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The Consumption Of Energy Drinks Essay

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Energy drinks can be generally characterised as containing caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone, inositol and a variety of B vitamins, including thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid and riboflavin. Caffeine, taurine and glucuronolactone are regulated as Natural Health Products under Schedule 1 of the NHP Regulations. The product Red Bull exemplifies a typical energy drink, where a single can serving of 250 ml contains 80 mg of caffeine, 1000 mg of taurine, 600 mg of glucuronolactone and several B vitamins .

Hazard assessments on energy drinks are based on individual ingredients, with caffeine being identified as the ingredient with the greatest potential for intakes of possible health concern. Excess consumption of energy drinks is expected to result in health consequences similar to those from excess intake of caffeine. The mild and transient health effects include anxiety, headache and insomnia, all of which can become chronic conditions. More severe health consequences include irregular heartbeat, heart attack and rarely, death. There is a concern that some individuals, who may have increased sensitivity to the ingredients in energy drinks, may have acute physiological response, such as increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

A limited number of studies have assessed the behavioural affects following consumption of energy drinks containing both glucose and caffeine. These studies identified improvements in performance of attention and/or

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