22-year-old woman hospitalized after 5-Hour Energy overdose

Well, we all knew caffeine could be addictive; furthermore, we all know that energy drinks carry some significant risks. But who would have thought that a 22-year-old woman would contract acute hepatitis from the popular beverage, 5-Hour Energy?

This was reported in the June 22 edition of the Journal of Medical Case Reports, and covered by msnbc.com contributor Bill Briggs in the article, "5-Hour Energy binge lands woman in hospital."

Granted, this woman consumed 10 bottles per day. Most of us would agree that this constitutes overkill. But extreme cases like this do offer a vivid illustration of the need to exercise caution.

Another interesting point made in Briggs' article was this: According to nutritionist Joy Bauer,
“The ‘lift’ (these energy drinks) give you comes from caffeine (. . .) The high doses of B vitamins and amino acids they dump in are purely for glitz and glam -- they don’t actually help you instantly perk up."

That said, reflective soul that I am, I feel the need to comment on a societal phenomenon that I see behind the whole energy drink craze. Right at the beginning of his article, Briggs makes the following statement: "For many of us who march in the sleep-starved army that is the American workforce, it’s as critical to our survival as air, food, and bad reality TV: Caffeine. Beloved, energizing, career-preserving caffeine."

Not a few commentators on the history of modern Western society have expressed concern about the modern workforce consisting of "drones" who are overworked and housed within professional environments that, albeit unintentionally, seem to regard them more of as means toward production and profit, rather than as human beings aiming to reach individual and collective fulfillment (on that note, see the May 16 post on Bart Dentino's workplace-oriented program).

Perhaps the phenomenon of energy drink overdose is one manifestation of this situation coming back to bite us in the neck. But that's just my speculation -- I'll get off my soapbox now.

To read Briggs' full article, click here.

NOTE: The above image was published along with the article; no source is credited.

New study urges children and teens to avoid energy drinks

A recent report published in the medical journal Pediatrics, urges pediatricians to better inform their patients -- and patients' parents -- about the dangers of energy drinks and to discourage ther use by children and teens.

Lindsey Tanner shares some of the details of this report in her article, "Pediatrics report details risks from energy drinks," which was published this morning at 12:02 a.m. ET. Additionally, she cites the experience of 18-year-old Dakota Sailor, who suffered a seizure and was hospitalized for five days after drinking two large energy drinks.

While "research is lacking on risk from long-term use and effects in kids — especially those with medical conditions that may increase the dangers" (according to the Pediatrics study, as cited in Tanner's article), major effects that set in immediately after the consumption of energy drinks include rapid heart rate, epilepsy and hallucinations, among other things. This is according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, which also report that of the more than 300 cases of energy drink poisonings among kids in 2011, 25% involved children younger than six.

Tanner writes that the American Academy of Pediatrics will soon be coming out with a clinical report "that may include guidelines for doctors."

Click here to read the full article.