My Thoughts on 'Anti-Energy' Drinks

Let me be perfectly clear: I am not an expert on nutrition, nor do I research these agents or drinks. I do have an opinion though, which I shared on my blogs Wednesday and I will share today.

I was asked by someone if I knew anything about the effects of anti-energy drinks such as Drank, which just recently started being sold in Connecticut. The product contains three main ingredients: valerian root, rose hips and melatonin. Part of the question was if there was evidence of an effect of these ingredients on stress relief and/or relaxation. In addition I was asked if I know anything about the three main ingredients. I do not have special knowledge to answer these questions with, they are not my areas of study. They are excellent questions!

I do think this is an interesting twist on the use of nutrients and other agents in beverages. In fact I have not researched energy drinks to any great degree, except to look up some of the ingredients. I just have a long standing concern: people think just because something is a ‘natural’ substance (herb or vitamin or mineral) it is ok to take it however they wish. I also don’t think people understand the lack of protections we have, given the lack of required evidence of safety to put products like these on the market. People may also think because it is on the store shelf it must be safe.

Unfortunately the websites available about drinks of these kinds do not have specifics about the amounts of each ingredient. They do not identify specifically the labelling with nutritional information (at least that I could find on the website for Drank). I'll have to go to the store and see what the label says. Despite the ingredients mystery, they are very direct in suggesting this is a fun new way to relax though.

I do not know off-hand of the safety of the ‘anti-energy’ drinks. My concerns about safety would be similar to those of all energy or 'nutritional' drinks. Whenever we begin to use agents in food or beverage that are commonly consumed at meals or other times, we have to wonder about the effects of exposure (i.e. how many of these drinks might you drink in a day? What is the dose of the substance you get over the day?). Is it like water and you can drink as much as you want?. Over long periods of time and with penetration of these products in the marketplace there is increased population exposure. Because they are foods/drinks they are differently regulated. How many people do you know that would take 3 pills a day (valerian, rose hips and melatonin) without considering the safety? Drinking them seems to make them appear safe to people. That is my concern. What if they are on other medication? Could they interact and cause negative effects? Do they check with their health practitioner to be sure it won’t cause a problem?

The other concern is we may have studies of a substance like melatonin for example and consider it safe for some use in some dose, but are there potential interactions between the three substances in this particular drink? Also where is the long term evidence of safety of these substances (individually and combined) in such a common food/drink source? An absence of evidence does not equal an absence of negative effect. It just means we haven’t studied it in this way.

I suspect ‘anti-energy’ drinks will be popular in the marketplace… It makes you wonder whether people will be pumping up on energy drinks all day and then trying to settle down with the anti-energy drinks in the evening. I am sure the beverage industry is very excited about all this… It is like they are the new but unregulated pharma – without having to shoulder the costs of safety research and clinical trials.

I am sure I told you more than you are really interested in. I am not the ‘expert’ on these ingredients. There are many people I am sure who have much more knowledge than I do about these ingredients. (actually you might look at the medline plus search info for supplements from the national library of medicine, if you haven’t already found it). Here is the link to info about melatonin: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-melatonin.html I would consider medline plus a trustworthy source of data on ingredients like this.

Of course as Mental Health Clinicians, we should also be inquiring about beverages like this, particularly given the lack of knowledge of amount of ingredient in each drink and that if one doesn't settle me down, maybe I will need a few... Something new to consider in our assessments.