Dear Dr. Garner,
I just got back from the hospital with my eight-year-old son. Apparently he thought it would be cool to drink a six pack of Red Bull “power drink.”
He developed an irregular heartbeat that was very fast. Most people refer to me as a good mother, yet I had no idea he was drinking this stuff.
Thank God it was only a scare, but if I have another one of these, my heart is going to start beating irregularly.
How come these products are out there with no restrictions placed on them? It doesn’t make sense.
No Bull (Red) in Bayside
Dear No Bull,
I couldn’t agree with you more. As a matter of fact, I was just speaking to my good friend and physician, Dr. Anthony Saleh, and my good friend, and Tablet reader, Stella Sumani about this situation.
Can you imagine that the International Olympics Committee bans caffeine as a substance to be used in the Olympics, yet our children can purchase and use the products without any knowledge of what they are imbibing.
Caffeine is in fact a very powerful drug and can have dire consequences for the body.
First, let’s clear up some confusion over the terms sports drink and power drink.
The sports drink, like Gatorade, is loaded with sugar (15 teaspoons of sugar on average) plus vitamins and water.
The power drink, such as Red Bull, uses caffeine to give the body a boost. Can you believe that many of the drinks have as much caffeine as 11 cups of coffee?
You can imagine what this can do to a child with a small body. The increased caffeine can be deadly, much as the near tragedy you had with your son.
The confusion arises from the advertising which focuses on the restoration of energy and vital nutrients.
As far as the sports drink, it turns out that the best sports drink is good old water.
Drinking a bottle of water every 15-30 minutes during workouts can supply the body with everything it needs, without any harmful effects.
If there is a usually torrid workout, perhaps in 90-degree temperature, a drink with extra electrolytes may help but this is in less than 1% of cases.
The power drink, often named with macho-sounding products, has no place in the athlete’s diet.
Consuming excessive caffeine, particularly after a big work out, can be deadly. The body is the best judge of how it is doing, and when feeling fatigued, the body is telling you to slow down.
Taking caffeine may fool the brain into thinking it is getting nourishment and energy, but in fact, the muscles, kidneys and heart are not fooled and the possibility of severe damage is not far fetched.
Therefore, I would like to spread the news that children in particularly are very susceptible to these power and sports drinks and should not be using them without supervision from a trained coach.
Instead, sensible workouts, and replenishment of nutrients and fluids by gradually drinking water on a regular basis is the best way to go.
Cell Phones and Cancer
Before closing, I would like to clear up an important issue, about which I have received many questions — mainly, the safety of cell phones.
The overwhelming majority of studies show cell phones to be safe, and not related to cancer. One study, published last year, which had many flaws, showed an increase in a certain type of brain cancer to be associated with heavy cell phone use. An advisory panel of the world Health organization, wanted to ere on the side of safety, and issued a statement that cell phones were possibly cancer producing.
I believe that the takeaway message should be that cell phones are safe, but that it is always good to be cautious. This refers to some of the following, such as:
• Limiting children’s times on the cell phone (they have a thinner skull and the brain heats up more).
• Getting a hands-free apparatus.
• Using a Bluetooth is not a bad idea.
• Keeping the phone about an inch from the skull can also reduce the radiation the brain receives significantly.
• Using a land line, when possible, is also a good idea.
• Finally, it is helpful not to pick up the cell phone until the call has connected. This substantially reduces the radiation you will receive.
There are over five-and-a-half billion cell phones in use today throughout the world, and we have not seen a spike in brain cancers during this rapid growth.
Try to limit your exposure when possible, but keep things in perspective — the evidence so far is very light regarding the possibility that cell phones cause cancer. The story is far complete, but as of now, the phones seem safe to use.
Check out my podcast from a recent Currents newscast on NET in which I discussed the cell phone issue in more depth.
Have a great week and be well.
