Home
About Us
Programs
Get Involved
Calendar
Director's Notes
Are You Eligible for SNAP Benefits?

Find out here (English) or (Spanish)

Eat Smart NY video English

Eat Smart NY video Spanish


A directory of food pantries and meal sites in Fulton & Montgomery Counties. Updated 9/30/14


 Download File


Healthy Living Resources/Recipes
Energy Drinks - Providing Energy?
Posted 4/9/2010 by Roseann Doran

It seems that everywhere you look these days – on television, at the grocery store, vending machines, and sporting events – you see claims made about the benefits of energy drinks. But are these caffeine-laden beverages really providing energy, improved performance, or mental alertness as many of them claim? Let’s take a look.

Depending on the brand, energy drinks contain mostly carbonated water in combination with caffeine and a host of other ingredients and flavorings, which can include sugar, ginseng, taurine, carnitine, guarana, and one or more added vitamins.

While a normal 8-oz serving of coffee contains between 134 and 240 mg of caffeine, the caffeine content of an 8-oz serving of an energy drink can range between 72 and 150 mg. The catch, however, is that most energy drinks come in bottles containing two to three servings, bringing the potential caffeine content in one bottle to 450 mg. Sugar content of these beverages ranges from 0 to 30 g per serving.

Many of the claims made by manufacturers of these beverages, such as promoting weight loss or improving athletic performance, have not been proven to be true. For that reason and because of the potentially high caffeine content, it is not recommended that children and youth use energy drinks and that healthy adults limit their use. Large amounts of caffeine can increase heart rate and blood pressure and interfere with normal sleeping patterns.

So next time you reach for an energy drink, remember that you are really drinking a highly caffeinated beverage, probably containing sugar and other ingredients, that may or may not live up to claims made about it and may or may not be safe for consumption.


Source: Energy Drinks - Providing Energy?, www.extension.org, Updated: December 02, 2009.


More Articles


Your gateway to kitchen-tested recipes that are nutritious and great tasting! Recipes with an * are most recently posted.

Cooking Terms, Tips, Measurements

 Download File
Recipe Substitutions

 Download File
2013 ESNY Recipes of the Week

 Download File
2014 ESNY Recipes of the Week

 Download File

Go to ChooseMyPlate.gov for information to help you maintain a healthy weight and live an active lifestyle.

MyPlate Facebook page

MyPlate recipes


For information and referral on community services, dial 2-1-1 and a trained call specialist will be able to assist you from 9:00AM–7:00PM (EST) seven days a week.You may also visit http://www.211neny.org/ to search by keyword or agency name and view the Online Directory for United Way 211 Northeast Region.