overdoses and side effects.
Last year, 677 emergency cases were reported in a 2-month period from October through December 2010. The majority of incidents filed this year involve children and teens: a quarter of which are under the age of six according to a chart posted by the AAPCC.
Dr. Andrew Watkins oversees resident medical students at the Ronald Reagan University of California Los Angeles Medical Center. Watkins has witnessed a number of teenagers come into the emergency room at the UCLA medical center for energy drink overdoses.
“The majority of the time, kids come in because they had an energy drink earlier in the day and then decided to play basketball or workout,” Watkins said. “It’s dangerous to drink something that has two times the amount of caffeine found in soda followed by any type of physical activity. All this does is elevate your heart rate to an unsafe level. But the most dangerous situations I’ve seen occur when people mix alcohol with these energy drinks.”
The complete range of symptoms is still being investigated; most notably the long-term effects these energy drinks can have on the body. Consequently, most physicians encourage consumers to read the warning labels found on the beverage itself, and to enjoy it in moderation — at the most 1 energy drink a day.
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