Drop That Red Bull!
Many of us are confused by what is a sports drink and what is an energy drink and when you should use one or the other. The simple answer is -- high caffeine energy drinks such as Red Bull are not appropriate for exercise. Too much caffeine and a smaller amount of fluid can set you up to become dehydrated as well as over caffeinated. Sports drinks (such as Gatorade or Powerade) are recommended if you are exercising at moderate to high intensity for more than an hour. You marathon walkers out there need a sports drink that replenishes salt, sugar, and water. The little bit of salt and the right amount of carbs help the body absorb the water faster.
But energy drinks are a different category. The macho names appeal more to the youth crowd, but they promise enhanced performance and an energy boost. "The caffeine content of energy drinks varies over a 10-fold range, with some containing the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola, yet the caffeine amounts are often unlabeled and few include warnings about the potential health risks of caffeine intoxication," says Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., in a press release. He is of the authors of an article that appears in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence this month.
Caffeine intoxication symptoms include nervousness, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, tremors, rapid heartbeats and agitated movement. Rarely, it kills. "It’s notable that over-the-counter caffeine-containing products require warning labels, yet energy drinks do not," says Chad Reissig, Ph.D., one of the study's authors, in a press release.
The take home message: don't use hyper-caffeinated drinks for exercise. I've stopped drinking them to get an energy boost for a long afternoon grind at the computer. Even low carb energy drinks, they just seem to produce too much of a jolt-and-crash effect.
Photo © Wendy Bumgardner
Comments
I get the heeby-jeebies every time I see one of those drinks in the store. The caffeine AND the calories in them would put me under the table!
When you look at the contents, the amount of sugar you really understand why you need to drop the red bull.
There are those energy drinks that are not filled with sugar and caffeine, that don’t make you jittery.
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