68% of kids e boys between 10 and 18 years and 18% of children between 3 and 9 years drink regularly energy drink. In the 10-18 year old group, consumption is very high, with an average of 7 liters per month.
But also the adults they don't joke: in the 18-65 age group, in fact, over 30% of people often buy these drinks (data from Efsa, European Food Safety Agency). But are they healthy and safe or do they involve risks? Let's be clear.
What do they contain
«The main ingredient in energy drinks is the water, to which they are added carbohydrates (sugars), electrolytes (i.e. minerals such as magnesium, sodium and potassium), vitamins, especially those of group B, Besides exciting and energetic such as caffeine, guarana, ginseng, taurine, carnitine and other derivatives of plant origin ”, explains the doctor Elga Bavaria, biologist expert in food safety of the ABR study in Rome .
“They often contain dyes, preservatives e aromas of synthesis that make it a very unnatural product. These drinks, mostly non-alcoholic, are famous for theirs stimulating effects, energizing and amplification of sports and mental performance (real or, sometimes, only because ofplacebo effect). But be careful: they have nothing to do with sports drinks, which have a different formulation and are used to replenish the hydrosaline losses ».
Action by the European Parliament
To stem its excessive consumption, the European Parliament prohibited to insert on energy drink containing XNUMX/XNUMX cup sugar and caffeine the indication that they are capable of increasing athletic performance or concentration.
«These products, in addition to massive doses of sugars, of which our diet is too rich, bring high quantities of exciting substances such as caffeine, an excessive intake of which causes symptoms such as headache, insomnia and hyperagitation. Moreover, in combination with alcohol, an increasingly widespread habit among young people, they can induce trough, changes in heart rhythm and kidney function», Concludes Dr. Baviera.
The doses to be respected
A 250ml can of energy drink it contains almost 30 g of sugar and 80-110 mg of caffeine. "For the latter, the daily safety threshold for an adult is 400 mg, while for children and adolescents it is advisable not to exceed the threshold of 3 mg / kg of body weight. A can of energy drink it therefore contains almost all of a boy's daily dose of caffeine. The same goes for an adult who consumes two or three a day, in addition to the usual coffees », warns the expert.
