The Daily News

The continued popularity of energy drinks, especially among young athletes, has health experts warning of the consequences.

An average cup of brewed coffee has 95 milligrams of caffeine, but cold drinks such as Rockstar can offer twice as much. Caffeine taken in moderate amounts is not harmful, but excessive doses can lead to someone feeling over-stimulated and jittery, said Lisa Wojahn, clinic dietician at MeritCare in Fargo. And for athletes, another big factor is often overlooked.

"It affects sleep patterns and that can compromise an athlete's recovery for their training session," she said. "If they're drinking mostly energy drinks, they don't get the nutrients they need. When the stimulants wear off, they don't have any energy left to go on."

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In recent years, Wahpeton High School has all but banned these drinks from the locker room. Mike McCall, athletic director, said one student drank about three before a football game and crashed so badly afterward that paramedics were called in.

"You just worry about the crash," he said. "Because really, if it's something that really picks you up, is it really any different than a drug?"

While these instances don't happen very often, McCall said he uses the scenario to warn his players each year of the consequences. Youth that practice sports during the late summer tend to challenge their body's ability to retain water, and the dehydrating power of sugar and caffeine tend to set them back even further, he said.

"When it's 80, 90 degrees out and you're in full pads, you've already put yourself so far behind you can't catch up," he said.

Energy drinks used to be a fad athletic boys in particular latched onto with gusto, but the intense popularity has decreased in recent years. Coaches have made stronger efforts to educate their athletes on the results and keep pushing them to drink water, said Pat Lacina, physical trainer for Wahpeton High School sports.

"Your body is 90 percent water, not 90 percent sports drinks," he said.

Fruits and vegetables rich in potassium also help to supply nutrients, and health professionals caution against replacing beverages like milk and juice with energy drinks, said Wojahn.

"Energy drinks have a lot of ingredients in them, different types of stimulants and herbs," she said. "As the number of ingredients goes up, typically the quality control goes down. You can't be really sure how much of each stimulant is in it, and it's not usually disclosed on the label."

Comments

ncby wrote on Jul 4, 2009 7:17 AM:

" And we wonder why they turn to crystal meth when energy drinks don't give them that boost anynore. "




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