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Energy Drinks and Young Hockey Players

By Bill Berg, 08/23/10, 2:28PM CDT

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"The risks are much greater than any benefit that can be derived from their use"

This week’s Penalty Box visitor is the Naga-Waukee Park Ice Arena in Delafield.

In April I took my granddaughter to the Central District/National Development Camp tryout at the Naga-Waukee Park Ice Arena in Delafield. Naga-Waukee is owned and operated by the Waukesha County Park System. These are not necessarily hockey people, but there are youth hockey associations that do call this arena home.

One of the first things that grabbed my attention as I entered the lobby was the large Monster Energy Drink sign, front and center in the concession stand, directly above a sample of the energy drinks available for purchase. It isn’t really fair to pick on Naga-Waukee for energy drinks, as I have seen them for sale at many other rinks around the state. But that is where I was when the thought hit me to write this article. I could have just as easily picked Ryan Miller to throw in here for his TV commercial that would lead young goalies to believe that energy drinks will help them stop more pucks. 

The point is – Don’t give your kids energy drinks before hockey games. Or before hockey practice. Or before school. Or any other time. Don’t give them energy drinks. Period.

“Dammit Jim, I’m a referee, not a doctor”

No, I am not an expert on this subject. But it isn’t hard to find advice from real experts. This is an excerpt from an article on Minnesota Hockey’s Website:

“Energy drinks are loaded with a multitude of ingredients, all purported to have different effects on the body. The mainstay of energy drinks is usually caffeine, typically about the same as amount as one cup of coffee (with some as high as three cups) or nearly double that of a 12 oz soda.

Caffeine is technically a drug and it is addicting. Relying on it for energy will result in continually needing more to get the same feeling. It can also increase heart rate, elevate anxiety and cause insomnia. None of these effects will help performance. In fact, they could hurt it. Furthermore, if an athlete consumes too much caffeine, it can ultimately be very dangerous.

Energy drinks are fairly high in sugar as well. Sugar is a carbohydrate, so it can provide energy but it will be short lived, as it is in and out of the bloodstream rather quickly. The right types of carbohydrates are necessary for optimal performance – sugar is not the right type.”

The entire story is available at Minnesota Hockey

Another article, available from the University of Michigan deals specifically with energy drinks before intense physical activity, or drinks consumed by youngsters:

“When people consume these beverages before intensive exercise, he says, they should be aware of the effects the drinks have on people's bodies. They can put a strain on the body due to the caffeine and, in some of the beverages, other diuretics. These can cause dehydration or even collapse, particularly if people drink more than one can before exercising, Karam-Hage says.

He is particularly concerned about the popularity of the drinks among young people. The beverages can cause children to be hyperactive, fidgety or even rageful, he says. And because the drinks are so small in size, people may be inclined to drink more than one at a time, he says.”

The entire article is available from the University of Michigan.

According to FanHouse, cases of energy drinks have replaced the bowls of amphetamines that have been banned from Major League Baseball clubhouses. Spokesmen for the beverage industry state that these drinks are meant for and marketed to young adults. Whether or not these drinks are suitable for professional athletes is beyond the scope of this article. But nobody will tell you that they are good for kids.

"I don't see how young people in any way can benefit from these kinds of drinks," says Bruce Goldberger, a professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine who has studied energy drinks for several years. "The risks are much greater than any benefit that can be derived from their use."

In large amounts, caffeine can cause heart palpitations, anxiety and can leave users more prone to dehydration. Those effects can be even more pronounced to teenagers, says Jeanna M. Marraffa, a clinical toxicologist at the Upstate New York Poison Center. 

...

"The concern about caffeine consumption is a real one," NCAA spokeswoman Jennifer Royer says in an e-mail. "The NCAA bans caffeine because it is found to be a performance enhancer and because of concern about the effects of stimulant use during intense exercise."

That article is found at Fanhouse.

So what do they recommend to give your young skater to provide the energy he or she needs to perform at their peak during a tough hockey game? Food. Real Food. Lean proteins, whole grain carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, healthy fats. You know, the same stuff that they should be eating every day.

To replenish the body after or between games, Sports Drinks like Gatorade and Powerade are good choices. Unlike Energy Drinks, these Sports Drinks have the carbohydrates and electrolytes that your body needs.

Who really belongs in the Penalty Box here? Is it the arena for promoting the drinks? Is it the NHL pitchmen who are paid to promote the drinks? Is it the manufacturers who make the drinks? Or is it the parents who don’t take the time to make a good nutritious breakfast to feed the skater before the game, and try to compensate for the lack of energy with these drugs? You decide.

Read the companion articles and watch the videos. One thing they all agree on is that these drinks should not be consumed by youngsters before intense physical activity. So please, let's get them out of our arenas.

Comments are open to state your opinion. Just be civil. You'll have to create an account and log in to post comments. The link to do that is way up at the top of the page. It's free and it's fun.

 

DRUNK ON CAFFEINE

Teens' energy-drink consumption has been the source of growing concern among health researchers and school officials.
 
  • In Colorado Springs, several high school students last year became ill after drinking Spike Shooter, a high caffeine drink, prompting the principal to ban the beverages.

     
  • In March, four middle school students in Broward County, Fla., went to the emergency room with heart palpitations and sweating after drinking the energy beverage Redline.

     
  • In Tigard, Ore., teachers this month sent parents an e-mail message alerting them that students who brought energy drinks to school were "literally drunk on a caffeine buzz or falling off a caffeine crash."

Source: Chicago Tribune