Energy Drinks And Liver Damage

High-caffeine energy drinks are popular among young adults and teens. Some 51 percent of college students, for example, consume them. Such drinks are in fact the fastest-growing beverage in the U.S. marketplace, with sales expected to exceed $9 billion in 2011. These drinks had a 13.3 percent rise in sales in 2010, partly attributed to "energy shots" sold at convenience stores. Concern about side effects, including possible liver damage, is rising along with the surge in popularity for these drinks.

Caffeine

The top ingredient of concern in energy drinks is caffeine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits the amount of caffeine that soft drinks can contain to 71 mg per 12 oz. serving. The FDA, however, does not regulate the caffeine in energy drinks, which are classified as dietary supplements. Energy drinks commonly have three times the concentration of caffeine as cola, and some varieties have five times the limit for soda, especially when packaged as "energy shots" or as 16 oz. drinks. Some energy drinks often contain even more caffeine than listed on the label. Manufacturers are not required to list caffeine content from additives such as kola nut, yerba mate, guarana or cocoa, according to a 2011 study published in "Pediatrics."

You may get the caffeine in energy drinks into your system more quickly than you do with coffee or tea because you typically would not gulp these beverages like you do energy drinks or shots, notes Barbara Crouch of Utah's poison control center in the USA Today article, "Energy Drink Sales Rise Along with Concerns," published March 17, 2011.

Interactions

Consuming energy drinks and certain medicines at the same time can increase your risk for liver damage due to the drinks' caffeine content. For example, ingesting caffeine with certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as etodolac or acetaminophen increases your risk for liver damage. If your energy drink contains yerba mate specifically, it can cause or increase liver damage when taken with a host of medications including abacavir, acarbose, acetaminophen, celecoxib, meloxicam, naproxen, pacliaxel, refecoxib, tamoxifen and zidovudine, according to "The Essential Herb-Drug-Vitamin Interaction Guide," by George T. Grossberg and Barry Fox.

Liver Conditions

If you already have a liver ailment, the caffeine in energy drinks may worsen your condition, notes Sara M. Seifert, lead author for the "Pediatrics" study. Other ingredients commonly found in energy drinks, such as niacin and coenzyme Q10, also can trigger or worsen liver damage, she adds.

Reporting

Germany has tracked toxicity related to energy drinks since 2002. Liver damage is among the outcomes reported, along with kidney failure, heart failure, hypertension, respiratory disorders, agitation, psychotic conditions, seizures, cardiac dysrhythmias and death. The United States created a code to track toxicity related to energy drinks at its Poison Control Centers in 2010. National data were not available as of June 2011.