Red Bull Gives You Wings, Gives Your Kids Heart Attacks
Energy drinks such as Red Bull, Rockstar, and Monster — laced with high doses of caffeine (up to seven times the amount in a cup of strong coffee, or 14 cans of cola) and other stimulants — have been shown to increase blood pressure, cause heart racing, and increase anxiety, in a study published last fall by Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Another study by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, published this March, found similar concerns:
The researchers found that healthy adults who drank two cans a day of a popular energy drink experienced a 10-point increase in their blood pressure and a five- to seven-beat increase in heart rate. The study is published in March in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.
These are “healthy adults” being affected this way. But our children are also downing energy drinks in record numbers, looking for a quick after-school pick-me-up, or as a sports booster, without understanding the real risks. With their smaller bodies, the 50 to 500mg of caffeine typically found in one can will have much greater effects on children. There is also a concern that children are becoming addicted to caffeine because of energy drinks.
In the study, Griffiths highlights the cases of nine patients treated by a US poisons unit after having an energy drink called Redline, which contains 250mg caffeine. Eight of the nine were boys, with the youngest aged 13. Their symptoms ranged from nausea and vomiting to tremors, chest pain and a racing pulse. (guardian.co.uk)
