Energy Drinks

Loaded with caffeine and taurine to stimulate the central nervous system, energy drinks have become the go-to solution when you need a quick, energizing pick-me-up. But sometimes energy isn't what you need. Concentration and attention can start to fade in the face of those midafternoon doldrums and a host of distractions. Something to perk up the mind and enhance focus would do the trick. Some beverage manufacturers say they have just the solution.

ATLANTA — Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro wasn't happy with his team, going off on players after a lackluster effort against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. "They outworked us. They outrebounded us," Del Negro said. "They got loose balls. We didn't really give ourselves a chance.… I didn't think our starters were very good. I didn't think our bench was very good and that's what you get. " Blake Griffin (36 points) and Chris Paul (34 points) were the only starters to score in double figures.

In Los Angeles, where medical marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks and McDonald's restaurants combined, a mood-altering beverage with a cannabis-oriented marketing campaign is gaining traction. Southern California has become the bestselling market for Mary Jane's Relaxing Soda, a sugary drink laced with kava, a South Pacific root purported to have sedative properties. Matt Moody, a Denver nutritional supplement developer who created the beverage, said the name is an unabashed reference to weed, though the relaxant compounds in kava are chemically unrelated to those in marijuana.

What is Starbucks Corp. anyway? A chain of cafes or maybe a juicery, a coffee-machine maker or an alcohol-serving bar? Adding to the identity crisis, the Seatte giant told shareholders Wednesday it would add energy-drink producer to that list. At its annual shareholders meeting, Starbucks said it will expand into the rapidly expanding energy drink industry with a line of so-called “Refreshers” beverages in flavors such as raspberry pomegranate and orange melon. Made with fruit juice infused with the extract of green, unroasted coffee, the 12-fluid-ounce, 60-calorie drinks are already being sold at some grocery locations.

With news that the FDA has sent warning letters to four companies that make drinks combining caffeine and alcohol, including the infamous Four Loko, a study about alcohol-free energy drinks just published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research came out at just the right time to get oodles of attention. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, looked at drinking habits of more than 1,000 fourth-year college students gleaned from face-to-face interviews and reported that: --51.

Parents might start hearing more about Red Bull during pediatrician visits. Researchers at the University of Miami have reviewed the literature on energy drinks -- caffeinated beverages such as Red Bull, which sometimes also contain herbal supplements -- and their effects on children. It's no great surprise that they found that the products, many of which have three times the caffeine of a cola and some of which have five times more, might be quite harmful to kids. Their results were released by the journal Pediatrics on Monday.

Despite such speedy-sounding names as Full Throttle, Amp and Rush, energy drinks pack a punch that is generally no stronger than coffee, according to Consumer Reports. A comparison of 12 popular energy drinks, published in Consumer Reports' September issue, found that the caffeine in 8 ounces of various brands ranged from 50 to 145 milligrams, though most were in the 75-to-80-milligram range.

Relaxation drinks aren't nearly as popular as energy drinks, but they're coming on strong, according to manufacturers showcasing their wares at the Natural Products Expo Friday in Anaheim. Energy drinks are hugely popular. But some have gotten a bad rap for potential side effects, especially in children and young adults, such as anxiety, heart palpitations and high blood pressure. That has opened the door to relaxation drinks, some of which may trigger their own set of health problems.

The increasingly popular high-caffeine beverages called energy drinks may do more than give people a jolt of energy -- they may also boost heart rates and blood pressure. The drinks generally have high levels of caffeine and taurine, an amino acid that can affect heart function and blood pressure. "We saw increases in both blood pressure and heart rate in healthy volunteers who were just sitting in a chair watching movies. They weren't exercising.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a preliminary injunction that had prevented National Beverage Corp. from selling its Freek energy drinks, dealing a blow to rival Hansen Natural Corp. of Corona. The court said Hansen's popular Monster energy drinks were distinguishable from the Freek brand and others on the market, and therefore consumer confusion was unlikely. A district court had earlier issued a tentative ruling in favor of Hansen, preventing Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Chaleo Yoovidhya Billionaire developed Red Bull energy drinks Chaleo Yoovidhya, the self-made Thai billionaire who introduced the world to "energy drinks" and co-founded the globally popular Red Bull brand, died Saturday of natural causes in Bangkok, according to local media reports and state television broadcaster MCOT, which cited the Thai Beverage Industry Assn. Forbes magazine, which ranked him the 205th-richest man in the world this year with a net worth of $5 billion, said he was 80. Several Thai media outlets cited his birth date as Aug. 17, 1923, however, indicating he was 88. It was not immediately possible to explain the discrepancy.

Apparently "Hansen Natural" didn't have enough bite — the Corona beverage maker is changing its name to the more aggressive Monster Beverage Corp. Hansen makes a line of namesake juices as well as Admiral Iced Tea, Blue Sky energy drinks and Junior Juice. Its website features pastoral images of rolling hills and butterflies. The company that has cultivated a wholesome, feel-good image also owns the gritty Monster Energy drinks. The brand, which sponsors extreme sports events, features a neon-green triple-slash logo on beverage offerings such as Monster Rehab.

If mixing Red Bull and vodka seems like a way to imbibe while avoiding late-night drowsiness — well, it is, according to the headlines this week, but at a cost. College students who drank a cocktail of alcohol and energy drinks reported feeling twice as stimulated as those who drank alcohol alone, according to a new study from Northern Kentucky University. The caffeine overrides the drowsiness that kicks in after drinking alcohol. The danger here, says lead author Cecile Marczinksi, is that you don’t realize how drunk you’re getting.

Relaxation drinks aren't nearly as popular as energy drinks, but they're coming on strong, according to manufacturers showcasing their wares at the Natural Products Expo Friday in Anaheim. Energy drinks are hugely popular. But some have gotten a bad rap for potential side effects, especially in children and young adults, such as anxiety, heart palpitations and high blood pressure. That has opened the door to relaxation drinks, some of which may trigger their own set of health problems.

Drinking problems in adolescence may be passed off as "just a phase" that a person may outgrow. But a study suggests instead that problem drinking in someone at age 18 helps predict alcoholism at age 25. A questionnaire called the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index is used to assess drinking-related problems among teenagers. In the new study, researchers looked at whether those scores predicted anything about the future drinking behavior of a person. They assessed 597 Finnish twins at age 18 using the questionnaire.

Parents might start hearing more about Red Bull during pediatrician visits. Researchers at the University of Miami have reviewed the literature on energy drinks -- caffeinated beverages such as Red Bull, which sometimes also contain herbal supplements -- and their effects on children. It's no great surprise that they found that the products, many of which have three times the caffeine of a cola and some of which have five times more, might be quite harmful to kids. Their results were released by the journal Pediatrics on Monday.

Recently, one of my colleagues, a pediatric gastroenterologist, told me about a teenage boy who had come to see him because of severe stomach pain he'd had for about two months. The boy had been referred by his primary care doctor, who had evaluated him for several possible causes, including infections and ulcers. That doctor had also recommended or prescribed a variety of medications to relieve the pain, but to no avail. The specialist performed an endoscopy, in which a camera is inserted into a patient's esophagus and down into the stomach and upper part of the small intestine.

PepsiCo Inc.'s South Beach Beverage Co. filed a lawsuit asking a judge to back its right to use the name SoBe Adrenaline Rush for one of its energy drinks. South Beach said it paid R.J. Corr Naturals Inc. and Rush Beverage Co. $30,000 to avoid a lawsuit over Corr's ownership claims for the word "Rush" on drinks. Rush Beverage, based in Blue Island, Ill., filed its own suit Monday, accusing South Beach and PepsiCo of trademark infringement and fraud.

Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo says he believes an "energy drink" he bought at a gas station contained the substance that led to his 10-game suspension for violating the NBA's drug policy. "I didn't know it had any bad substances in it, and it caused a 10-game suspension," Mayo said Saturday at the team's practice court. "It's not like I went to a GNC and got some Muscle Armor or ordered some supplement off the Internet or anything. It was just a local gas station that kind of got me hemmed up. " The NBA suspended Mayo on Thursday for testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

Caffeinated alcohol drinks like Four Loko and Joose are being whisked off store shelves faster than college kids can stock up. The fallout from the Food and Drug Administration's safety warning Wednesday on what amounts to a ban on such beverages remains to be seen. "I'm afraid that horse is already out of the barn," columnist Nicole Brochu writes in the Sun Sentinel in Florida . "And in fact, some drinkers, taking a cue from a trend that started in European bars, were already mixing their own alcoholic energy drinks when fashionable labels like Four Loko, Joose and Max hit the scene.