Between midterms, homework and research papers, college students are used to working with little to no sleep. Most student resort to coffee or energy drinks to help give them an added boost to accomplish these tasks, but a new option on the market may be more dangerous than students think.
In a recent study done by United States Food and Drug administration, powdered caffeine can have dangerous effects on people and can the side effects could prove to be deadly.
These large bags of pure caffeine are being sold over the Internet in bulk, which is leaving the FDA concerned about the lack of awareness on this potentially lethal drug.
In the same report, the FDA claims the strength of this drug is equivalent to 25 cups of coffee for every one teaspoon of pure caffeine.
And the negative effects of this supplement have already been seen as two young adults have already lost their lives to a caffeine overdose, one of them on his first ever time trying the powdered caffeine.
The symptoms of caffeine overdose include erratic heartbeat, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea and disorientation and have resulted in death.
And people with pre-existing heart issues should be advised as this product can have serious adverse effects.
Health and wellness expert Connor Stroope works as a sales associate at GNC and feels that knowing your body’s limits will help prevent accident caffeine overdoses.
“In small doses caffeine can be god for the body because it helps boost your metabolism, but if you over use caffeine it is not god for the body” Stroope said. “But you have to know your body’s limit and what you can handle.”
Stroope also mentions how the FDA will more than likely step in and adjust the amount of caffeine being sold, as they have done with other recent drug supplements.
“When stuff like that comes out, the FDA comes in and cracks down on them,” Stroope said. “They have to take it off the shelf and redo it and then sell they can start to sell it again.”
Stroope sites popular supplements such as Hydroxycut that went through a similar process due to its powerful nature.
“Most the time if there is any time of supplements with high dosages limit like that they are shut down when people over use it,” Stroope said.
And although the FDA strongly advises against consumption of powdered caffeine, it has yet to be outlawed as an illegal supplement.
The main reason it is so potentially dangerous is that it is nearly impossible to accurately measure just how much caffeine one is taking in when they use powdered caffeine.
And with some many energy drinks and energy shots being made and directed towards youth and young adults, the FDA wants to warn people on just how strong these products really are.
Stroope claims safer alternatives help him maintain energy through out the day while also providing additional nutrients to his body.
“B vitamins in general are a good source of energy, b-12 in my opinion is the strongest one,” Stroope said. “And a clean healthy diet will give you more energy, because you get out what you put into you body.”
