I've wondered for a long time how dangerous energy drinks are. In today's podcast we talk about caffeine and investigate the dangers posed by the booming energy drink industry.

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Today’s podcast is:

Energy Drinks:  I like

to measure my caffeine intake in grams

At work, we have recently been discussing energy

drinks.  While we all partake from time

to time, one individual ingests a remarkable amount of caffeine.  The last time we figured out his caffeine

intake, it was almost 2 grams per day. 

We all agreed that there is no way this could be healthy.  However, opinions based on gut instinct are

rarely reliable and so I decided to dig into the facts and see what the science

says.

I realize I am treading dangerous ground by potentially

interfering with people’s morning routines, but here goes.

Caffeine has been a sacred part of the morning ritual for

most of the history of mankind.  About

85% of Americans consume caffeine daily. 

It is probably one of the most widely consumed substances in

America.  This is great from a scientific

standpoint as it gives us a huge human test population.  With these types of numbers, even very rare

adverse outcomes should be readily visible.

How does caffeine work?

We all know that caffeine makes us more alert, but how does

that happen.  I found a couple of

different explanations but they all have to do with the adenosine

receptor.  Adenosine is created by the

brain to let the body know when it needs sleep. 

Adenosine binds to the nerves slowing down nerve cell activity and

prepares the body for sleep.  Caffeine preferentially

binds to these receptors preventing the attachment of adenosine without slowing

the nerves.  This increases neuron firing

causing us to feel more alert and improves athletic ability by decreasing the

reaction time of our nerves.  Over time,

the caffeine degrades and there is a large amount of accumulated adenosine

waiting to bind to the receptors.  This

sudden binding is what leads to the crash after caffeine consumption.  https://science.howstuffworks.com/caffeine4.htm

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/54536/how-does-caffeine-work

Can you die from caffeine overdose?

Lethal overdoses of caffeine have occurred, but they are

rare.  Most of these overdoses occur

through ingestion (often intentional) of purified caffeine rather than through

the ingestion of beverages.  In

fatalities, 10 grams or more are ingested in a single dose.

In 2016 there were over 3700 cases of caffeine poisoning

reported to Poison Control Centers in the US. 

Of these poisonings, 846 required treatment at a hospital and 16 of

those had negative outcomes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532910/?report=printable

How much caffeine is in an energy drink

How much caffeine is in your typical energy drink?  While there is no “typical” energy drink,

National Institutes of Health says the caffeine ranges from ...