Scientists say-you should better avoid energy drinks

According to the findings of a new study published in the Sept. 20 issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the super-caffeinated energy drinks can trigger caffeine intoxication. "The caffeine content of energy drinks varies over a 10-fold range, with some containing the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola, yet the caffeine amounts are unlabeled and few include warnings about potential health risks of caffeine intoxication," said one of the authors of the study, Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.Caffeine intoxication is clinically considered a syndrome. It is currently defined by a number of symptoms and clinical features that surface in response to recent excessive consumption of caffeine. Common features of caffeine intoxication include excitement, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, restlessness, tremors, insomnia, rambling flow of thought and speech or periods of inexhaustibility. In rare cases, caffeine intoxication can lead to death.The caffeine content of energy drinks can vary from can to can, from 50 milligrams to more than 500 milligrams per serving, whereas a normal 12-ounce cola drink has approximately 35 mg of caffeine per serving and a 6-ounce cup of brewed coffee has 80 to 150 milligrams of the stimulant drug per serving. On the word of one drink-company manufacturer, the energy drinks can be a harmless substitute to drug abuse for youngsters. “We say, ‘Do the drink, not the drug,''' stated Raymond Herrera, Partner and world wide marketing director of Redux Beverages. “You do the drug you are dumb. If you do the drink you are cool.''