Transcript Case Study: Energy Drinks

Another Can of Bull? Do Energy Drinks
Really Provide a Source of Energy?
By Cheryl D. Davis and Nancy A. Rice, Western Kentucky University
Based on a case by Merle Heidemann and Gerald Urquhart, Michigan State University
CQ#1: Which of the following best
describes your use of energy
drinks?
1. I have never tried an energy drink.
2. I drink an energy drink occasionally.
3. I drink an energy drink whenever I need
a “boost” of energy.
4. I drink an energy drink almost every
day.
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CQ#2: I drink energy drinks because:
1. They do give me an energy boost.
2. They taste good.
3. They give me an energy boost and they
taste good.
4. I don’t drink energy drinks.
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Which of the following drinks
provides the most “Energy”?
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2622366
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The Case
After spending several
years working at the
Sports Desk of the
Lansing State Journal,
Rhonda found the job of
her dreams as a writer
for Running Magazine.
The job was fantastic! Since high school, where she had
excelled in cross country, Rhonda had been a consistent
runner, participating in local races and those assigned to
her for her job. For her last assignment, she had run in
and reported about the Leadwood, South Dakota
marathon, and it was a blast!
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Rhonda’s Story
The day she returned, her
boss Charley walked in her
office with a can of Red Bull®
in one hand and a list of
several other energy drinks in
the other. “We’ve been
getting a lot of inquiries about
the different energy drinks on
the market. Do you know
anything about them?”
Charley asked.
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“I do know that people
use them for various
reasons,” replied
Rhonda. “They’re
primarily used by
athletes to provide
some “fuel” as they
practice and compete.
Other people use them
more casually as a way
to become more
‘energized.’ That’s
about all I know.”
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“For your next assignment,” Charley continued, “I
want you to find out what each of the ingredients
in these drinks is and what it does for a runner or
for a non-athlete. You need to be very accurate
in your analysis. Determine what each
component really does for the body, not what
the marketers want us to believe it does. Then
look at the marketing claims to see if the
scientific facts match up to them. Here are the
marketing claims, a list of ingredients and
nutrition facts provided on the cans for
consumers.”
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As Charley left the
office, Rhonda looked
over the materials.
“Guess I’ll have to
brush up on my
biochemistry. No
problem. I’m
interested in knowing
if my running would be
improved by drinking
this stuff.”
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Rhonda perused the
marketing claims for each
drink on the list.
Red Bull®
(from advertising materials)
• is a functional product developed especially for
periods of increased mental and physical exertion.
• can be drunk in virtually any situation.
• improves performance, especially during times of
increased stress or strain.
• improves concentration and reaction speed.
• stimulates the metabolism.
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Lo-Carb Monster Energy®
(from advertising materials)
• Tear into a can of the meanest energy
supplement on the planet. We went down
to the lab and cooked up a double shot of our
killer energy brew.
• We hacked out the carbohydrates and
calories, transplanted the “wicked buzz,” and
dialed in the flavor.
• Lo-Carb MONSTER energy drink still delivers
twice the BUZZ of a regular energy drink, but
only has a fraction of the calories.
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Sobe Adrenaline Rush®
(from advertising materials)
• This maximum energy supplement
delivers an energy boost with a natural
passion fruit flavor. It’s lightly carbonated
with a clean smooth feel.
• This maximum energy supplement
delivers an energy boost with a unique
blend of natural energizing elements,
including d-ribose, l-carnitine and taurine.
It’s pure, concentrated energy in an 8.3
fluid ounce can.
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Impulse®
(from advertising materials)
• Elevate Your Performance.
• Impulse® Energy Drink contains special
supplements to immediately enhance mental and
physical efficiency and give you the energy boost you
deserve…replenishing your strength.
• Impulse® Energy Drink gets its energy from a simple
source: nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that occur
naturally in the body and foods we eat. Enjoy: the wakeup power of caffeine, the alertness-inducing properties of
taurine, the lift you get from vitamin B6 and B12.
Combined with Impulse’s other ingredients, these are
known to increase mental focus and physical well being,
enhance performance, and accelerate metabolism.
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Rhonda recalled that a food’s calorie content
was the simplest reflection of its energy
content. Looking at Charley’s list, she saw
that the different energy drinks contained the
following calories per can:
–
–
–
–
Lo-Carb Monster®
Red Bull®
Sobe Adrenaline Rush®
Impulse®
20
110
140
110
For comparison
– Coca Cola®
140
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Rhonda realized that before she could start
analyzing the energy drinks, she needed to
know the answer to the following questions:
When we say something gives us “energy” what
does that mean?
What is a biological definition of energy?
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CQ#4: Food energy is the amount of stored
chemical energy in food that is available
following digestion and metabolism. The
most common value for expressing the
amount of available energy in food is:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Calvins
Joules
Ounces
Calories
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How is food used for energy?
A brief review of metabolism
• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the primary energy
molecule of organisms
• The hydrolysis of ATP provides the chemical energy that
powers most cell work.
• On the flip side, making ATP takes energy; this comes from
the oxidation of sugars and other reduced compounds.
• This energy is used to phosphorylate adenine diphosphate
(ADP) to make ATP
+ H20
ADP
ATP
+ Pi
+ 7.3 kcal/mol of ATP
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Energy
So, how do we get from food to ATP?
• Respiration and fermentation are two of the fundamental
chemical reactions that power metabolism.
• Metabolism is the process by which the cells break
down (or build up) glucose and produce ATP in order to
provide the cell with a constant source of energy.
• Glucose is a key intermediary in cell metabolism. Cells
use glucose to build fats, carbohydrates, and other
compounds; and cells recover glucose by breaking down
these molecules.
• Glucose is a monosaccharide (carbohydrate) that is
oxidized through either cellular respiration (under aerobic
conditions) or fermentation (under anaerobic conditions)
to produce ATP.
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Matter conversions that accompany energy
transformations / transfers
Energy conversion
(Photosynthesis)
CO2 + H2O + sunlight
Energy storage
(Fats and carbohydrates)
O2 + (CH20)n
Glucose
Respiration
Glucose + O2 + ADP + Pi
CO2 + H2O + ATP (high yield!)
Fermentation
Energy use
Glucose + ADP + Pi
Small organic molecules
+ ATP (low yield)
But it is fast!
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CQ#5: ATP is used as an energy source for
nearly all cellular metabolic processes.
Which of the following macromolecules, if
available, is used preferentially for ATP
synthesis?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Amino acids
Caffeine
Proteins
Lipids
Carbohydrates
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CQ#6: You have a friend who lost 15
pounds of fat on a diet. Where did the
fat go?
A. It was released as CO2 and H2O.
B. It was converted to heat and then
released.
C. It was converted to ATP, which weighs
less than fat.
D. It was broken down into amino acids and
eliminated from the body.
E. It was converted to urine and eliminated
from the body.
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CQ#7: The most common ingredient in
energy drinks is caffeine. Do you think
caffeine is a source of energy?
A: Yes
B: No
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Rhonda started her research with Caffeine. She
discovered that:
– small to moderate amounts (50-300 mg) of caffeine act as a
mild stimulant.
– Caffeine increases heart rate and blood pressure.
– Athletes have taken advantage of the stimulant effect of
caffeine for many years.
Rhonda also discovered that individuals differ in their
sensitivity to caffeine. Some are sensitive to the effects
of caffeine at very small doses, and pregnancy and age
can affect this sensitivity. Even in people who consume
caffeine regularly, the stimulant effect is not always
consistent. This suggests that we may actually become
less sensitive to the effects of caffeine over time.
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Rhonda discovered that energy
drinks typically contain large
doses of caffeine. In fact, she
learned that energy drinks may
contain as much as 80 mg of
caffeine, the equivalent of a cup
of coffee. Compared to the 37
mg of caffeine in a Mountain
Dew, or the 23 mg in a CocaCola Classic, that's a big punch!
She also found that many energy
drinks add other legal stimulants
like ephedrine, guarana, and
ginseng.
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Rhonda was determined to wade through the
confusing labeling of the drinks. The first thing
she needed to do was sort out the various
ingredients on the labels- a task that
consumers rarely undertake. She decided to
determine a few things:
– What is the nature (sugar, amino acid, vitamin,
other) of each ingredient listed on the cans?
– What is the chemical formula?
– What is it and What does it do?
– Which ingredients actually provide energy?
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Your Task:
• Research each ingredient found in one of the
energy drinks (or in Coca Cola®) using the
information provided in your handout. Work in
groups of two.
• Place each ingredient for your drink under the
proper heading. Carbs, Amino Acids,
Stimulant/Vitamin, & Other
• We will summarize the information on the
boards in front of the room and then discuss the
results.
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Classify the Ingredients
Carbs
Amino Acids
Stimulants/Vitamins
Other
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CQ#9: Based upon the class analysis,
which of the following “energy drinks”
actually provides more energy per can
than a 12oz can of Coca Cola®?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Red Bull®
Impulse®
Lo-Carb Monster®
SoBe Adrenaline Rush®
None of the above
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Rhonda finished her research and started writing her article.
She wanted her article for Running Magazine to be a real
eye opener for the readers. Her overall message would be
to “Know What You're Drinking.”
Charley stopped by her office to see how everything was
going. “Hey Rhonda, so what about those energy drinks? Are
they good for you?”
“Oh hi Charley. Well, based upon my research I don’t think
they are necessarily bad for you, but they shouldn't be seen
as "natural alternatives" either. Some of the marketing claims
they make like "improved performance and concentration"
are down right misleading.”
“Really?” Charley sounded intrigued.
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“Well, I think people should think of energy drinks
more as highly-caffeinated beverages. They’ll
have a much more accurate picture of what they are
and how they affect you.”
“These drinks are just loaded with stimulants – not
true sources of energy. I mean you wouldn't use
Mountain Dew as a sports drink, and you shouldn’t
use most of the energy drinks as a sports drink
either,” said Ronda.
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