A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes, says the old proverb. They must’ve been thinking of the Internet.

Here at Sip & Savor we often see myths circulating about energy drinks. They keep resurfacing despite being debunked by science. Sensational rhetoric that energy drinks are dangerous, or that they contain significantly more caffeine than coffee, keeps popping up even in legitimate media outlets.

This week Forbes magazine decided to call out the falsehoods and do its best to prevent them from recurring in an irrefutable takedown: “Energy Drinks: Safe As Coffee But Somehow Lethal.” The writer’s key take-away?

“[I]t is nothing but cheap scaremongering to suggest that energy drinks pose a potentially lethal threat to the average consumer.”

These are the facts about energy drinks and they are not in dispute:

Most energy drinks contain significantly less caffeine than a similarly-sized coffee from your favorite coffeehouse. In fact many contain about half. A 16-ounce energy drink typically contains between 160 and 240 milligrams of caffeine. The same size coffeehouse coffee contains around 300 to 330 milligrams. Check the math out yourself.

Energy drinks are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and caffeine has been consumed safely for thousands for years. To be totally transparent, leading energy drink makers voluntarily display total caffeine amounts from all sources on their packages so consumers know exactly what they’re getting. And to ensure parents have control over what their children drink, the companies display an advisory statement indicating that energy drinks are not intended (or recommended) for children.

So instead of being taken in by the hype, trust the math and the science.

If you have more questions about energy drinks, check out EnergyDrinkInformation.com.