Did you know that six out of ten Americans only read the headlines of stories? Those six Americans never get into the meat of the story that can clarify – and in some cases, debunk - the headline. We especially see this with click-bait science headlines that declare a conclusion that the study doesn’t even support. For example – look at the headlines about a recent study on energy drinks and blood pressure. Those headlines simply aren’t backed by the body of scientific evidence.
The headlines are sensationalistic, despite the researchers themselves saying the results of the study are “not alarming.” Not only that but the authors recognize that their study results “should be interpreted with caution due to several limitations.”
One of those limitations? The study was only comprised of 18 people. Additionally, elevated blood pressure observed went up by only four points, equivalent to a measuring error, and was still within a normal range.
It might be a boring headline but the truth is, energy drinks have been safely consumed by people around the world for more than 25 years. In fact, many of the ingredients in energy drinks, such as B vitamins and taurine, are found naturally in foods like seafood, seeds and meat.
Energy drinks have been extensively studied and confirmed safe for consumption by government safety authorities worldwide. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rigorously studied energy drinks and their ingredients for decades. In 2015, EFSA concluded that it is unlikely that energy drink ingredients such as taurine interact adversely with, or enhance the effects of, caffeine.
Not only are they safe but America’s leading energy drink manufacturers voluntarily go beyond all federal requirements when it comes to responsible labeling and marketing practices, including displaying total caffeine content – from all sources – on their packages.
For more information about energy drinks and their ingredients, check out EnergyDrinkInformation.com.