Energy Drinks: Beware of Excess Sugar and Caffeine
JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Looking for a quick pick-me-up in a bottle? Well, the new rage, among the younger set, we're told, those so-called energy drinks. What's in them? And is there any risk involved? Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen looks behind the labels.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this dance club in Atlanta, it's one order for energy drinks after another.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It kind of makes me stay awake. I get energized.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just makes me feel alert, awake.</s>COHEN: Sports nutritionist Liz Applegate is one of the few researchers who's studied energy drinks, so we asked her, what's in them that seems to perk people up? Her answer was very simple.</s>LIZ APPLEGATE, SPORTS NUTRITIONIST: Frankly, they're nothing much more than caffeine in a can with a lot of sugar.</s>COHEN: One can of Red Bull, the most popular energy drink, has about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. The makers of Red Bull told us other ingredients such as vitamins, and amino acids help boost energy, too.</s>APPLEGATE: These are very sexy-sounding ingredients, and while they may give the allure that they're going to help athletic performance, or help you feel energized, research studies actually don't support that.</s>COHEN: Most of the people we met here actually weren't thinking much about athletic performance at all. They liked their energy drinks mixed with vodka, sometimes one after another. (on camera): All that caffeine, combined with all that alcohol, has some cardiologists worried, since large amounts of either ingredient could cause heart problems.</s>DR. LAURENCE SPERLING, CARDIOLOGIST: If they were to drink multiple glasses of this mixture or concoction, I think there'd be a potential for significant danger, danger such as a racing heart beat, elevation of blood pressure, and even potentially, a heart attack.</s>COHEN: A spokeswoman for Red Bull declined to be interviewed on camera, but in a statement said: "Red Bull does not actively market itself as a mixer for alcoholic drinks." So the experts we talked to said the bottom line is, there's nothing wrong with these drinks in moderation, and yes, they will pep you up, but so would anything with that much caffeine.</s>COHEN: Now speaking of that much caffeine, another concern about energy drinks is that someone goes out for a night on the town with one of these vodka and Red Bulls, one after another, and they feel all peppy, because they have just taken a whole lot of caffeine, when in fact, they're really drunk and shouldn't be driving.</s>CHEN: Ah, a very good warning. OK, we've got a live chat for you, Liz, right now on the Web. Jose Izquierdo: "Other than lighten the wallet, what value do the energy drinks have?" Well, I suppose that would be a pick-me-up, because you feel lighter.</s>COHEN: Exactly. You feel lighter, because you have less money in your wallet. The nutritionists we talked to said, you know what? There really is not much value -- its water with sugar and caffeine. That's basically what she said they were. The people we talked to at the bar and even some less drunk people who we talked to, swear that these things give them a pick-up, gives them a ability to focus. So, it really depends who you talk to. But again, the experts we talked to said, water, sugar, and caffeine.</s>CHEN: And it just tastes good. We have another question from the Web. Susie South: "How can caffeine and sugar harm an athlete?"</s>COHEN: You know, it can harm an athlete, because sugar can block the body's ability to absorb liquid, so these things are kind of marketed as athletic drinks, even though the company says they are not. If you look at their Web site, for example, it says that Red Bull is a good thing to drink prior to demanding athletic activities, or in a performance drop during a game. They say right there, that that's what it's good for. But we talked to several nutritionists who said all of that sugar can block the absorption of all the water, which is of course what you want when you are doing athletics. And also, caffeine can dehydrate you, so they said it's actually not a good thing to drink.</s>CHEN: So, you're better off with just water.</s>COHEN: Just the water. Gatorade or something like that.</s>CHEN: Just the water. OK, here's Josh Compton's question: "Are energy drinks as addictive as other high-caffeine products, like coffee?"</s>COHEN: I mean, caffeine is caffeine. So, if you're someone who has a tendency to get addicted to caffeine, if you need that cup of coffee, if you start drinking these energy drinks, you would need that caffeine, just like you would need any other caffeine.</s>CHEN: On this show, we need a lot of extra caffeine.</s>COHEN: That's right. Got to go!</s>CHEN: Elizabeth Cohen from our medical unit, thanks for being with us.