Essay on Energy Drinks

Shafer 1
Andrew Shafer
6th Honors English
April 18, 2007




The Ever Popular Energy Drink

As of late there has a been a phenomenon with a certain type of drink. The drink in

which I’m referring to is, you guessed it by the title, the ever popular energy drink.

Energy drinks are used to supply a rush of energy for a short period of time

time. Energy drinks were first created for athletes to use during training or in games but

now are being consumed by a great number of people who are not participating in any sort

of strenuous activity. There are people who even mix these drinks with alcoholic

beverages during parties which obviously can be very, very dangerous . These “energy

drinks” should only be used before a strenuous activity and also not used to hydrate your

body.



“"Energy drinks" are meant to supply mental and physical stimulation for a short

period of time. They usually contain caffeine, taurine (an amino acid, one of the

building blocks of protein) and glucuronolactone, a carbohydrate.”

“"Energy drinks" should not be confused with sports drinks such as Gatorade or

Powerade, which re-hydrate the body. These sports drinks also provide sugars,

which the body burns to create energy and replenish electrolytes. Electrolytes

maintain salt and potassium balances in the body.”


Shafer 2

As stated in a recent report posted by the Canadian Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring

Program (CADRMP).

Many people have wondered if there are any short term dangers to the drinking of

these energy drinks. Well it depends on the person. If the said individual is very sensitive

to caffeine well there is the first danger because energy drinks have as much as 80 mg. of

caffeine. Compare that amount to an average soda ,like Coca-Cola for instance, which

only has 23 mg. of caffeine. Another and maybe far more dangerous effect to consider is

that in some...