I Begin Each Day on Medium with an Energy Drink: It Might Kill Me
I often begin each writing day with an energy drink in hand. It is hard for me to pinpoint precisely when this habit of mine began, but I know that it has taken over with a forcefulness that has surprised even me. In fact, I should state from the top:
I am NOT recommending that you consume these types of beverages at all.
The health risks associated with energy drinks should be enough to keep any sane person away from them as much as possible. That being said, the delight of a quick energy burst is difficult for many of us (myself included) to stay away from.
The Size of Energy Drink Companies is Redonkulous
I know that I am not the only one who reaches for an energy drink most days. The size of these companies tells me that I am not alone. Take Monster Energy, which trades shares under the stock symbol MNST. It is currently valued at just a whisker under $60 billion dollars! You don’t grow to that kind of size unless investors truly believe in what you are selling. Those investors are only convinced of your potential for growth if you have an eager base of customers who will purchase your product again and again. Thus, there must be a lot of caffeine junkies just like me out there.
The Energy Drink World is Actually Fascinating
Okay, it is not just that the energy drink companies are huge and pumping out billions of dollars worth of value in the economy. There are many other things that are fascinating about these drinks, including:
- Red Bull was invented all the way back in 1976 in Thailand as a energy beverage targeted at truck drivers.
- Between 2004–2012 an estimated 5 people died from consuming Monster Energy drinks.
- The FDA does not regulate energy drinks in any way because they are deemed to be dietary supplements.
- Canada banned Red Bull and other energy drinks for many years before finally permitting them into the country.
These are just a few of the intensely interesting things that I discovered while doing a little research into the world of energy drinks. It is still a relatively new market compared to many others, and there will likely be plenty of additional interesting aspects and facts that come out about this market in the years to come.
The Panera Bread Supercharged Lemonade Controversy
You might literally have been living under a rock if you haven’t already heard about the controversy surrounding Panera Bread’s Supercharged Lemonade.
I used to sip on these lemonades when I spent a significant amount of time in Panera Bread working on my articles and other writing responsibilities. I have gotten away from spending as much time in Panera Bread locations in recent days as I have taken on a full-time job. However, I still stop and think about just how dangerous those lemonades seemed to me.
The label on the lemonade provided its caffeine content based on the cup size that one was filling up. The standard size cup at Panera Bread is 20 oz. and the large rings in at 30 oz.
With most of these supercharged lemonades you are looking at 240 mg of caffeine for a 20 oz. cup and about 360 mg of caffeine for a 30 oz. cup!
For reference, a typical cup of coffee made at home usually contains about 80 mg of caffeine. So, even if you only fill up the standard sized cup of supercharged lemonade, you are still looking at the same amount of caffeine as 3 cups of coffee all in one shot!
Now, there are stories emerging that Panera Bread’s Supercharged Lemonades have allegedly led to the deaths of at least 2 people in the United States:
For it’s part, the company denies that its beverages have harmed anyone, and still offer the Supercharged Lemonades as of the time of this writing. I noticed at my local Panera Bread that they did decide to move the Supercharged Lemonades behind the counter so that you must specifically ask for them to be served this beverage. That’s probably a good start considering that this drink was once offered out in the open where children could easily access it for themselves.
Ultimately, the validity of the claims of deaths associated with consuming the Supercharged Lemonades will be settled by the courts. However, there is no doubt that consuming high caffeine beverages is likely not a good choice for your health. Therefore, I should probably add knocking off the energy drinks to my list of goals for 2024.
