Energy Drinks: A Lethal Concoction?

This marks the beginning of my research  I decided to start of with the "ugly" side of energy drinks. I have found a few articles that discuss the health risks and factors surrounding energy drinks. My finding weren't that far off from what I imagined them to be but I still found some of the issues surprising.

http://www.energyfiend.com/energy-drink-side-effects

This article focuses on the ingredients of energy drinks. From this page, I have discovered that the majority of the ingredients in one way or another can make a person feel sick. Everything from nausea to insomnia is described. The problem with energy drinks is that they contain so many different ingredients that it's hard to pinpoint what ingredient makes a person sick. Things like ginseng, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, sugars, and Ginkgo Biloba all have adverse side effects when consumed. Caffeine has proven to be the worst of these ingredients. All of the things that I have listed are popular ingredients that are used in energy drinks. I don't think people realize how bad these ingredients are for you.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/11/15/1194451/energy-drinks-dangerous/?mobile=nc

This article discusses the fact that energy drink companies do not specify how much caffeine is contained within their products. Displaying the caffeine levels on a product is actually not a requirement and many companies choose to forgo it. In some cases however, a few companies do display the caffeine amount on their product but it is not the actual value that is contained. This seems to be a big issue and it's not being regulated by the FDA. They state that they currently do not have enough scientific information to regulate the industry. This seems a little fishy because there have been actual accounts of people dying due to consuming energy drinks. According to the article, the federal agency has received reports of 13 deaths over the past four years that claim that 5-Hour Energy is the possible cause. Even Monster Energy drinks have caused a stir in other reports claiming that the product has caused five deaths over the past three years. Why aren't people paying attention to this?

http://www.mnn.com/food/beverages/stories/5-health-problems-linked-to-energy-drinks

This article provides a list of health concerns that are related to energy drink consumption. The article discusses five health risks. These risks are, heart problems, risks of miscarriage, increased risk of alcohol injury and dependence, risk of drug abuse, and impaired cognition.