Energy drinks purport to enhance your mental focus, intensify your workouts and stave off fatigue. Reading the nutrition labels on energy drinks and other beverages is essential to making sure you don't go overboard on calories and sugar consumption. What the nutrition label can't tell you is if your energy drink will live up to its advertising claims.
Reading Nutrition Labels
Nutrition labels on energy drinks and other beverages, as well as packaged food products, give you the basic information about the food or drink you purchase. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reading nutrition labels is important to determine what constitutes a serving size, how many calories are in the drink per serving, and what essential and nonessential nutrients the beverage offers. Large energy drinks, for example, may contain more than one serving per can or bottle; if you're watching your calorie intake, including the amount of added sugars you consume, make sure to adhere to the recommended serving amount.
Energy Drink Ingredients
While ingredients in energy drinks vary from product to product, Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky sums up the core contents to caffeine and sugar. Information from the CSPI indicates that energy drinks can contain anywhere between 48 and 300 mg for every 8- to 8.4-oz. serving -- the average cup of coffee contains 133 mg. The "tall can" of popular energy drink brand contains 160 calories and 39 g sugar per can, which is roughly on par with the number of calories and amount of sugar found in an 8-oz. can of regular cola. In addition, herbal stimulants such as ginkgo, milk thistle and green tea extracts may be added to energy drinks, as well as taurine, an amino acid, and L-carnitine, a co-enzyme your body produces. According to MayoClinic.org, it can be difficult to ascertain what nonessential nutrients are in your energy drink -- as well as the exact amount of these ingredients.
Energy Drink Cautions
Energy drinks with excessive amounts of caffeine and sugar have adverse effects, according to MayoClinic.org. Caffeine and other herbal stimulants can make you feel queasy, anxious and irritable; they also speed up your heart rate and make it difficult for you to get to sleep. Copious amounts of caffeine can cause high blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms; your risk for these side effects increases when energy drinks are consumed along with alcohol, when dehydrated or before getting strenuous physical activity. Sugar, a simple carbohydrate, may give you a temporary burst of energy, but it's nutritionally valueless, putting you at risk for tooth decay and weight gain.
Expert Insight
Since 2006, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has argued that for stricter regulatory standards imposed on energy drinks, a so-called "functional food," by the FDA. More troublesome than the information on the nutrition labels are the drink labels themselves, which insinuate that energy drinks boost your immune system, help you lose weight or prevent illness. In addition, the CSPI believes that herbal ingredients with purported health benefits have no place in your canned or bottled beverages. According to MayoClinic.org, the occasional energy drink shouldn't hurt you; however, if your energy is perpetually flagging, find a healthier way to perk yourself up, such as getting plenty of sleep, exercising and consuming a healthy diet.
References
- Center for Science in the Public Interest: FDA Urged to Stop Claims for "Energy" Drinks
- Center for Science in the Public Interest: Caffeine Content
- MayoClinic.org: Energy Drinks Can Have a Variety of Adverse Effects on the Body
- MayoClinic.com: Energy Drinks-Do they Really Give Me Energy?
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label
- MayoClinic.com: Added Sugar-Don't Get Sabotaged by Sweetener
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