He writes the Vital Signs medical column for and can be reached at is seeking class action status for the lawsuit, to cover all individuals who experienced similar health problems from Redline energy products. Parikh is a physician and writer in Walnut Creek. As with other high-risk behaviors such as drinking alcohol and smoking, we may need to clearly ask and counsel young people about their risks.Īs for the Redline-guzzling teenager, he was given medication to relieve his gastritis - and strictly forbidden to consume caffeinated products.ĭr. Second, parents and those of us who work with children need to be aware of how popular the drinks have become. For starters, getting high on energy drinks can be hazardous to your health. Clearly, though, few consumers seem to notice the small print (and there’s little motivation to make it larger, because a four-bottle pack of Redline can cost about $15). The label on Redline recommends consuming no more than one a day. All of these ingredients are classified as nutritional supplements by the Food and Drug Administration, meaning they can be sold over-the-counter without any trials to demonstrate their effectiveness or safety. Other common ingredients include ginseng (thought to increase endurance, although studies have never proved it), carnitine (a protein thought to improve muscle performance, but again, that claim remains unproved) and other snake oil we don’t know a whole lot about. Nine cases requiring hospitalization related to this specific drink were reported in the California Poison Control System database in a two-year period, with severe symptoms involved.īesides traditional forms of caffeine, many energy drinks include caffeine-containing substances such as guarana, a South American plant whose seeds are crushed and added as a stimulant. Another poison center study focused on Redline. Symptoms included insomnia, palpitations, tremors, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and chest pains. Nearly two-thirds of the hospitalizations involved the intensive care unit. A recent three-year study of calls to a Chicago poison center found more than 250 cases of caffeine-supplement overdose, with 12% of those requiring hospitalization. Though his situation is probably a rarity, reports of serious medical events because of caffeine are increasing. As with this teenager, they can tear you up on the inside. In excess, such drinks can irritate the lining of the gut, leading to severe pain. Those who love caffeinated beverages such as coffee probably, at one time or another, have experienced the heartburn they can cause. If you’re wondering how much caffeine energy drinks have compared with other beverages, here’s your answer, according to the caffeine database at 8 ounces of tea (brewed): 47 milligrams The staple ingredient in energy drinks is caffeine - lots of it. The energy drink industry is worth about $2.5 billion in the United States, according to a 2006 report in Fortune magazine, and it has grown 700% since 2000, earning manufacturers millions of dollars, primarily by marketing to teens and young adults. Energy drinks, including Red Bull, Rockstar and Full Throttle, have become extremely popular over the last decade because they can give lift when needed, such as when studying for finals or partying into the wee hours. When the medical team’s members went back and got further history, they learned that the teen had been drinking several Redline energy drinks a day.
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