Category: Energy Drinks vs Coffee
Comparing health benefits and side-effects of coffee versus energy drinks
Energy Drinks and Hospitalizations Checklist: How to Ask The Right Questions
It’s happened again: someone was admitted to the hospital after consuming an energy drink. Reporters covering the story warn readers about the dangers of energy drinks…something is missing. In this post, I’ll review real headlines about energy drink to demonstrate how the omission of a few minor details hurts consumers, as well as the scientists who study energy drinks.
If you read a news story about someone being hospitalized because of a vegetable, you’d have some questions.
On the surface, the mere idea sounds ridiculous.
“Hospitalized…because of a VEGETABLE? People eat veggies all the time without dying, why would someone go to the hospital?”
In fact, leafy green vegetables were the number one source of foodborne illnesses from 1998-2008. Moreover, this hypothetical news story is a perfect example of how asking the right questions can save lives.
When someone is hospitalized because of a vegetable, scientists and doctors are able to piece together the clues and figure out whether or not to issue a recall, if so, what food and even what brand and lot numbers. The end result is information which saves people from eating something that could hurt them. If only we could do the same thing for energy drinks.
(Hint: we are not)
When it comes to energy drink-related hospitalizations, we are not asking the right questions. There are several examples of real energy drink news stories where small but critical details were omitted. Not only does this hurt consumers
The good news is these missing critical details can be summed up in just five questions.
Yes, just FIVE QUESTIONS!
Let me walk you through these five questions and why they matter so much, using real news stories about energy drink-related hospitalizations.
8 Facts for Caffeine Awareness Month [infographic]
March is Caffeine Awareness Month! To commemorate this occasion, I’ve assembled the information (all of it with reference citations) every caffeine consumer should know.
This infographic was prepared by food scientist and biochemist Danielle Robertson Rath, founder of GreenEyedGuide.com and author of “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks”. This infographic is possible thanks to the generous support of CaffeineInformer.com. Thanks also goes to Dr. Clay Jones.
REFERENCES:
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691513007175
- https://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-safe-limits
- http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/02/04/peds.2013-2877
- https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4102
- https://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-ok-for-those-with-heart-arrhythmias
- Robertson, Danielle. Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: a Guide to Energy Drinks: How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely. Booklocker.com, 2013
- https://twitter.com/skepticpedi/status/968290850236256256
- https://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-hangover-caffeine-crash