March is Caffeine Awareness Month, meaning it’s the perfect time to talk about energy drinks and safety. In this live chat with the Food Safety Foundation, Caffeine Scientist GreenEyedGuide shares 3 ways to make energy drinks safer. This live chat is full of tips every caffeine drinker needs to know.
Ready? Let’s go!
Energy drinks do not belong in the diet of a five-year-old. You already knew that. But do you know what happens when children do have energy drinks? Thanks to research by Durham University in the UK, we now have a good idea how many kids and teens in different countries drink energy drinks and how those drinks affect their health.
›We’re recapping the findings of this paper: “Consumption of energy drinks by children and young people: a rapid review examining evidence of physical effects and consumer attitude“
*Note – the research paper by Durham University uses the expression “children and young people” to refer to those under 18. At the age of 33, I still consider myself a “young person”, so I’m going to use the expression “kids and teens” instead. Read more
A study presented at the November 2018 American Heart Association conference claimed, “Just one energy drink may hurt blood vessel function.” It’s been a few months since the last “energy drinks are killing people” freak out, so I suppose we were due. Instead of pointing out all the limitations in the study (because this Healthline article beat me to it and did a great job) I’m going to skip the science for today and just talk about the 10 energy drinks that will not hurt your blood vessels.
Here’s a recap of the quick reviews posted this month for the “Science of Energy Drinks” series on the GreenEyedGuide Instagram and Facebook pages: Bai Sparkling Antioxidant Infusion, Cocaine Energy, and Monster Ultra Violet.
![What do TAURINE and CARNITINE do? Science Behind Monster Purple [YouTube]](https://i0.wp.com/greeneyedguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/science-behind-monster-purple.png?resize=480%2C273&ssl=1)
In place of the Energy Drink of the Month, GreenEyedGuide explains the function of the key ingredients in Monster Ultra Violet.