As a nutrition support pharmacist, you will get more questions about energy drinks. An energy drink is a type of drink containing stimulant compounds, usually caffeine, which is marketed as providing mental and physical stimulation. They may or may not be carbonated and may also contain sugar, other sweeteners, herbal extracts, taurine, and amino acids.
Many people don't realize how much caffeine and other stimulants are in energy drinks (Red Bull, etc). And the labels usually don't help either. In fact, the labels often add to the confusion or misconceptions.
- Guarana often appears on labels, but explain that it's just another source of caffeine, like coffee beans, cola nuts, and tea or mate leaves. Alert people that guarana is usually not counted as caffeine on labels, so the real caffeine count is even higher.
- Taurine is often added, supposedly to improve performance. But the amount in energy drinks has no proven benefit.
- B vitamins are also added to supposedly increase energy. Explain that these vitamins are necessary for cellular energy metabolism, but there's no proof that taking supplements boosts energy.
- Caffeine amounts can be high, about 80 mg for Red Bull, 100 mg for 5-Hour Energy, and over 300 mg for some kinds of Rockstar.
Most healthy adults can safely consume up to 400 mg/day of caffeine. For children, suggest keeping it under about 45 mg/day for 4 year-olds, sliding up to about 85 mg/day for 12 year-olds. YOU CAN GET MORE DETAILS about caffeine and read our note, "Caffeine and Exercise".
Warn patients not to combine energy drinks with stimulants like methylphenidate (Concerta), pseudoephedrine (Cold free, Congestal, any product contain pseudoephedrine) due to additive effects. Caution not to use energy drinks for rehydration, caffeine can be dehydrating if people aren't used to it.
REFERENCES
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Higgins JP, Tuttle TD, Higgins CL. Energy beverages: content and safety. Mayo Clin Proc. 2010 Nov;85(11):1033-41. Available at: https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)60094-3/fulltext
Generali JA. Energy drinks: food, dietary supplement, or drug? Hosp Pharm. 2013 Jan;48(1):5-9. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839443