Real case, common in pediatric and primary care consultations: a 14-year-old boy goes to the doctor because his hands have been shaking for some time, he sleeps little and has trouble concentrating. The doctor looks at him, while he asks and asks. His idea is to send him to the neurologist. Suddenly, the boy answers one of the doctor’s questions: “I usually drink two energy drinks a day, when I go to school and in the afternoon, when I study.”
You will have to do tests, but the doctor is clear: “You are putting a time bomb in your body. Sugar in abundance, taurine and caffeine in quantities similar to five black coffees. And what to say if you mix them with alcohol! The boy denies the latter, although he acknowledges that some friends do.
This is neither new nor unknown. Energy drinks are not only not a healthy food, but for minors, they are harmful. Doctors, nutritionists and health authorities know this, but they are within the reach of fully developing children, without any restrictions. The scientific evidence is clear, but those in charge of legislating have not taken the step. The maximum is to recommend that it not be consumed (printed on the can in a letter that cannot be seen even with a magnifying glass)
At least, until now. According to El Faro de Vigo, Galicia will prohibit the consumption of energy drinks by minors next year, equating products such as Monster, Red Bull or Burn to alcohol. The Xunta alleges the health risks they entail due to their high content of stimulant substances such as caffeine or taurine, which can endanger the cardiovascular and cerebral systems of adolescents. They can also cause “sleep disturbances, nervousness, irritability and anxiety,” the Ministry of Health points out.
If this announcement becomes a reality, Galicia will become the first community to put limits on these drinks, something that many experts hope will be emulated by other communities. And especially, by the Ministry of Health.
It is striking that this ministry, like the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, has maintained a discreet silence with these drinks, despite the fact that it has not lacked reports from its own entities warning of their consumption by minors. Thus, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan) issued a report prepared by experts a few months ago in which it made it clear that “regular consumption of caffeine can cause moderate physical dependence from 100 milligrams per day (cans of “330 ml have 105.6 mg, which is equivalent to 1.3 espressos. The 500 ml have 160 mg) and tolerance to this substance, creating the need to consume a higher dose than the initial one to achieve an effect similar to the original.” .
“Consumption of more than 60 milligrams of caffeine in adolescents aged 11 to 17 can cause sleep disturbances. From 160 milligrams of caffeine, it can cause general adverse health effects: psychological effects and behavioral alterations and cardiovascular disorders,” states the Aesan report.
Some time bombs.
