I get called the fun police daily in my house for making decisions for the children, sometimes it seems harsh but they will thank me in the future. (I HOPE)
Here is why…
UK children consume energy drinks at a higher rate than kids in any other country in Europe-
– with a fifth of 3-10 year-olds having them regularly.
Surely not!
Have you heard of Red Bull the energy drink? Well, read on…
Red Bull released in the UK in 1994 and quickly became popular. Staying up to work and/or party became easier when you had an energy drink inside you.
Who doesn’t want to have the energy to dance and have fun all night long?
At what cost though?
The drink soon became like catnip to children and adults alike.
Red Bull is still the worlds best-selling energy drink?
What makes it so dangerous is the sugar content and the caffeine content. With 26 grams of sugar per can and 77.4mg of caffeine per can, you can understand why it’s destroying our mental and physical health.
What does it do?
Causes an Inability to focus/ Jitters/ Stammers /Lack of sleep/ the acidity of energy drinks, in general, is bad for bones, muscle, and brains.
Addiction occurs due to the “reward” feeling you get when you drink it, then there is the need for more each time building up an intolerance that you may not have even noticed.
The sugar content is bad for your teeth, causing tooth decay and erosion.
Elevated blood pressure occurs.
You can not sleep or rest. Kind of the point I guess of the drink but not healthy at all, when you want to rest you can’t.
When you are awake longer than your body should be and lacking sleep then you run the risk of other health problems, these include depression, obstructive sleep apnea, hormone imbalances, and other chronic illnesses.
The drinks can cause mental health problems like anxiety, high blood pressure, obesity, kidney damage, fatigue and even encourage risk-seeking behaviour.
What else?
They advertise these drinks as …
Re-vitalising/ Gives you wings/ gives energy to the body and mind.
The 500ml can of caffeine intake is way more than the daily intake considered safe for children under 14.
Most supermarkets have banned the energy drinks to under 16’s.
Even with all the bad press, it is still number one in sales?
“They are completely inappropriate for children to consume, form no part of a healthy balanced diet, and should be banned for under 16s.”
That is a snippet from a newspaper headline, on the subject of energy drinks in general and the high sugar content.
“Red Bull gives you wings”, in my opinion, the wings should be clipped. Fun Police right there! I earnt that name damn it.
Harsh, I know but I am a mother, and I am trying to steer my children to optimum health and to living optimum lives.
Energy drinks are a cop-out in my opinion to gaining real energy from nutritious food and getting the balance of macro and micronutrients.
When advertising claims the drink gives you wings it is hard to compete. Education is key so I will keep educating and steering my children and clients in the right direction while maintaining my title as
FUN POLICE
I always try, as my children will tell you to “change everything into a healthier version ” something that would otherwise be unhealthy, I admit it ok, I make adjustments.
I do try to maintain a balance in the house and give the children a chance to make their own choices. I do get tempted to make decisions all the time for them, but I have held back a bit during the christmas holidays, I know that croissants and honey are not going to give you energy or happiness after about 30 minutes of finishing them, but I played this one out well and here were the results.
RESULTS!
Now as a mother you want the best for your children but here is what happened after eating this for breakfast…
1/ Pure enjoyment at first, maybe they thought I had changed overnight and would now be a “FUN MUM”
2/ Sugar high with loads of extra energy then a crash
3/ Bad Mood /emotional/ tired/ unhappy and crying at the fact there was no milk opened so they had to open a new one. SHOCK HORROR!
4/ Hunger again within an hour usually
5/Craving for sugar again to get back the feeling of pure enjoyment. The feeling that had fired up the brains reward system.
MUM KNOWS BEST!
I taught the kids a lesson there and they saw what happened, now they asked for a compromise on Saturdays, I allow them a croissant and honey but they have to add turkey/chicken or ham with it. A protein with that kind of breakfast will break the crash and keep the hunger at bay a little longer. Plus I do not get stressed with the emotional outbursts.
COMPROMISE!
We all win if we compromise.
Maria
x
