Consumers continue to buy energy drinks as pick-me-up despite health warnings
PEORIA - Zack Peterson of East Peoria is a big fan of Mountain Dew. The 17-year-old goes through about a case a week in the summer months. But when the computer gaming enthusiast takes part in computer gaming parties, sometimes he sips something stronger. A can of Red Bull has about 80 milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of about two cans of Coke. It helps him stay alert during the parties, which usually are held at a friend's house or a rented facility and last anywhere from 12 to 36 hours.
Peterson is part of a growing trend, as energy drinks with punchy names -Amp, Rockstar, Monster, Jolt - bring in $3.4 billion a year to the beverage market.
It seems everywhere you look these days there is a new energy drink marketed to people who drink them in place of coffee in the morning or for a pick-me-up in the afternoon. Some sip energy drinks on road trips, some slam them before extreme-sporting events and many mix them with booze in the evening hours.
Monster Buzz
Chris Owens, a Richwoods High School student who spends his summers working in landscaping and refereeing at Chilli Paintball Pits in Chillicothe, said he starts his mornings with a can of Monster energy drink about four days a week when school's out.
Owens, who isn't a morning person, started drinking Monster about two years ago.
The 17-year-old wrestler who is going into his senior year usually finds time to pick up a can of Monster during his morning commute to the paintball grounds in Chillicothe, and he says the energy drink helps keep him on his toes.
"When I ref, what we're out there to do is basically make sure everyone's following the safety rules," Owens said. "If I'm asleep ... and somebody gets hurt, it's on me."
Mike Walters, account executive with Specialty Distributing Co. in Peoria, said energy drinks are big with computer gamers, extreme-sports enthusiasts, college kids and young professionals who are looking for an alternative to coffee.
Red Bull Dominates
Pragnesh Patel, owner of J&L Phillips 66 in Sunnyland, said he sells lots of Monster, Amp and Jolt. Jolt Blue is the most popular Jolt flavor, especially among teenagers, he said. But his best-selling energy drink is Red Bull. He sells three cases of it a week, most of it on Fridays and Saturdays, and often to people who buy vodka to mix it with.
Dave Remington, owner of Richard's on Main, said he attended a bar and nightclub trade show in Las Vegas a couple years ago, and there were about 150 kinds of energy drinks.
"Red Bull, they were the first in the market, and they just dominate," said Remington, who has been known to drink a sugar-free, 10-calorie Red Bull if he's feeling tired.
Consume in Moderation
Despite the popularity of energy drinks, some health advocates say they should be consumed in moderation - if at all. Although the caffeine content doesn't seem too shocking at first, consumers should take note of serving sizes. A serving of Rockstar energy drink has 80 milligrams of caffeine (less than a cup of coffee), according to its nutritional label. But a serving size is 8 ounces, so a 16-ounce can holds two servings. Jolt's 23.5-ounce "battery cans" contain three servings.
Many of the drinks have little or no nutritional value, experts say, and they are heavy on sugar. They also have ingredients like guarana, a berry native to South America. Extract of the berry contains caffeine, but it isn't factored into the caffeine content on the labels, making it difficult to calculate just how much caffeine the drinks contain.
And although they're labeled as "energy" drinks, they definitely are not a good choice for athletes, said Ashley Simper, a registered and licensed dietitian at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
"Caffeine is a diuretic - and so is any kind of soda that has caffeine in it. Coffee, tea and these energy drinks - (they) all will make you more thirsty and will dehydrate you, because it slows the body's ability to absorb water."
Simper said large doses of caffeine - which take 15 to 45 minutes to be absorbed and leave the body four to six hours after ingestion - can be dangerous.
"Some of the side effects of caffeine alone are an increase in heart rate and blood pressure - which could lead to heart palpitations and even heart attack in some cases. Caffeine dehydrates you and prevents you from sleeping," Simper said.
When mixed with alcohol, energy drinks can make someone think they are less drunk than they actually are.
"When you combine a stimulant like caffeine with a depressant like alcohol, what happens is that it lessens the effect that the alcohol has on our metabolism," Simper said. "So you will have a tendency to drink more alcohol and not feel the effects, which, obviously in the long run - especially if you're driving - is not a good thing."
Stephanie Sanborn, an Illinois State University student and dietetic intern at Methodist Medical Center in Peoria, said that while a little caffeine can increase alertness and improve reaction time, a large dose actually will decrease your fine-motor skills and can make you jittery.
"And it's also important if you take any prescription medications or even over-the-counter medications, that some of these drinks do have herbal components to them," she said, "so you want to make sure that that won't interact with your medication."
Simper also said the drinks are loaded with sugar.
"We recommend that you have less than 12 teaspoons of sugar (a day), and most of these have anywhere from 14 to 16 teaspoons of sugar in one," she said.
Selling Fast
Despite the health warnings, the energy drinks still are flying off cooler shelves. The Huck's gas station on Alta Road in North Peoria recently has been selling out of the Bawls energy drink, days before the store's next shipment.
Manager Bessie Murphy said she sees a lot of construction workers buying the energy drinks, especially "if they stayed up too late the night before or something." Monster is probably the best-selling energy drink there, she said, but lately she's been selling a lot of Buzzed, a fairly new drink that is on sale. Most of the drinks sell for about $2 or $3 each.
Chris Myers, a network administrator with Nerds on Call, said he drinks about one can of Amp a day.
Myers said there was some chatter amidst the employees about contacting a company to see if they could get a vending machine of energy drinks somewhere near the store for easy access. The Nerds on Call employees spend hours and hours at a computer a day, and sometimes they need that extra kick.
Although the employees drink a lot of plain soda, they embrace energy drinks as well, Myers said.
"Nobody turns one down if I walk in with a couple."
