Outline paper

Submit an Energy Drinks: Health Implications Related to Caffeine Toxicity

Final Outline Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the possible health effects that can be tied

to the consumption of energy drinks. Central Idea/Thesis Statement: Energy drink consumption has raised several health concerns including caffeine toxicity, which can be tied to common reactions of jitteriness or insomnia, but also to more serious conditions like cardiac instability.

INTRODUCTION

I. We all know that having good academic standing, keeping up with your social spheres, and balancing that all out with work or other activities requires A LOT of energy.

II. Sometimes coffee no longer does the trick to keep you wide-awake and energized. We, as college students, then look for alternative solutions; we need all the energy we can get, and so some turn to energy drinks as the ultimate solution for a fast and easy energy boost.

III. When I say energy drinks, I am referring to any drink that is marketed to improve energy and alertness, usually containing high amounts of caffeine, taurine, sugars, and/or other herbal supplements (Seifert et al., 2011). Some examples that you may recognize are Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar. Personally, I don’t drink energy drinks, but many of my friends and classmates do. In fact, 50% of this class reported consuming energy drinks—some more frequently than others, but drinking them nonetheless. Similarly, a 2007 survey of 496 college students, reported in

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Pediatrics, the official journal for the American Academy of Pediatrics, consumption among these students was reported to be 51%. On a more general level, a study presented by the College of Medical Toxicology showed that “34% of 18- to 24-year-olds surveyed reported regularly consuming energy drinks” (Sullivan, 2011).

IV. Increasingly, research is showing that consumption of energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar, just to name a few, can be tied to several negative health effects (Spierer et al., 2013). But as statistics show, not everyone drinks them—so why should you care? Well, like me, I’m sure you know at least one person who consumes energy drinks and you may find some of the health effects worth sharing with them.

V. Though there are many health concerns that energy drinks are raising, I will first discuss the main concern of energy drink related caffeine toxicity, then follow by discussing the more common side effects related to this, and finish up by explaining more serious concerns.

TRANSITION: Let’s begin by addressing one of the leading health issues related to energy drinks: caffeine toxicity.

BODY

I. Like I mentioned earlier, energy drinks are marketed for their ability to increase alertness and supply energy to the consumer. This energy is highly due to the large amounts of caffeine present in the drink—however, too much caffeine intake can result in caffeine toxicity (Schaffer et al., 2014).

A. So what exactly is caffeine toxicity?

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B.

i. Put simply, caffeine toxicity is a caffeine overdose, and it can be deadly (Maulinauskas et al., 2007).

1. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers a daily intake of 400mg or less of caffeine to be safe, “acute clinical toxicity begins at 1g, and 5 to 10g can be lethal” (Seifert et al. 2007).

While the FDA has measures to regulate the amounts of caffeine in food products, such as soft drinks (71mg per 12 oz.—(Thorlton et al. 2014)), there isn’t any such regulation when it comes to the amounts of caffeine in energy drinks (Seifert et al., 2007).

i. Why? Well, energy drinks are classified by the manufacturers as dietary supplements because many contain “natural” ingredients—like milk thistle, not making it required for them to list the caffeine content of the product (Sepkowitz, 2013).

1. As a result, it is difficult for individuals to accurately determine whether they are consuming the recommended safe amount of caffeine—not just because the labels may inconsistently vary the amounts of caffeine specified (or not include it at all), but especially because caffeine can also be found in a variety of other foods (Thorlton et al., 2014).

TRANSITION: Furthermore, caffeine toxicity, which as we just learned can result from energy drink consumption, can then have a variety of reactions and side effects depending on the severity of the toxicity (Thorlton et al. 2014). Let’s explore some of the more common, less serious ones first.

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II. With lower levels of toxicity, known as “acute caffeine toxicity”, there are several common side effects that have been reported (Spierer et al. 2013). A. While the effects vary from person to person, Brenda M. Malinauskas from the

Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at East Carolina University attributes some of these more common effects specifically to the caffeine present in the energy drinks (2007).

i. These effects can be simple feelings of jitteriness, twitching, and headaches (FDA.gov, 2007).

B. In some instances, there have also been reports of increased levels of anxiety or nervousness due to overstimulation (Malinauskas et al. 2007).

i. Oftentimes, these increased levels leave people with “too much energy”—while they may have first been searching for alertness and energy, as was reported by 65% of students in Malinauskas’s 2007 survey of 496 randomly selected college students, when they actually needed sleep, they found themselves unable to—they were experiencing insomnia.

TRANSITION: If these considerably minor effects sound concerning enough, there are other issues lurking behind energy drinks that are more serious.

III. Reaching higher levels of caffeine toxicity, one of the most alarming conditions that can then arise is that of cardiac instability (Seifert et al., 2011). A. Caffeine not only makes you “feel more awake and alert”, it has also been found

that because caffeine is a “Central Nervous System stimulant” (Sullivan 2011)

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its properties can raise blood pressure as well as increase and destabilize your heart rate (FDA.gov, 2007).

i. These disturbances can lead to hypertension, which is often linked to serious heart problems, including cardiovascular instability/cardiac arrhythmias (i.e. heart palpitations or tremors) (Schaffer, 2014).

B. Heart conditions like those I just mentioned could have fatal consequences— that is, they can result in possible death from cardiac arrest (Spierer, 2013).

i. In fact, in 2012, CBS News published a report related to the death of a 14-year-old girl, who “died of cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity.” It was reported that this occurred after drinking two, 24-oz Monster drinks in less than 24 hours.

ii. According to the nutrition label of a Monster drink, each drink contains 2 servings and an “energy blend” of 2500mg—exact amounts are not listed, however.

TRANSITION: So, as you can see there are quite a number of health issues that can result from the consumption of energy drinks.

CONCLUSION

I. While the effects can start off considerably small they can grow to become deadly.

II. Like I discussed, energy drink consumption can cause caffeine toxicity, which is

then one of the primary causes of common reactions like jitteriness or headaches, as

well as more severe conditions, like cardiac instability, among its consumers.

III. It is often easy to overlook things like this because they aren’t really publicized; it is even easier to overlook them because we are all college students, juggling the

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responsibilities of school, work, and sometimes, just life itself. It seems easy enough to turn to energy drinks to pull that all-nighter or to make it through the rest of your 3 hour class. In the end, however, whether you drink energy drinks yourself, or simply just know someone who does, I hope that you are now more aware of the health issues that can arise from consumption of energy drinks.

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REFERENCES

CBS News. (2012). FDA Investigates five deaths, one heart attack linked to Monster Energy Drinks. CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda- investigates-five-deaths-one-heart-attack-linked-to-monster-energy-drinks/.

Malinauskas, B. M., Aeby, V. G., Overton, R. F., Carpenter-Aeby, T., & Barber-Heidal, K. (2007). A survey of energy drink consumption patterns among collegestudents. Nutrition Journal, 6, 35-41. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-6-35

Schaffer, S., Shimada, K., Jong, C., Ito, T., Azuma, J., & Takahashi, K. (2014). Effect of taurine and potential interactions with caffeine on cardiovascular function. Amino Acids, 46(5), 1147-1157. doi:10.1007/s00726-014-1708-0

Seifert, S. M., Schaechter, J. L., Hershorin, E. R., & Lipschultz, S. E. (2011). Health effects of energy drinks on children, adolescents, and young adults. Pediatrics, 127(3), 511-528. doi:10.1542/Deds.2009-3592

Sepkowitz, K. A. (2013). Energy drinks and caffeine-related adverse effects. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 309(3), 243-244. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.173526

Spierer, D., Blanding, N., & Santella, A. (2014). Energy drink consumption and associated health behaviors among university students in an urban setting. Journal of Community Health, 39(1), 132-138. doi:10.1007/s10900-013-9749-y

Sullivan, R. (2011). Energy Drinks. American College of Medical Toxicology. Retrieved from http://www.acmt.net/Energy_Drinks_.html.

Thorlton, J., Colby, D., A., & Devine, P. (2014). Proposed actions for the US food and drug administration to implement to minimize adverse effects associated with energy

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drink consumption. American Journal of Public Health, 104(7), 1175-1180.

doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.301967

US FDA (2007). Medicines in my home: Caffeine and Your Body. Popular Topics: Energy Drinks. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/UCM200805.pdf

outline packet in class on Wednesday, March 7th thnc