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, but it also hurts scientists who desperately need this data to study the health effects of energy drinks.

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.

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Science Behind Performix SST Energy

The world of energy drinks is vast, and there isn’t enough time to give every caffeinated drink the full “Energy Drink of the Month” deep dive review. In my quest to highlight the caffeinated beverages that don’t fit the coffee or energy drink stereotypes, I like to share the science behind the various caffeinated beverages I come across in my travels.

Science Behind Performix Energy

If you’re short on time, here’s the original Instagram post with the gist of the details. If you want more information, keep reading below. Read more

How do caffeine and taurine affect the heart muscle (myocardium)?

One of the biggest questions surrounding energy drinks is whether they are more dangerous for the heart than caffeine from coffee. Some people worry it’s the combination of ingredients, not just the caffeine content itself, which makes energy drinks more dangerous. As a biochemist studying energy drinks, I strive to better understand this risk by reviewing the latest research on caffeine and energy drink ingredients. In this Research Recap, we’ll review an experiment on how caffeine and taurine affect the contraction behavior of the heart muscle. Read more

Science Behind Energy Drink Ingredient Interactions

A few people believe that caffeine-ingredient interactions are what make energy drinks inherently more dangerous than coffee. Using the ingredients in this drink’s “energy blend”, let’s review the research available on energy drink ingredient interactions. Read more

How do Caffeine Theanine Interactions Affect Mood and Attention? Caffeine/Energy Drinks in the News

We associate caffeine with being hyper and tea with being calm, so what happens when a person has caffeine and theanine together?  I reviewed a paper by the Department of Psychology at Tufts University in which they gave 36 people caffeine, theanine, or both. These participants had to watch disturbing episodes of Band of Brothers to get them all emotional, then take tests to rate their mood and attention. The results indicate just how well theanine and caffeine play together (or against each other). Read more