If you're a young adult or have kids in their teens, you're probably familiar with energy drinks. There’s a good 75 or so of them on the market: They contain herbal and other ingredients like ginseng, guarana and taurine, but the real energy comes from caffeine, sometimes in amounts three times that considered safe for an entire day. To make matters worse, some now also contain alcohol. And they may be contributing to the underage and adult drinking problem, and adding to the 22 million people in America currently in need of drug and alcohol detox and rehab.
The packaging of alcoholic energy drinks makes them almost indistinguishable from those without alcohol. Even some cashiers can't tell the difference: One Utah store clerk sold an alcoholic energy drink to an underage buyer even though the cash register computer system alerted her that ID was needed. Her reasoning? Anything with alcohol in her store comes in four packs or six packs.
The coordinator of the Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking accused manufacturers of predatory marketing – making energy drinks with alcohol look like those without. When he appeared before a panel on underage drinking, he presented three containers, two alcoholic and one non-alcoholic, to prove his point.
The packaging is also likely to fool parents: Without actually reading the ingredients or taking a close look at the container, parents could easily conclude that there's nothing wrong with what their kid is drinking – it's just going to give them energy, seems innocent enough.
But alcoholic energy drinks do far more than that – they may even send your kid to alcohol detox or the ER. Some of these drinks are stronger than anything your kid has ever had. Beer, for example, contains 3 to 6 percent alcohol; some energy drinks contain 8 percent.
Combining the alcohol with the energy components presents another very dangerous problem: obscuring the effects of the alcohol and the possible need for alcohol detox. The energy components make you feel more alert and less sleepy but you are, nonetheless, impaired.
What happens when the usual warning signs aren't there? How many kids or adults will get behind the wheel of a car thinking they're still safe? How many kids will take binge drinking to a whole new level and be dead before they even realize they're drunk?
Parents should be alert to the potential danger of alcoholic energy drinks. Learn which ones contain alcohol, and which don't. If your kid's drinking them, put a stop to it. And find out what else they’re drinking. It usually takes from six months to two years for parents to find out their kids have a drinking problem. Check into it now and, if there's a problem, get them into alcohol detox and rehab before their drinking turns into full-blown alcohol addiction.
So, do you think it's advisable for just anyone to take a healthy energy drink? Wait - just before you go get another can of Red Bull, you must think about the health consequences of drinking too many energy drinks in one day. While energy drinks are outstanding energy boosters and can give you immediate energy, they are supposed to be taken only as long as you need them. This approach is not good. Energy drinks contain certain ingredients which when used in the right quantities can give you the desired burst of energy. But it will not last long and in some cases goes away quickly and leaves you with less energy then before. So when is it better to get energy drinks? Report and research have both shown that many individuals are in the habit of having energy drinks first thing in the morning -even before their breakfast. Unfortunately, because the side effects are not always immediately apparent, many think they can easily get away with this or just simply believe that there are no side effects. It is far better to have an energy drink after you have had breakfast and require some form of energy boost to get you by. Therefore, drinking an energy drink first thing in the morning is certain to get you in the hospital in a very short while as you will more likely experience repeated bouts of dizziness, increased pulse rate -also known as tachycardia- continual headaches, insomnia and restlessness. Why Are Energy Drinks Capable of Causing Such Side Effects? The motive for the near immediate boost that you get from taking energy drinks is as a product of the high content of both sugar and caffeine. While these are sure components for an improved energy level, they are not exactly the easiest way to increase your energy levels on a consistent basis. The same relates to those who are suffering from diabetes; the sugar content existing in these drinks is a definite no-no. So if you have any of these illnesses or related ailments in spite of how minute or mild they might be, then energy drinks are not meant for you. As an alternative, you can build up our water intake and use some other health remedies. High Energy drinks are common for body builders and physical fitness enthusiasts that use them to increase their stamina and developtheir performance while they are training. However, a lot of teenagers take these drinks on a daily basis thus making it accountable for their hyperactivity and restlessness. It is not advisable to have teenagers who are not into high energy sports activities take energy drinks, otherwise the risks involved are that the kids become violent and suffer what is known as "toxic jock" syndromes as research has shown. There is an alternative, and that is to take a healthy energy drink like the Verve Energy drink.
Both Gloria Mactaggart & Julieanne Van Zyl are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Gloria Mactaggart has sinced written about articles on various topics from Detoxification, Alcohol Treatment and Addictions. Gloria MacTaggart is freelance writer that contributes articles on health.Contact: . Gloria Mactaggart's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
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