Student's Research: Energy Drinks are Bunk.. Do you agree?

[david86440]

My 2 cups of coffee get me going every day. I've never bought an "energy" drink but I see a lot of people drinking them.

Do you guys/girls that drink them agree/disagree with the report?

(CBS)  The energy drink industry generated more than $6 billion in sales in the United States last year. But how much energy do the beverages actually generate?

CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell reports on the young researcher who spared no energy to find out:

It's a safe bet that of all the speakers at the annual meeting of emergency physicians in Boston, only one needed his dad's help setting up - 12-year-old. Brendan O'Neil, the youngest ever to present at the conerence.

"Many people use energy drinks like Monster to enhance their performance in sports - at least they think it will. I just wanted to test to see if these energy drinks really did what they were advertised to do," O'Neil said.

It started as a science project at Everest Academy in Clarkston, Mich. Brendan occasionally drank a Monster energy drink before a football game and wondered if it really gave him more energy.

So his project pitted the caffeinated monster against decaffeinated Sprite in a series of tests - how many push-ups volunteers could do after each, for instance. His conclusion?

Energy drinks compared to soda had no significant effect on your exercise performance. The results for Sprite and Monster were pretty much the same.

Brendan's dad, an emergency room physician himself, was shocked by the results. At the very least, he expected the energy drinks would raise an athlete's blood pressure or heart rate, but that didn't happen. He thought the project was so well researched that he submitted it to the Annals of Emergency Medicine - anonymously, as are all entries to the prestigious medical journal.

"So when I submitted it, it got accepted," Brian O'Neil said. "I called them and said, 'You know he's 12 years old. Are there any rules against 12-year-olds?' And they said 'No, we don't have any.'"

Brian O'Neil knows what you're thinking - no way a kid did all this work himself.

"Every father helps their kid with their science project, maybe I had more direction than most people," he said.

But, he says, Brendan did most of it - the charts, the graphs. Brendan defended the research to the journal. And it's clear the kid was the one who thought of using a video game as part of the experiment, as a way to test reaction times after each drink.

Brendan says despite the results, he still occasionally drinks Monster, though not as much as he used to. As for the future and what he's going to be when he grows up?

"Probably an emergency room physician," he said. "Like my dad."

[Timothy]

I tried a Redbull once.  I figure that it tasted like bull piss.  That was enough for me, I'll keep my coffee!

 

[ericire12]

I dont think you can legitimately debunk caffeine

[TAB]

I have a friend that is a retired SEAL, he has said many times that the teams live on caffine.

[shooter32]

I'll stick with my coffee, tried a couple of the evergy drinks and 

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

 Beverages (water, soda etc. ) are for when you are thirsty. Coffee (or tea ) are for when you have to "Function", they are the original "energy drink".

[Overload]

I remember reading that a cup of coffee has more caffeine than any energy drink.

I've gotten a headache from drinking an energy drink, so it's doing something.

I'm not sure caffeine would help with pushups.   Attention or endurance mabye, but not strength.

[r_w]

I remember reading that a cup of coffee has more caffeine than any energy drink.

I've gotten a headache from drinking an energy drink, so it's doing something.

I'm not sure caffeine would help with pushups.   Attention or endurance mabye, but not strength.

Caffeine helps when the adrenaline is not flowing.  When the adrenaline is flowing, all you need is the sugar to feed the muscles so the Sprite gives you what you need. 

[Ping]

Coffee and green tea with caffeine. I steer clear of energy drinks.

[crusader rabbit]

There is a level of caffeine that provides a (sometimes) needed stimulus.  Levels in excess provide the jitters.  As an experiement, you might try shooting a target without the benefit of any strong coffee.  Then try it again after having a cup, then two and maybe then three.  Give yourself a little time for the coffee to do its work and check the results.  I postulate that the groupings will be somewhat better after one cup, then deteriorate.  This would be the case (I think) more with those who are not coffee addicts and used to the added zip.

Energy drinks tend to provide caffeine in excess of what you might expect from a couple of cups of joe and so might induce the jits more quickly.  Couple this with the relatively high levels of corn syrup sweeteners and you might find yourself even more jittery.

From personal experience, I have been a "gym rat" for 40-years and have tried all kinds of things to make my workouts better.  I have never noticed any improvement after ingesting an energy drink.

That said, I usually have a Mountain Dew or two when I am making a cross-country drive at night.  I think it helps keep me alert.  Stoill, I make stops every hour--mostly to get rid of the Mountain Dew.