Caffeine and Children Don't Mix and Neither do Energy Drinks

Caffeine and children don’t mix! The problem with energy drinks and caffeine is they are not a good combo for kids. We are becoming an obsessed Caffeine nation to the point that we now have to inhale our caffeine? C’mon are you serious? Have we become so obsessed and addicted to caffeine and so lazy that we have to inhale it? Or is this another novel attempt to get our kids addicted young so that they will be a burden on the health system later in life.

It’s not just me griping about the infiltration of caffeine on our young, my good friend, collegue and Certified Nutritionist Mira Dessy, works with clients who are adrenal fatigued from too much caffeine. Her clients who kick the caffeine (usually energy drinks) habit reported more energy, less anxiety and felt better. One client reported that when he tried to have drink a Monster energy drink (why I have no idea)  ”Within a very short period of time he felt his heart racing, his mood changing and, in his words, ’felt like crap.’  He was stunned at his body’s reaction and wondered how he had ever managed to handle three monsters a day.” You can check out the rest of her blog by clicking this link.

A clinical report in the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics is warning that caffeine is a  psychoactive drug has no place in our children’s diet. And caffeine is accountable for approximately 40 deaths a year in the United States. Watch this week’s episode of The Wellness beat on Energy drinks and caffeine not a good combo for our kids

Caffeine has been around for centuries and at one time it was traded as currency. It has the ability to create paranoia, anxiety, rapid heartbeat and your kids are drinking it by the gallon.

The average energy drink contains on average at least twice the recommended daily intake. So why are we talking about this? Children and teenagers should not be consuming caffeine and we are setting our children up for a host of ailments later in life.

Caffeine has the ability to excite our central nervous system which can lead to behavioural problems from over stimulation of the adrenal glands. And adrenal burnout which means increased cortisol levels which leads to a whole host of inflammatory type illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.

We have kids dying of what is called Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and heat stroke and other complications from dehydration and caffeine may play apart in this happening. Caffeine is a diuretic which is classified is a drug or agent that increases the flow of urine. Basically caffeine increases urine output and with it goes vital electrolytes and salts needed in the body to balance fluids. Most kids are not drinking adequate amounts of water. Kids are turning to caffeinated products including energy drinks over water; add in the heat of a summer’s day along with exercising it is a recipe for disaster.

According to an article by Medscape Today A lack of research and regulation associated with energy drinks, combined with reports of toxicity and high consumption, may result in potentially dangerous health consequences in children, adolescents, and young adults, according to a review of scientific literature and Internet sources. The author of the study Emma Hitt, PhD found that of the 5448 US caffeine overdoses reported in 2007, 46% occurred in those younger than 19 years.” One New Zealand study found that   adverse effects can happen from consuming as little as 3 mg/kg per day of caffeine.

A USA Today article revealed the amount in America’s caffeine popular drinks such as Starbucks, Coke products and energy drinks to be significantly higher than 3mg.  We need to get the word out that children and teens should not be on caffeine. There wee bodies are not developed enough to handle the side effects of caffeine. Perhaps many of the behavioural problems displayed in children today may be contributed to too much caffeine and/or caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

Get your kids off of caffeine period! Get them drinking water! Kids should be drinking at least ½ their body weight each day plus an extra 8 ounces for each hour of exercise and at least an extra 8 ounces of water post work out.

If you really need an energy drink for your kids, make your own; in this week’s The Wellness Beat Diane Tryforos , Certified Nutritional Consultant and certified life coach shares her recipe with us The Lime and the Coconut Smoothie which is chalked full of not only minerals and vitamins, but protein and electrolytes! And it will do the body good. Diane’s recipe can be used for children, kids, teenagers and adults! So kick the habit and start drinking the right kind of energy!

Read more on the subject check out these articles:

Drink Up In the Name of Health
Teen Athlete Deaths are we contributing?
What Caffeine REALLY Does To You
Move over coffee Teeccino is taking over
FDA to review inhalable caffeine
How Much Caffeine Do You Need? | Mira Dessy |Grains and More
Energy What?  |Mira Dessy |Grains and More

Check out these related videos

A special thank you to Diane Tryforos.
Diane Tryforos, N.C., C.L.C.
Certified Nutritional Consultant
Nutrition By Design
831-818-3386
dianetryforos@gmail.com
mynutritionbydesign.com
Member NANP, WPF

A special thank you to Cup O Karma for recording location
Cup O’ Karma: Community Cafe for a Cause
http://www.facebook.com/CupOKarma
1710 W. Southern Ave #B7
Mesa, AZ 85202
480.890.0579
Website
www.natn-az.com/home/cup_o_karma

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The information provided here has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA and is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. This video and article is not recommending changing any treatment or medication you are currently taking without consulting with your personal physician or qualified health care practitioner. Before implementing any suggestions seen here please consult with your physician or qualified health care practitioner. This video and/or article is for the sole purposes of entertainment and education.