• Question: why are energy drinks so addicting?

    Asked by anon-252076 to William, Robert, Philip on 29 Apr 2020.
    • Photo: Philip Denniff

      Philip Denniff answered on 29 Apr 2020:

      I have a problem with this question because I am not sure what an energy drink is. However I did work for the company that bought the Lucozade brand in 1938 as an energy drink for the sick hospital patients, with the profits from Lucozade were ploughed back into penicillin research. As far as I understand it an energy drink is one containing a stimulant compound that is usually caffeine. Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant and is used to kick start the natural breathing in pre-term babies at birth if necessary. Like all drugs a ‘no observable effect level’ has been determined for it, this is the highest dose at which no toxic effects are seen. According to the Mayoclinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678) a daily intake of up to 400mg of caffeine should be safe for most health adults. If you are not health this would reduce and a child with the weight of half that of an adult would have a maximum daily amount half the above. It goes on to say that this is about two energy shot drinks (what ever they are). I don’t know enough about addiction to make any comment about caffeine addiction but the web site offers advice on curbing your caffeine habit.

    • Photo: Robert Ives

      Robert Ives answered on 29 Apr 2020:

      Put simply, these ‘energy drink’ are filled with the things your body thinks it needs. Caffeine, sugar and the other ‘special ingredients’ can all give a short term boost to our memories, have a calming effect and make us feel good. Our bodies are normally really good at knowing what is and isn’t good for us. Unfortunately, whilst a small amount (probably less than one drink) might be beneficial, they can over stimulate the brain which kind of likes the ‘high’ it gives us and makes us feel like we need more. The thing is, we might ‘want’ more, but we don’t ‘need’ more and actually too many energy drinks are not good for us. Like Philip, I also worked for the company the company that owned a certain energy drink.
      It wasn’t that long ago that another ‘energy (alcohol)’ drink was still available to patients in hospital – I remember my father going in to have a hernia operation and being allowed to drink a bottle of Guinness the night before the operation to increase the mineral and energy levels in his body – how times change.

Comments

  • Photo: Sophie

    Sophie commented on :

    Energy drinks contain a lot of sugar and caffeine which are addictive substances. These substances are made up of many chemicals which send messages to our brain via nerves. These nerves target centres of our brain involved with reward, motivation and self control. Our brains therefore see these substances as rewarding, and this makes us what them more. This is why it’s hard to give up things like chocolate and sweets which contain lots of sugar. Our brains have been programmed to tell us that they’re rewarding and they make us feel good. This is why it’s a good idea to slowly cut down our intake of sugar, and not to give up too quickly. Our brain learns to crave these foods less and we’re less likely to go back to bad habits (relapse). I hope this helps to answer your question.