Energy drinks, mostly safe in moderation

Ever since Red Bull took the beverage industry by storm in 1987, drinks such as Monster, Full Throttle, Rock Star, No Fear, Amp and Adrenaline Rush have been jumping off the shelves.

These drinks, in their slim 8.3-ounce cans (although many are available in 16-ounce cans), are popular vehicles for caffeine for the younger crowd.

What makes these drinks so popular?

Marketing surely helps with claims that they can improve performance in times of high stress, enhance mental function and provide energy. The energy comes from two sources: calories and caffeine.

While some are available in lower-calorie versions, most contain sugar and about 100 calories in 8 ounces.

One complaint about the energy drink industry is that the caffeine content is not required to appear on the label, so it is hard to know how much of a jolt you will get when you drink one.

Energy drinks also contain ingredients such as taurine, carnitine or ginkgo biloba. While none provides caffeine, they might have a mild effect on the brain, helping to sharpen your mental focus. But the research is scant and unclear about their true effects.

Energy drinks in moderation, just like coffee in moderation, are safe for most people. Try to keep caffeine content under 300 milligrams a day.

A newer subset of energy drinks contains those such as Enviga and Celsius, which claim to burn calories or contain "negative calories."

The Center for Science in the Public Interest believes the claims are misleading and has asked the Food and Drug Administration to make Enviga's parent company stop making the energy-burning claims. *