The can cracks open and a rush of aroma escapes and makes its way to Taylor Roye. As the aluminum is pressed up to her lips and slightly tilted up, the vast flavor and 27 g of sugar flood past her teeth and toward the back of the mouth. 1000 mg of taurine cool its way down her throat and 162 mg of caffeine swirl into the stomach, instantly giving her energy to function during the day to come.

 Energy drinks are like sodas, but with more caffeine, sugar and the addition of several chemicals. They come in varieties of colors, flavors, sizes and brands all with a certain uniqueness to them.

“I think energy drinks are great, but they are also bad,” Roye said. “They build you up and then make you crash, so you have to drink more and more to build up a tolerance.”

Energy drinks may just seem like an excellent snack drink or maybe even a daily energy jolt, but according to Legacy Nurse Trayce Franks, energy drinks can cause addiction problems. knows very well of these side effects.

“First of all they dehydrate you and draw water out of your muscles,” Roye said. “I had been drinking so many that I would get up then crash and have to drink more. My joints begin to hurt and I got really bad headaches and felt nauseous all the time.”

Roye soon decided to visit a doctor. After following the doctors orders she began to recover at a fast rate, and the headaches, aching joints and nausea began to submerge.

“When I told the doctor my symptoms, she asked me what my caffeine intake was,” Roye said. “She told me not to drink energy drinks for a month. I got better almost instantly.”

According to Coach Green, it is a UIL policy that coaches do not endorse the use of energy drinks in an form or fashion.

“We take the position of hands off, don’t touch them,” Coach Green said. “Kids shouldn’t have them because they are bad for them and they stimulate them up and down.”

Energy drinks contain several chemicals that the body doesn’t necessarily need on a daily basis. Guarana, for example, has cognitive effects, but overdosing on it can cause seizures. Taurine is a diuretic, and has properties that act as an anti-anxiety agent. Energy drinks cause a crash a.k.a fatigue. One could question whether or not it’s actually needed or just pointless.

“I feel that it’s not a healthy decison because of the high sugar and high caffeine,” Legacy Nurse Trayce Franks said. “Some of them even drink multiple energy drinks a day. They are also very addicting, so that’s even worse.”

Even though energy drinks have been perceived as an all-bad substance, certain energy drinks are actually healthy. Energy drinks like Zipfizz and 5-hour Energy have no sugar and are designed to give you the necessary energy without the crash. Also there is a type of drink called Anti-Energy drinks, which give the opposite effect of normal energy drinks by calming the body and inducing sleep. They contain melatonin, rose hips and valerian root as the main ingredients.

“I’m not as opposed to Anti-Energy drinks,” Legacy Nurse Trayce Franks said. “They are healthier for you than regular energy drinks and melatonin is a natural chemical.”

Some parents have taken control of their kid’s diets and outlawed energy drinks from their child’s menu of drinking choices. They tell their kids first hand that energy drinks are bad and forbid them to drink it. Ana Lopez, 10, has parents that made a similar choice.

“I’m not allowed to drink energy drinks because they cause heart problems,” Lopez said. “In my mind , I just don’t like them.”

Students don’t know everything about energy drinks, and that may be one of the reasons they continue to drink them. Taylor Roye for example didn’t ever want to know what was in energy drinks because she was afraid of not wanting to drink them anymore.

“People try to tell me but I don’t want to hear them,” Roye said. “I still want to drink them so I stay ignorant about that.”

OUR TASTE TEST RESULTS