Some energy drinks are highly caffeinated and sugared, according to a Consumer Council test on 19 of these beverages commonly available in the market here.
Of particular health concern was the revelation that the caffeine content of 3 of the samples exceeded the Canada recommended maximum caffeine daily intake level of 85 mg for children of 10 to 12 years.
The samples were found with caffeine of 137 mg, 143 mg and 146 mg per bottle. That's more than the average caffeine content in a cup of regular coffee (from 110 mg upwards according to a recent Council study on this beverage).
Furthermore, the sugar content of 2 of the 3 energy drinks concerned were loaded with sugars in excess of the World Health Organization / Food and Agriculture Organisation (WHO/FAO) recommended daily intake of free sugars (sugar added to the product) which stipulates a 50 g limit for a person of a daily energy intake of 2,000 kcal.
The 2 energy drinks were detected with 50.5 g and 52.5 g of sugars per bottle. That's approximately the amount of 10-11 cubes of sugar (based on the approximation that 1 sugar cube = 5 g).
In March this year, WHO launched a public consultation on its new draft guideline on sugars intake. While maintaining its current recommended daily intake limit for free sugars at 10% of total energy intake per day, WHO proposes that there will be additional benefits to further reduce daily free sugars intake to below 5% (25 g for a daily energy intake of 2,000 kcal) of total energy intake per day.
Besides caffeine concerns on the health of children and vulnerable groups such as pregnant and lactating women, energy drinks were suspected to be linked in recent years to cases, some fatal, of cardiac dysrhythmia (heart rhythm changes), seizures, kidney failure, casting doubts on the safety of these drinks.
These incidents usually involved improper intake of energy drinks by drinking them with alcohol or in large quantities. Consumers are cautioned against mixing energy drinks and alcohol or medication with an effect on the central nervous system.
Overall, the caffeine levels of the 19 energy drink samples in the test ranged from 8.18 mg to 146 mg per bottle (with varying sizes of the bottle from 50 ml to 500 ml).
While all samples list the caffeine as an ingredient, nearly half (9) did not disclose the caffeine amounts on the labels. This lack of information clearly needs change in the interest of the consumers' right to be informed.
The sugars content of the samples was measured with 8.9 g to 52.5 g per bottle, with 7 of them reaching 25 g or more sugars and 2 exceeding the 50 g daily intake limit. One sample was a sugar free product.
Taurine is another ingredient commonly added in energy drinks for purposes believed to be of biological and physiological benefits to the human body. 10 energy drink samples were found to contain levels of taurine considered of no health risk under normal consumption.
In addition to 19 energy drinks, the test also evaluated 6 sports drinks which commonly appear alongside with energy drinks on the shelves of retail stores. Unlike energy drinks, sports drinks usually contain no caffeine but electrolytes and sugars to rehydrate your body by replenishing water and electrolytes lost through sweating during exercise.
But in common with energy drinks, they are also well sweetened with sugars content of 8.47 g to 51.4 g per bottle; the sample with the highest content (51.4 g) is in excess of the 50 g daily intake limit.
Are sports drinks really necessary for physical exercise? According to the experts, unless you are engaged in exercise lasting more than 1 hour or prolonged vigorous sports activities, the best way to rehydrate your body is by drinking plain water.
As most energy drinks and sports drinks are added with sugars - and some at relatively high amount - they are not recommended as a drink for daily consumption.
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- 2014.05.15