I’m pretty sure we all know what energy drinks are, and most of us probably drink it for that energy boost to stay awake at night to study for a midterm, final or to write a paper that was left till last minute to do. Everyone needs to be careful about how much caffeine they are consuming, but this is hard to do when the amount of caffeine aren’t even shown correctly on energy drinks. The reason why some companies don’t list caffeine levels is because there is no requirement to do so.
Researchers at Consumer Reports bought 27 top-selling energy drinks and shots and measured the amount of caffeine in each of them. They found that caffeine levels per serving ranged from about 6 mg to 242 mg per serving, some containing more than one serving. 5-hour Energy Extra Strength contained the highest amount, whereas 5-hour Energy decaf contained the lowest amount. They measured that Arizona Energy, Clif Shot Turbo Energy Gel, Nestle Jamba, Sambazon Organiz Amazon Energy and Venom Energy had about 20% more caffeine in it than advertised. Whereas Archer Farms Energy Drink Juice Infused was 70% below the amount of caffeine advertised. For most drinks though, numbers were within 20% of what was listed.
According to an article on Live Science, doses between 200 to 300 mg of caffeine aren’t harmful for adults, but exceeding 500 mg can lead to fast heartbeat, insomnia, and muscle tremors. Pregnant women should consume less than 200 mg daily, and children should not even drink energy drinks, and keep their caffeine consumption to about 100 mg daily. But the amount of caffeine a person can consume before it becomes harmful varies widely.
Even though it is quite scary to think of the outcome of drinking too many cans of energy drinks, it doesn’t mean you should stop drinking them completely. There are still benefits of drinking energy drinks, such as alleviating fatigue and increasing mental alertness which can improve a person’s concentration and focus. But just remember that energy drinks actually contain 20% more caffeine in it than shown on the can, so drink wisely!
Post Submitted By Mandy Choi
