Energy Drinks: Good or Bad for You?



I love it when I see kids outside on the playground on the swings, running around playing tag, kicking the soccer ball...and drinking a high sugar energy drink containing 500 ml of liquid!

I never understood why parents gave their kids drinks like Powerade or Gatorade when they've finished a 40 minute game of soccer where they played half the time (20 minutes of activity), or they were at the pool swimming for leisure and feel thirsty. Water is pretty good for thirst if you ask me!

With some value, of course, energy drinks have exploded in the marketplace and are commonly found in vending machines in schools, rec centers, and malls.

It seems to me that giving these options to our kids as a refreshing beverage after a short (less than 60 minutes of vigorous cardiovascular activity) is negligent.

I would love to share here, a wonderful journal article from the The Journal of The International Society of Sports Nutrition: http://www.jissn.com/content/10/1/1

Here is a direct quote regarding kids and energy drinks from this article (ED Is Energy Drink, ES is Energy Shots):

..."7. Children and adolescents should only consider use of ED or ES with parental approval after consideration of the amount of carbohydrate, caffeine, and other nutrients contained in the ED or ES and a thorough understanding of the potential side effects.

  8. Indiscriminant use of ED or ES, especially if more than one serving per day is consumed, may lead to adverse events and harmful side effects. 

 9. Diabetics and individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular, metabolic, hepatorenal, and neurologic disease who are taking medications that may be affected by high glycemic load foods, caffeine, and/or other stimulants should avoid use of ED and/or ES unless approved by their physician."

 I include number 9 as it pertains to diabetics; the amount of children with diabetes in our country today will increase by 50 percent over the next 15 years, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Do you drink energy drinks?

 If yes, how much exercise do you partake in before hand?

 I would love to hear your feedback/comments on this topic!

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