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Nutrition of Energy Drinks: Are They Really Boosting Your Energy? · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello, and welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  I'm your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  Energy drinks are popular ways to refresh and find that moment of energy these days.
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  But are they really a burst of energy or a cause for concern?
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  My guest today, Anna Cason, is here to share with us some tidbits of information about energy drinks.
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  Anna is our Extension Associate for Food and Nutrition. Welcome, Anna.
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  Hi, Mindy. Thank you. So, first of all, tell us, what is an energy drink?
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  Yeah, so an energy drink, it's a drink that is specifically marketed,
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  like you mentioned, to bring energy or to give you that boost of energy,
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  maybe your afternoon slump, give you that pick-me-up, or maybe you choose to
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  drink it in the morning, but it is specifically marketed as a drink for energy.
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  So it does have compounds or ingredients in it that are designed to give you
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  that wake up or for you to feel refreshed.
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  We often hear an energy shot or sometimes they're that great big 16-ounce drink.
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  So what's the difference between those two? Yeah, so both of them are going
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  to have similar ingredients.
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  They'll have caffeine, which is primarily the compound that is in there to give
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  us energy, but in different amounts.
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  So the energy shots, we think of like maybe small two ounce bottles that are
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  available at grocery stores and markets, but also convenience stores and gas
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  stations. And a lot of times they're right there at the checkout, right?
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  Whenever we're getting ready to leave, they're right in our face.
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  And we're like, maybe I do need a little bit of energy.
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  That little shot, it typically is a concentrated form of caffeine.
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  So a lot of times it has the same amount of caffeine that are in the bigger
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  drinks, like you mentioned, the 12 or 16-ounce cans, just in a much lesser amount of liquid. Okay.
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  These common ingredients, in addition to caffeine, what else are we seeing in them?
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  So energy drinks, it's kind of confusing the way that the FDA regulates them
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  because some of them are marketed as food or drinks and others are marketed
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  as dietary supplements.
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  So some of them will have a nutrition facts label on it, like we typically see
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  on packaged food and drink options.
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  But some of them may have a supplement label, which really focuses on showing
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  the vitamins and minerals that are in it or those other compounds.
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  More so than the nutrition part of it.
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  So it'll still show you calories, sugar, those compounds, but then it'll also
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  bring up the other vitamins and minerals that a lot of these energy drinks have.
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  So sometimes they include things like vitamin B12 that has been.
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  Shown or linked a little bit to increasing energy, but then they also contain
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  some other ingredients, a lot of times like herbs, that are linked to increasing energy.
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  So in addition to the caffeine that is included in the energy drinks,
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  a lot of times they're also mixed with these other ingredients that may have
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  an impact on your heart rate and kind of give you that boost so it does feel
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  like you are getting energy from them.
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  I am guessing that these compounds might have interactions with other drugs
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  or over-the-counter medications that we might be taking that could be problematic.
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  Yeah, as with anything, these ingredients can have an interaction with medications
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  that we're taking, whether they are prescriptions or over-the-counter,
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  and also just other ingredients that we have that we ingest with food and drinks.
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  And with these supplements, because they may be regulated as dietary supplements,
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  just because they have a specific ingredient listed in a certain amount,
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  the FDA can't possibly go around and check every single drink that is on the
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  shelf for the specific amount.
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  So even though it says that it is provided in a certain amount,
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  it may have more or less than that.
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  So like, for example, it could show you the amount of caffeine that is in the
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  energy drink, but then also you could be getting this additional caffeine that
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  is in these herbs or vitamins.
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  So then really the amount of caffeine that is shown is.
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  Not accurate. Yeah. So you could be getting more caffeine than what you bargained for.
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  And if you've already had coffee in the morning and you're drinking a little
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  bit of tea or a lot of tea with your lunch, you have to account for that additional
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  caffeine as well, right?
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  Yeah. Yeah. So caffeine is in these energy drinks, but it's also in coffee,
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  like you mentioned, and tea in lesser amounts. And then also in chocolate, something I enjoy.
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  So these like hidden little pieces of caffeine throughout the day.
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  But a lot of times these energy drinks are packed with the caffeine.
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  Like some of them contain 200 milligrams of caffeine and the recommendation
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  for adults is 400 milligrams in the entire day.
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  So usually that's like four to five cups of home brewed coffee.
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  But then if you're having, let's say two to three cups of coffee and throughout
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  your morning and then in the afternoon you have one of these energy drinks That
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  could really put you over this recommended limit to stay under for health reasons.
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  And then you wonder why you can't sleep.
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  Yeah. Well, there you go. Yeah. You can stay in your system for quite a while
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  and it could really disrupt sleep when you're ready to put your head on the pillow.
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  So that leads me to my next question, which is there some concern or cause for
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  caution when you take these energy drinks?
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  So obviously too much caffeine might be one, but are there other things that
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  we should be cautious about.
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  Yeah. So the caffeine, yes, you are correct. So for adults, there is that limit.
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  And then for kids also, really kids should not have caffeine if possible at all.
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  So we're thinking up until like the age of 18 for, because of all the growth
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  and development that they're going through, but if it can't be helped at least until the age of 12.
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  So anyone younger than the age of 12 really shouldn't have any caffeine.
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  That's including sodas, teas, but then over the age of 12, really trying to
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  keep it to under 100 milligrams, which again, a lot of these energy drinks have way more than that in it.
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  So just keeping that in mind and
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  then taking a step away from the caffeine content in these energy drinks.
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  A lot of them have added sugar too, which is something that I think we hear about quite often.
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  So in addition to the caffeine, it can also contain like similar amounts that a soda would have.
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  So we're thinking like 30 to 40 milligrams or grams of sugar in one of these drinks.
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  And that's gonna, again, be over the recommendation for the amounts of sugar
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  that we should strive to stay under each day.
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  What should we do for energy if we should not be drinking these energy drinks?
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  Yeah. So interestingly, these energy drinks that are marketed as giving us energy,
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  it's all a facade essentially.
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  So it's not actually providing our body with energy, but it's really just kind
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  of covering up the feelings of fatigue that we're having.
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  So the way the caffeine works in our body is it blocks the receptors where our
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  body is trying to tell us that we are tired and we are ready for sleep.
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  We need something to boost that energy, the caffeine comes in and it just blocks that.
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  So that signal, that message isn't being transferred back and forth in our body.
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  So yes, you may feel like you have this boost short term, but there are things
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  that we can actually do to provide our body with true energy.
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  And that's going to come from food. So a lot of times I like to say food is
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  fuel because it is so true.
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  So instead of reaching for an energy drink or that extra cup of coffee in the
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  afternoon, maybe think about having a balanced snack or a balanced meal throughout
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  your day so that your body is getting the true energy from these food sources.
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  Grab a banana instead of an energy drink. Yeah, put that banana with some peanut
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  butter maybe so you're getting the carbs and the protein and the fat and then
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  your body will thank you and actually provide you with some energy.
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  And then you'll be ready to go for a walk, which will give you more energy,
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  right? There you go. Yeah. And then at night, you can still sleep soundly. That's right.
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  Well rested for the next day. That sounds perfect.
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  Anna, thanks so much for taking the time to share with me and our listeners today.
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  Yes, of course. Thank you, Mindy. If you are just tuning in,
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  Music.