Your Love of Energy Drinks Could Put You in the ER

It's about 3 o'clock...are you feeling a little sluggish and need a pick me up? Maybe an energy drink would come in handy right now...and maybe not. My 19-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter love to drink Monster and I have a friend who swears by his daily 5-Hour Energy drink. According to a new survey of U.S. hospitals, the number of trips to the emergency room that are tied to energy drink consumption has doubled over the last four years. Great, first no large sodas in New York City and now this - is there no end to the debauchery? I personally gave up drinking soda completely two years ago and have never been a fan of the energy drinks because of all the sugar. I don't understand why so many people drink them. I do have a few cups of coffee in the morning, but that's about the extent of my caffeine consumption.

The symptoms that people usually describe include irregular heartbeats, anxiety and even heart attacks after, of course, they inform the ER doctor that they just consumed a large energy drink before they started feeling bad.

The energy drink industry has taken a hit lately because of the adverse effects of energy drinks and their claims being called into question. Deaths have actually been linked to both Monster and 5-Hour Energy. WHOA! Drinks like Red Bull were actually seen as fashionable a couple of years ago, but not so much anymore.

Some, if not all of these drinks can be found in the back cooler of convenient stores with the soda. Energy drinks are really not soda and probably shouldn't be marketed as such because children under the age of 18 should NEVER drink these things. I was shocked when my 9-year-old son asked if he could have a Monster, at which point I opened the cooler and handed him a bottle of chocolate milk.

It seems like we are all doing more with less time to do it anymore and as a result, we feel tired and sluggish. If you're tired, take a nap. If that's not possible, take a walk around the office. But if you reach for that energy drink...you might be sorry. Think about it.

[MSN.com]