Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - Some people can't go without that cup of coffee in the morning, but more people are opting for an energy drink for that morning jolt.
But do you have any idea how much caffeine is in that can? Don't feel badly if you can't answer that, because you won't find it on the label.
In a report in this month’s journal of drug and alcohol dependence, researchers from Johns Hopkins University are calling for all energy drinks to list their caffeine content.
The reason why the energy drinks don't have to list caffeine content and keep their caffeine levels in line with the FDA's rules for soda and other beverages is because they're marketed as dietary supplements and not as soft drinks.
- 12-oz cup of coffee has 200 milligrams of caffeine.
- 12-oz Mountain Dew has 54 milligrams.
- Jolt has 280 milligrams of caffeine, about 5 cans of Mountain Dew.
- Wired x505 has 505 milligrams of caffeine, about 10 Mountain Dews.
- Fixx has 500 milligrams of caffeine.
The American Beverage Association says it's not fair to lump all energy drinks together in this report, when the most popular brands like Red Bull and Monster don't have nearly that much.
Researchers are concerned that most of these drinks are marketed directly to teenagers who may not know just how much caffeine they're getting and the risk of what's called caffeine intoxication.
We asked registered dietitian Terry Podolak at SUNY Upstate to explain what that is.
“They're gonna notice an increase in heart rate, some of them may have an increase in blood pressure which they may not be aware of, then there's a chance of dehydration because caffeine is a stimulant and it puts a lot of stress on the kidneys, even on the stomach, kids may notice they're stomach's upset because caffeine stimulates more acid secretion.”
Terry agrees it makes sense to list the caffeine content and the possible health risks of having too much. A cup of coffee is fine, a Red Bull is no problem, but when you get up into those 300, 400, 500 milligrams of caffeine drinks or you have too many, especially for teens who aren't used to caffeine, she says that's where you can run into a problem.
