MEDICAL By Dr. Dudley Crosson, ALEA Aeromedical Liaison 48 AIRBEATMAGAZINE l JanuaryFebruary l 2012 MEDICAL ecent research has indicated COMMON ENERGY DRINK INGREDIENT CLAIMS energy drinks are the most popular Table 1 supplement besides multivitamins INGREDIENT DRINK FUNCTIONAL CLAIM R in the American adolescent and young adult population. More than 30% of Improves endurance, increases fat all American male and female adolescents Carnitine Monster, Rockstar, Full Throttle metabolism, protects against use these supplements on a regular basis. cardiovascular disease Energy drinks are also reported to be the most popular supplement among Go Girl Sugar Free, Glucuronlactone Promotes excretion of toxins and young elite British athletes to control body Red Bull, Monster protects against cancer fat or enhance performance. In public safety aviation, many crewmembers use Increases energy, enhances them to mitigate fatigue due to heavy Monster, Rockstar, Full Throttle physical performance, workloads and schedules. Guarana promotes weight loss Performance enhancing drinks are noth- ing new. Originally, sports drinks were Go Girl Sugar Free, Red Bull, intended for electrolyte replacement. Elec- Decreases triglyceride and trolytes are elements that dissolve into ions Inositol Monster, cholesterol levels, lowers risk of essential for muscle, nerve and brain func- Rockstar, Wired B12 Rush cardiovascular disease tion. Most important are sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Then Speeds illness recovery, improves came the energy drinks, which include a Panax Ginseng Monster, Rockstar mental/physical/sexual perfor- load of caffeine, sugar and other ingredients mance, controls blood glucose, to enhance performance. lowers blood pressure Unfortunately, even the early sports Suppresses appetite/ weight loss drinks included significant amounts of Super Citramax Go Girl Sugar Free sugar to make them palatable for the general population. Recently, the two Taurine Go Girl Sugar Free, Red Bull, Lowers risk of diabetes/epilepsy/ products have come into competition and Monster, Rockstar, Full Throttle high blood pressure are adding ingredients to gain larger market share. Improves Whatever it is you are consuming, it is Yohimbine HCI VPX Redline sexual performance, important to look at the ingredients to see promotes weight loss how much of each is present. Refer to Table 2 for scientific evidence of functional claims. Problems With Energy Drinks attack and stroke.” And the Baylor Regional rules because the FAA is more lenient The medical community is currently Medical Center has reported major episodes than DoD, this could present a legal petitioning to have warning labels put on of dehydration/reactions in athletes using concern in the event of an accident. all energy drinks due to the problems energy drinks for hydration and energy. What’s more, when dealing with our associated with them. Finally, the American Association of health, do we want to accept the more According to a John Hopkins Univer- Poison Control Centers adopted codes late lenient standards? After all, DoD has done sity study, the caffeine content of last year to start tracking energy drink more research on the topic than the FAA. energy drinks varies between 50 mg overdoses and side effects and more than 500 mg. (Doctors nationwide. They found recommend you not go over 450 677 cases occurred mg/day.) Among the college students during the second half of studied in the Johns Hopkins research, 2010, and 331 cases 22 percent reported having headaches occurred between Jan. 2 related to energy drinks, 19 percent had and April 15. heart palpitations and 29 percent Ingredients reported experiencing weekly jolt and crash episodes. In every energy Other studies have shown similar results. drink on the market The University of Texas Health Science today, more than 50% Center (San Antonio) has reported an of the ingredients are increasing number of calls to the South on the U.S. Depart- Texas Poison Center in association with ment of Defense’s energy drinks. The University of Brisbane (DoD) “no-go for found that one popular energy drink flight” list for supple- “affects the blood system, causing it to ments. While public become sticky, which is a risk factor for safety aviators do not cardiovascular problems such as heart necessarily follow these www.alea.org l 49 MEDICAL SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE VS. MANUFACTURER CLAIMS Table 2 INGREDIENT SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE There is no clinical evidence that carnitine use is Carnitine effective for increased endurance or weight loss, but it may protect against heart disease Glucuronlactone No evidence to support any claims Caffiene consumption has been associated with increased energy and Guarana enhancement of physical performance and suppressed appetite Inositol No evidence to support any claims Panax Ginseng No evidence to support any claims Super Citramax There is scientific evidence the use of the supplement decreases food consumption No support for the treatment of diabetes Taurine or epilepsy, but may lower blood pressure Although yohimbine HCI may increase bloo d flow to sexual organs, there is Yohimbine HCI no evidence to support sexual arousal or weight loss. Sugar The amount of sugar in energy drinks is excessive. Sugar equates to calories. If you are looking to lose weight and are using these drinks for hydration, you may be in for a surprise. Even in sports drinks, the sugar levels are high. For example, one common sports drink advertised for electrolyte replacement contains 280 calories in a 32 ounce bottle. An average adult running three miles in thirty minutes would burn around 360 calories. Other Ingredients A number of ingredients in energy drinks have been shown to be unhealthy or to have no value at all. One that is preva- lent (although banned by the Food and Drug Administration in the late 1980s) is ephedra, often in the form of ephedra alka- loids. Ephedra has been associated with seizures, strokes, hypertension, arrhythmias, myocardial infarctions and death. What the manufacturers claim (Table 1) and what the scientific evidence says (Table 2) generally differ. The next time you pick up an energy drink, examine what is in it and compare it with the scientifically-based benefits. You may be surprised at the results of the comparison. 50 AIRBEATMAGAZINE l JanuaryFebruary l 2012.