May 12, 2008 11:06 pm US/Central
Energy Drinks: Worth The Buzz?
(WCCO)
-
-
Pediatrician Nimi Singh wishes everyone would choose plain tap water as their beverage of choice, adding that it should be taken with a dose of Grandma's best advice.
CBS
Do you feel the buzz over energy drinks? Sales for Red Bull, Amp, Monster and similar elixirs approached the $5 billion mark last year in the U.S., with teenagers making up at least a third of the market.
A Minnesota mother who WCCO chatted with in downtown Minneapolis said both her 13- and 16-year-old sons love them. They tell her they need the drinks before sports practice and to prepare for big games.
But, as any mother, she worries whether that's OK.
"Absolutely, with all the caffeine and the calories and all the things that are probably in there, I'd probably prefer they have something a little more healthy," she said.
Director of Adolescent Health and Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Nimi Singh is no fan of energy drinks. Singh said the drinks can cause a sharp spike in blood sugar levels followed by a precipitous crash.
"In the end it actually leaves you more depleted than before you drank it," she said.
Add in doses of caffeine and Singh said potential long-term impacts are even worse.
"Regularly drinking these drinks can really disregulate insulin metabolism and lead to (being) overweight and Type II Diabetes," she said. Singh added that disruptions to sensitive teen sleep patterns are also a risk.
According to
Red Bull, the caffeine in one of its drinks is about the same as a cup of coffee. The company says it does not recommend it for children.
As for product claims made on the Red Bull label that it increases endurance, concentration and reaction times, Singh said, "I'd love to see the studies."
Red Bull did provide a list of
eight peer-reviewed studies from 1994 to 2002 supporting their product claims of improved mental and physical performance. The company released a statement expressing confidence in the safety of its product:
"Red Bull has been on the market for 21 years ... It is now sold in more than 143 countries. In 2007, 3.54 billion cans of Red Bull Energy Drink were safely consumed worldwide."
Across the street from Singh's office, researchers at the University of Minnesota's School of Dentistry are also putting energy drinks to the test. Researchers' two primary concerns are cavities from sugar and tooth enamel erosion caused by acid.
Doctors used a pH meter to test the acidity of certain energy drinks. As a point of reference, water is neutral at 7 pH. The acid in your stomach would measure about 2 pH.
Why is that important?
"If the pH is lower than 4.5 it means that drink is acid enough to soften your tooth enamel," said Researcher Daranee Versluis-Tantbirojn, Ph.D.
Their tests measured cans of several energy drinks for their pH level:
• Regular Red Bull: 3.2 pH.
• Pepsi's Amp Energy Supplement: 2.7 pH.
• Coca Cola's Full Throttle: 2.9 pH.
• Sugar-free Red Bull: 3.3 pH.
Next, university researchers submerged samples of tooth into the same energy drinks to test whether they would change its hardness. They used a machine that applies a precise amount of pressure and then measures the dent left behind to get a number.
In the case of Sugar Free Red Bull the hardness reading dropped from 277 to 208. So even though the sugar-free drink won't promote tooth decay, a five minute bath in it caused tooth hardness to drop more than 20 percent.
Researchers say that creates a risk to tooth enamel called erosion. Soda pop can be just as acidic, as can sports drinks, according to the School of Dentistry's research.
"The saliva has minerals [in it] to re-mineralize the tooth; the buffers to neutralize the acid and the ability to wash away the sugars and the bacteria," said professor and practicing dentist Gary Hildebrandt, DDS.
Unfortunately, he added, high levels of caffeine in energy drinks interfere with that process. Hildebrandt said caffeine slows saliva production, thus robbing our mouths of a way to protect our teeth.
"I'm working hard to get my patients off of caffeine drinks," he said.
Pediatrician Singh wishes everyone would choose plain tap water as their beverage of choice, adding that it should be taken with a dose of Grandma's best advice.
"Whole fruits and vegetables, lean meats and protein. Get enough sleep. Move your body. That's what really contributes to good energy and good concentration levels," she said.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
