The abuse of the energy drinks

UNIVERSIDAD EVANGÉLICA DE EL SALVADOR

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES

LICENCIATURA EN TRADUCCION E INTERPRETACION DEL IDIOMA INGLES

THE ABUSE OF ENERGY DRINKS, HARMFUL TO HEALTH

LIC. MONICA LUDVINA SALMERÓN REYES

JOAQUIN ALEJANDRO GRANADOS BORJA

July 22^nd 2019

INTRODUCTION

Recently there has been an increase in energy drink consumption in young and adolescents, leading to caffeine abuse. This increased consumption served as motivation for creating an educational workshop in a collective of adolescents. The aim of this work was improving the level of knowledge about energy drinks and to assess the impact on the knowledge of the workshop.

Energy drinks or energy drinks represent a group of products that have been freely marketed in many countries for some years. Its irruption in the market is influenced by intense advertising campaigns, which define them as refreshing drinks created to increase physical resistance, provide a sensation of well-being and stimulate the metabolism, capable of supplying a high level of energy coming from a combination of ingredients added by its possible stimulant effects. They contain a mixture of compounds that include caffeine, glocuronolactone and vitamins. Some attribute their stimulant properties to amino acids such as taurine or its content in extracts of herbs such as ginseng or guarana, and in some cases minerals, inositol and carnitine are added.

The recent increase in the consumption of energy drinks associated with leisure, during exam periods, in relation to the practice of sports activities, as well as the popularity that they enjoy among adolescents and young people, has aroused the concern of some health authorities in different countries.

THE ABUSE OF ENERGY DRINKS, HARMFUL TO HEALTH

The combination of caffeine and alcohol increases blood pressure. Although the scientific evidence is not conclusive, the abuse of these beverages with high caffeine content could be harmful to health, so experts recommend moderation in consumption, never combine them with alcohol and that children and vulnerable groups refrain from take them

According to Infosalus Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Professor of Nutrition at the Rovira Virgili University in Tarragona, these drinks, which are difficult to define, contain substances that contribute a significant amount of caffeine and that seek to elevate the activation state of the sympathetic system, the In charge of increasing the heart rate or the attention status.

However, its positive effects could be limited by its possible side effects such as increased heart rate, blood pressure or caloric expenditure (thermogenesis), says Salas-Salvadó, a researcher at the Biomedical Network Research Center on Obesity and Nutrition.

Energy drinks are regulated by the European Commission as a food product stipulated that it must not exceed the amount of 32 mg of caffeine per 100 ml. However, currently new formats are emerging that could alter the perception of the consumer in relation to the amount that can be taken or that can encourage greater consumption.

This is the case of 'energy drinks' ('shots'), sold only at gas stations, whose small 60 ml containers contain a higher concentration of caffeine than usual 250 mg containers or also the sale of 500 ml containers or even liter and a half of energy drinks that can already be purchased in white brands in large supermarket chains.

The best-known energy drinks carry a large amount of caffeine, about 3 or 4 times the amount present in other beverages such as colas or coffee. The concentration of caffeine in energy drinks is established, however, the issue is in the daily consumption of large amounts of energy drinks or a combination of different beverages containing caffeine, which greatly increases the average consumption of this substance among the population.

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the adolescents have little or no knowledge about energy drinks and about health consequences of their consumption. This knowledge increased significantly after an educational workshop with participatory and cooperatives techniques which were selected according to the preferred learning strategies of the participants.

If these drinks are in the market, it is because they do not have harmful effects, the problem is in the large amounts of caffeine they provide and that their abuse can be harmful to vulnerable groups. In the case of people with arrhythmias, it can be harmful given that Caffeine is a stimulant of alpha receptors, associated with cardiac risk.

It has not been proven that these drinks with high levels of caffeine create addiction, however, the scientist Jordi Salas-Salvadó points out that in the long term, caffeine could have an addictive effect of being consumed in large quantities. There are people who can get to consume two or three liters of cola drinks with caffeine that are also rich in sugar and empty calories and contribute to diseases such as diabetes or obesity.