Energy drink - Guarana Essay Example for Free

Energy drink Guarana Essay Are you ever extremely tired? In the generation we live in today, the average person does not get the eight hours of sleep that the body needs. They do not eat right or take vitamins, and they do not get the physical exercise they need to keep their body healthy. As a result; they get extremely tired, stressed, and moody by the middle of the day. A smart choice would be to get more hours of sleep, eat healthy, take vitamins and exercise daily. However, because we changed from a fast and active society to a lazy and overweight one, people have decided to take the easy way out. This easy way would be energy drinks. These drinks are said to give you a â€Å"quick boost of energy† and they claim to have some sort of nutrition to them. Energy drinks have been around for over fifty years and are getting more popular as the years go by. They now are in almost every store you can go to and in many commercials and advertisements. The most popular energy drinks in the United States are Monster, Red Bull, Full Throttle, and Rockstar. However, my point here is that these energy drinks do the exact opposite of what they say they do. They say â€Å"Healthy benefits† I say â€Å"Heart-attack†. Energy drinks are unhealthy because they can cause health problems that will last you a lifetime. First, the most obvious ingredient in an energy drink is caffeine. The bad thing about this ingredient is that people do not realize how much of it is in one can. Jenna Hogan, an author of the article â€Å"What You Need To Know About Energy Drinks†, states â€Å"In comparison, an average 8 ounce serving of a soft drink and a cup of coffee contains 25 to 85 milligrams respectively. This means that an 8 ounce energy drink can have as much caffeine as 14 colas! †(Hogan 3) This much caffeine can lead to things such as bad sleep, kidney problems, dehydration, seizures, high blood pressure, and a decrease in bone mass. Caffeine increases heart rate and blood pressure, which then raises harmful stress hormones in the blood stream. Not only is there a high amount of caffeine, there is also a ridiculously large amount of sugar. An 8 ounce can of energy drink contains 13 tablespoons of sugar. These sugars are labeled as Fructose, Glucose, or Sucrose. They are carbohydrates that are metabolized quickly by the body and then produce a rapid burst of energy. If one is trying to stay healthy and free of illnesses, this much caffeine and sugar is the last thing he or she needs. Second, energy drinks are often ignored or exaggerated. However, the problem here isn’t only what is in the drink, but how many drinks a person consumes a day. In the Energy Supplements and Dangers article, the author recommends you take a moderation of two or less drinks a day. (Pursey 135) This is where the root of the problem stems from. One of the worst dangers in energy drinks is within athletes. These drinks are being used so frequently by many athletes before games or before major workouts. This is dangerous because these drinks aren’t designed for this. Because of the high sodium, caffeine and sugar content, they arent created to help replenish essential elements lost during intense workouts. The caffeine can then have a bad effect which is the opposite of what is needed. It is known that caffeine is actually banned from many sport competitions because it is known to improve strength and performance. Many caught consuming energy drinks before a game are automatically disqualified. The ingredients in an energy drink are very dangerous and overwhelming. Third, specific crowds are more prone to believe the variety of claims that energy drink companies make, and one main crowd would be teens. Energy drink companies make sure that their slogans are very memorable and catchy. For example, Red Bull’s slogan is â€Å"Red Bulls give you Wings. † Other slogans are â€Å"Unleash the Beast† (Monster) â€Å"Party like a Rockstar†(Rockstar) and â€Å"Go Full Throttle or Go Home† (Full Throttle). Teenagers thrive for acceptance. They will do anything to raise their popularity. In today’s society, energy drinks are the â€Å"cool† thing. Energy drink companies understand the importance of advertising, which is why they are becoming much more successful. An example of this would be before the Food and Drug Administration declared â€Å"Four Lokos† (an energy drink) illegal. A fourteen year old boy stole his parents vehicle and crashed it on an interstate in Denton, Texas. His girlfriend, in the passengers seat, did not have a seatbelt on and died immediately. Police who searched his car found five empty Four Loko cans in the trunk, and the young boy was charged with intoxication and manslaughter (Sullum 1). We can finally thank the FDA for banning Four Lokos once and for all. Unfortunately, those lives lost to energy drinks can never be brought back. Some may argue that people need energy everyday and that is why thousands of Americans love caffeine. They work hard and dont get the right amount of rest, and that is where caffeine comes in the picture. Americans consume caffeine because it keeps them awake and running. Many of these people rely on the energy that caffeine gives them and it becomes a part of their everyday life. Without it they feel tired and miserable. Although many of these people need caffeine to survive through the day, many dont know what they are actually putting into their body. Curiosity strikes when people think about the FDA and why it hasnt put up a battle with the energy drink companies. There is one simple answer, Energy drinks are labeled as â€Å"supplements† instead of â€Å"beverages. † This classification allows companies to pretty much write whatever they would like on the back of their labels. There are no restrictions on the amount of ingredients or even which ones they choose to put on their products. Because the FDA can’t do anything about this, the public can’t be assured of its safety. Energy drink companies completely misinform the public about what their energy drinks do. They manipulate society into believing that their drinks will help improve their life. They target specific crowds in order to gain the success that they want. They dont tell their buyers about the long term effects these drinks have on their bodies. Obviously, they are more concerned about the money rather than the lives. Energy drinks have no benefit to the body. They will give you a quick boost of energy, just to bring you crashing down. Consuming more than one a day will only increase your risks of side effects. Energy drinks are very unhealthy and can cause you health problems that will last you a lifetime. The FDA banned Four Lokos and hopefully will do something to make energy drinks much less of a hazard and more of a nutritional drink.