I have personally never tried an energy drink. I know that my son has bought a few before {is this a teen thing?}, but I kind of think they are awful. I wish I could tell my son that he has the MOST energy he’s ever going to have in his life right now, and it will only go down hill over the next decade. That sort of wisdom is lame coming from your mother when your a teenager, though. I remember when I was a teenager, Jolt Cola was popular. Of course, my friend Jen and I bought one and tried it. I felt horrible afterwards. I’m going to guess it was the combination of caffeine and boatloads of sugar.
Remember when I posted about how much sugar we should consume each day? Well, wrap your mind around this: the average energy drink contains 40 grams of sugar. Holy Buckets! That’s 4 grams MORE than the suggested daily maximum for grown men. According to an article I found, “consumption of {energy drinks} increased inattention and hyperactivity by 66 percent. Duh. On top of which, the added calories only contributes to the whole obesity problem. At that rate, I might as well just convince Monkey Boy to drink several cups of black coffee each day–at least then, he wouldn’t get the sugar.
What do you think? Teens drinking energy drinks: harmless or harmful?
Have YOU ever tried one?
~Mavis
Deanna Allen says
NO, off the shelf drinks are so bad but Reliv (www.reliv.com) has an healthy energy drink : 24K! Let me know if you want more info
Lorraine says
I occasionally drink the sugar-free Monster brand when I find myself getting really tired in the afternoon at work. It gives me an energy boost without any jittery feeling. I would never drink it at home – I would just take a short nap.
Tammy says
My daughter is not quite 6 yet, but energy drinks will be something I’ll steer her away from. They don’t seem like a good idea at all, and I’ve heard that they aren’t good for your heart. I’ve personally never had one, though I guess I do drink my fair share of coffee (usually black).
Melanie says
The best energy drink is water. It is important to remember that all of these are diuretics as well. Nothing in your body functions well without adequate hydration and most teens don’t drink enough water. Most teens do not get adequate sleep and these fight a natural and healthy urge to sleep. I have teenagers boys and when they have tried these drinks, they note the unpleasant after-effects of crashing later. What is tricky is that some of them are quite tasty and they are trendy. There have been serious health repercussions from consuming too much of these drinks — especially if they are combined with alcohol, and that would apply whether or not there is sugar in the drink. http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/caffeine-and-alcohol.htm
Lisa says
No. It’s not about the caffeine and sugar for me, it’s the boys we personally know who went to the ER with kidney stones. Kidney stones used to be seen in older people, now they are common in teens and 20s.
Monica says
I do not let my teenager drink energy drinks, but I do let her drink coffee. One cup a day. I know it isn’t good but she’s been interested in coffee since she was young (had to start throwing away the leftover coffee in the morning because she would heat it up when she got home from school). So once she got into high school I let her start drinking a cup in the morning.
Katie C says
My husband was a tech in an ER a few years ago. A boy actually died from drinkinging these. It’s been a long time, but I believe he drank them regularly. The teen boy drank one, went and played basketball, and then he passed away while playing ball. I can’t remember exactly why it all happened, but I think it had to do with the caffeine and basketball raising his heart rate so high.
My husband and I hate these drinks. It’s a horrible shame they are so popular among teens. I’m sure it’s not a major problem to drink them occasionally, but the regular use is what’s really bad.
Mavis Butterfield says
Oh Katie C that is awful. 🙁 I wish manufactures would stop making them.
Mrs. Mac says
No .. I’ve never had one. I do have a friend that owns a coffee cafe & kiosk. Most of his profit comes from teenagers that stop by on the way to or from school to buy ‘Monster’ (crack) drinks. I suppose they go around their parents’ wishes to get their fix.
Dianna says
We steer clear of caffeine in my family because we don’t feel it’s good for us. My children already know that sodas and energy drinks aren’t good for them, and that caffeine is addictive. I think the fact that we talk about this now will make things easier when they’re teens.
Tisha says
No. One of my teens is diabetic so no liquid sugar for her. My older teen does not drink them now either. Fortunately, one of their youth leaders at church is studying to be a nutritionist and she educated them about the evils of the drinks and she is so much cooler than Mom. The kids have soda a couple of times a month, and sometimes coffee or tea but nothing as concentrated as an energy drink.
Jillbert says
My teens (16 & 14) do not drink them — they are picky and I wouldn’t buy them. My 14 yo, however, does LOVE giant sugary Starbucks drinks which probably pack the same punch. I can’t control what they consume out of the house but believe they mostly make good choices.
Karen @ On the Banks of Salt Creek says
Goodness….if they had more energy it would be the death of me!
No, I would not let them drink them even if they wanted them. No soda, rarely juice….were pretty much water people and milk.
Talaena says
Teen or adult those drinks are bad. I even try and keep my kids away from Gatorade and others like it. They are just as sugar packed. And the sugar free versions have sweeteners that are known to cause cancer. Your best bet is water. If you need a treat try plain sparkling water.
Pam says
When my son was in high school, he had to be up by 5:00 a.m. since his bus rolled through at 5:25 a.m. to pick him up. If I wanted to drag my soapbox out, I’d give a little lecture about how making teenagers kick into gear when it’s still dark outside probably is the biggest contributing factor to the teens drinking energy drinks. But I don’t want to drag the soapbox out so – my son occasionally drank an energy drink in the mornings. I would not have allowed him to make a habit of it due to the caffeine content and the cost. I’d say he drank 3-5 per month. I agree with everything everyone has said about how bad they are and how water is the only thing we should be drinking and everything else. But my son managed to finish 13 years of public school missing 5 days…..total. The only time I was ever called to his school was because he stepped in to stop a bully from picking on another kid. He took a punch to his eye socket that fractured his orbital bone. He was an A/B student. He completed 4 years of JROTC and was active with the JROTC drill team. Letting my kid drink 3-5 energy drinks a month was NOT even on my radar of an issue. As a mom, I’ve learned to pick my battles.
Ellen in Clackamas says
I’ve tried a couple but did not care for the taste which is good because I can’t afford the cost or the calories. I have a young (30’s) friend who was mixing them with alcohol for an added “punch”…I told her she was going to give herself a heart attack but that info went in one ear and out the other until she was driving home from work one night and almost passed out. I think (hope) that was the last time she did that. I know life can get hectic but I sure wish everyone could just get more sleep and then perhaps these wouldn’t be so popular!!!
Cheryl says
Thankfully my kids have 4 legs. I myself do not drink the energy drinks, nor do I drink coffee or even soda, coke, pop or whatever you call it in your state…I am however a connoisseur of lightly sweetened black tea. I LOVE black tea and nothing ever seems to deter me away from it except when I am actually thirsty and then it is water.
CathyB says
I never buy them and my teens never seem to have money, so that alone cuts out opportunity for regular usage. But the funny thing is that I really had not thought about them much at all and had never really addressed this with my boys. One day my then 13 year old was talking about energy drinks in such a way that I realized that he thought that they were like alcohol or cigarettes or drugs and were illegal for him. It turns out that another teen had offered him an energy drink and he had said no and was wondering if he needed to say something to an adult. It was a good opportunity to discuss what a poor choice energy drinks are from both a physical and financial standpoint, but that the boy was not trying to get him to engage in an illicit activity – and that he was not going to get in trouble with us if he occasionally had one. It just made me realize that kids sometimes don’t understand things and it is always good to keep the communication open!
Lynn says
No way. It’s just another addiction of today’s world. Sad really. There has been a few death’s from too much drinking of energy drinks. Look it up….it’s in the news. One mom is on a mission to share this with the world……after her son’s recent death. Caffeine and processed sugar….what a bad combination.
Beks says
I was once a waitress at a casino, and I worked the night shift. Once, i didn’t get much sleep, so my coworkers talked me into drinking a Monster. i’d never had one before. It made me so jittery, I thought I was going to faint. My supervisor made me eat a patty melt to help sop up the caffeine (if that even works). I apparently looked like I was going through a drug withdrawal, which is ironic when you think about it.