With the ever increasing popularity of energy drinks, there are a shocking number of younger athletes using Monster, AMP and Red Bull in large quantities to get the “rush”. They think it is a harmless drink that can be taken at will. The warning on the can should tell them otherwise. This eBook covers the background behind these drinks and the newest developments behind some of the many reported cases of people who have had energy drinks affect their health.

2. Preamble
With the ever increasing popularity of energy drinks, there are a shocking number of younger
athletes using Monster, AMP and Red Bull in large quantities to get the “rush”. They think it is a
harmless drink that can be taken at will. The warning on the can should tell them otherwise. This
eBook covers the background behind these drinks and the newest developments behind some of
the many reported cases of people who have had energy drinks affect their health.

3. Introduced more than 20 years ago, energy drinks are the fastest growing beverage market, with sales
expected to top $20 billion in 2012 with $10 billion in Red Bull alone. Energy drinks now outsell bottled
water in the US. Research suggests that about one-third of teens and young adults regularly consume
energy drinks and almost 50% of the total sales of energy drinks are made by teenagers. Unfortunately,
research is lacking on the risks of long-term use and effects in kids — especially those with medical
conditions that may increase the dangers. The medical journal Pediatrics warns that “energy drinks are
under-studied, overused and can be dangerous for children and teens… and kids shouldn't use the popular
products. The potential harms, caused mostly by
too much caffeine or similar ingredients include
heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and even
sudden death…”
In October 2011, the Harper Government in Canada
announced new measures that will provide
consumers with more information about energy
drinks, to help ensure Canadian families make
informed choices when it comes to these popular
beverages.
To reduce the risk of potential harmful side effects
from energy drinks, Health Canada advises people
to consume them in moderation, not to consume them on an empty stomach, not to mix them with alcohol
and to drink water, rather than energy drinks, to rehydrate after physical activity.
Instead of adopting the 80-mg cap, Health Canada has decided that energy drinks can contain no more than
400 mg of caffeine per litre, or a maximum of 180 mg in a single-serve container. This is equivalent to the
amount of caffeine in about five 355-ml cans of Pepsi. The 180-mg figure is more than double the
recommended daily maximum for caffeine consumption in children age 10 to 12, which is 85 mg. For
comparison, a cup of regular brewed coffee contains 65 - 130 mg of caffeine.
There is no consensus concerning the amount of caffeine that is safe for adolescents age 13 and over, but
experts say allowing young people to freely consume beverages that contain up to 180 milligrams per
serving could lead to problems.

4. Energy drinks have names that convey strength, power, speed, and sexuality to market primarily to people
between the ages of 18 and 30 which is why energy drinks have names like Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle,
AMP, and Rock Star Energy Drink. Energy drinks are used to give a boost in energy by using caffeine and
sugar with additional ingredients such as B vitamins, taurine, and stimulants such as guarana, a South
American herb that contains guaranine which is similar to caffeine. Energy drinks often contain ingredients
designed to enhance the jittery effects of caffeine but they can have other side effects including nausea and
diarrhea. Some people are sensitive to even small amounts of caffeine and can experience anxiety,
palpitations, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and indigestion.
Many ingredients are believed to work with caffeine to
boost its stimulant power. One can of Red Bull contains
1000 mg of taurine and some brands contain as much as
2000 mg. A German double-blind study showed that the
stroke volume--the volume of blood ejected with each
beat of the heart—was increased when taking a
combination of taurine and-caffeine. Taurine appears to
play an important role in muscle contraction (especially in
the heart) and in the nervous system.
Energy drinks contain sugar (although sugar-free energy
drinks are now available), because it is a quick source of
energy. Unfortunately, once it wears off, you experience a “crash”.B vitamins are sometimes added to
energy drinks in amounts well above the daily recommended value. 5 hour energy drinks contain 8333% of
the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamin B12 and 2000% of the RDA of vitamin B6. It's true that
the vitamins help unlock the energy in foods, but you can't expect to get a jolt from extra B vitamins. Food
metabolizes quite slowly so the energy created will be quite small. Just about everyone already gets all of
the B vitamins they could possibly need in their diets. It makes energy drinks appear healthy, but they do
little to give you a burst of energy.

5. The dangers of energy drinks are:
1. Some brands have up to five times more caffeine than regular soda. Overdoses on caffeine can cause
hallucinations, breathing problems, seizures, diabetes and rapid heartbeat. Hospital visits due to caffeine
overdose have increased dramatically from 1,128 in 2005 to 16,055 in 2008, and 13,114 in 2009. This
coincides with an increase of 240% in the sale of energy drinks from 2004 to 2009. There have been 90 FDA
reported incidents involving 5-hour Energy with 13 of them being deaths. There have been 38 Canadian
cases of serious side effects suspected to have been caused by energy drinks. Of these cases, 15 of them
involved people under the age of 20 and half of them named Red Bull as the suspected cause of the side
effects.
2. Sleep. Many people use energy drinks
to stay awake but it can cause erratic
sleep patterns.
3. Lack of nutrition. There is no nutritional
value in energy drinks even though they
contain large amounts of some vitamins.
Your body can’t use the quantities they
contain.
4. Caffeine is a diuretic that can cause
dehydration and is addictive. A lack of
caffeine once you are used to having it in large amounts, can cause adverse symptoms like headaches.
5. A majority of the energy drinks have warning labels on them indicating a multitude of situations where it
could be dangerous for an adult to consume the beverage and most contain a warning that they are not
suitable for children.
6. Sugar content. We all know to be mindful of our sugar intake, especially with the rise of childhood obesity
and diabetes.
Energy Drinks Should Not Be Mixed With Alcohol
Red Bull and vodka or jagermeister has become a popular mixed drink because it has a reputation for
reducing the fatigue effects of alcohol while enhancing the "feel good" buzz. People may not feel impaired
but their blood alcohol concentration is still high and they may consume larger amounts of alcohol as a
result.

6. A study compared the effects of alcohol alone to an alcohol plus energy drink combination. Researchers
found that the energy drink helped subjects feel better from symptoms such as headache, weakness, dry
mouth, and poor motor coordination, though breath alcohol concentration and objective tests of motor
coordination and reaction time proved otherwise.
The caffeine in energy drinks is dehydrating, which may slow the body's ability to metabolize alcohol.
Energy drinks containing alcohol are sold in liquor stores in Canada but four US states have banned them
and several more are considering it. Nova Scotia in Canada and New York are looking at legislation to set a
minimum age of 19 to purchase energy drinks. In Kentucky, they are considering a minimum age of 18.
Known Cases
An oil-field worker in his early 20s started to feel quite ill over several days and visited his doctor. His doctor
did some investigating into his diet and discovered that he had been taking a six-pack of Red Bull to work
every day to help keep him awake over a long shift. The illness was the onset of type 2 diabetes. Needless to
say, he was told to stop the Red Bull habit.
A 15 yr old runner at a cross-country event in October 2012 consumed 3 cans of Red Bull on an empty
stomach before his race to get a good burst of energy. He collapsed during the race in convulsions and an
erratic heartbeat. He was in and out of consciousness until paramedics arrived. He was taken to hospital
and was later released. He was out of school for 3 days after the incident due to not feeling well.
December 16, 2011, 14 yr old Anais Fournier was at a mall with friends and drank a 24 oz Monster energy
drink. The following afternoon she drank another one. A few hours later she went into cardiac arrest and
was placed in a chemically induced coma to help save her life. Six days later she was declared brain dead
and was removed from life-support. The official cause of death was “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine
toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation in the setting of Ehler-Danlos syndrome.” She had a heart
defect that could not take the effects of the excess caffeine.
Mitral valve prolapse is found in 3 – 6% of the population with 60% of people not knowing they have the
condition.
On October 22, 2012, the FDA in the US launched an official investigation into allegations Monster Energy
drinks caused five deaths and a heart attack.

7. My name is Jacques Delorme and I am the founder of ViSports. I have been
around sports for over 30 years as a player, official and a certified coach in
baseball, basketball, football, volleyball and wrestling. I have coached all age
groups from 3 yr olds all the way up to a masters team (over 35). I completed my
Bachelor of Education degree in Chemistry, physical education and general
science in 1990. I went on to a career in teaching which also had me involved in
coaching badminton, basketball, curling, football, little league baseball, soccer,
softball and track and field.
As a part of my coaching, I didn’t always stress proper nutrition. There was very little emphasis on eating
properly when I was an athlete. When my son started taking his training more seriously (and eventually play
on the Junior National Handball team), I gathered up to date information on sports nutrition to get him to
make the most of his efforts. As a result, I started taking classes and certifications and put what I learned
into three websites to communicate with others interested in learning more about the training, nutrition
and motivation of youth athletes.
Updates are made almost daily to my sites as feedback comes in and research studies are released. I will
continue to study and learn as much as I can about youth training, nutrition and motivation. My sites will
contain the most up to date information I can find. I have done presentations for sports groups, community
groups as well as schools. Once information is completed in late 2012, I will be releasing a new nutrition
book and training materials that will be available on my sites.
“Teach and guide our youth before the lessons they learn by trial and error alone render them incapable of
reaching their true potential.”
Jacques Delorme
Founder and CEO
“Opportunities are never lost…
someone will take the one you missed.”.