Caffeine Kills Teen Boy? A Cautionary Tale About Teens and Energy Drinks

A 16-year-old South Carolina boy consumed a large Diet Mountain Dew, a cafe latte from McDonald’s, and an energy drink within the course of 2 hours, and it evidently cost him his life. [1]

Davis Allen Cripe’s caffeine splurge likely caused deadly a heart arrhythmia, according to Richland County coroner Gary Watts.

“It was too much caffeine at the time of his death that it caused his arrhythmia.”

The Mayo Clinic explains heart arrhythmias this way:

“Heart rhythm problems (heart arrhythmias) occur when the electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeats don’t work properly, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly.

Heart arrhythmias (uh-RITH-me-uhs) may feel like a fluttering or racing heart and may be harmless. However, some heart arrhythmias may cause bothersome — sometimes even life-threatening — signs and symptoms.”

It was around 12:30 p.m. on April 26 when Davis purchased the latte at McDonald’s. The Diet Mountain Dew was consumed “a little time after that.” Then, the young man consumed the energy drink, which officials declined to identify. [2]

Read: Buyer Beware – The Negative Effects of Energy Drinks

EMT’s were called at 2:28 p.m., when Davis collapsed. He was pronounced dead at 3:40 p.m., at Palmetto Health Baptist Parkridge Hospital.

In April 2017, a study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association linking energy drinks to heart problems. Caffeine isn’t the only potentially hazardous ingredient in energy drinks, however; the beverages contain numerous ingredients which, on their own, may not be hazardous, but create a potent cocktail when mixed with caffeine.

In the study, participants who drank a regular caffeinated beverage showed no signs of abnormal heart rhythms. But after they consumed an energy drink, some of the individuals’ ECGs showed a change called QTc prolongation that is sometimes associated with life-threatening irregularities.

Said Watts:

“These drinks can be very dangerous. I’m telling my friends and family don’t drink them.” [1]

Source: Daily Health Post

In the case of Davis Allen Cripe, though, it appears that caffeine was the main culprit. The official cause of death was a “caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia.” Still, Watt stopped short of calling the boy’s death a caffeine overdose. [2]

The coroner said Davis was a healthy teenager, with no family history of a medical problem the caffeine would have exacerbated. The teen’s friends said he was staunchly against drug and alcohol use.

Watts explained:

“Davis, like so many other kids and so many other people out there today, was doing something (he) thought was totally harmless, and that was ingesting lots of caffeine. We lost Davis from a totally legal substance.”

Dr. Amy Durso, deputy chief medical examiner for Richland County, said:

“A cup of coffee, a can of soda isn’t going to cause this thing. It’s the amount and also the time frame in which these caffeinated beverages are consumed that can put you at risk.”

Plus, caffeine and energy drinks affect people differently. Your buddy might be able to knock back 2 energy drinks and a cup of coffee in the morning with no ill effects, but you shouldn’t assume it’s safe for you, Watts said.

“You can have five people line up right here and all of them do the exact same thing that happened with him that day – drink more – and it may not have any kind of effect on them at all.”

Sean Cripe said of his son’s death:

“Like all parents, we worry about our kids as they grow up. We worry about their safety, their health, especially once they start driving. But it wasn’t a car crash that took his life. Instead, it was an energy drink.” [3]

He added:

“Parents, please talk to your kids about these energy drinks. And teenagers and students: please stop buying them.” [2]

Source: Miami Herald

Sources:

[1] NBC News

[2] Miami Herald

[3] CNN

Miami Herald

Daily Health Post

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Replace Junk Food Snacks with This FATTY Snack to Lose Weight?

The simple decision to toss back a handful of peanuts a few times a week in place of other junk food snacks could go a long way to help people fight the battle of the bulge and could prevent childhood obesity, researchers say.

Peanuts are packed with vitamins and nutrients that make the tiny legumes one of the healthiest foods around. Look at the nutritional punch you get from just a 1/4 cup:

• 88% biotin


• 47% copper


• 36% manganese


• 28% vitamin B3


• 24% molybdenum


• 22% folate


• 20% phosphorus


• 20% vitamin E


• 19% vitamin B1


• 19% protein

Peanuts are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, high in oleic acid, and loaded with antioxidants, too. In fact, previous research found that consuming more nuts was associated with decreased overall disease mortality.

But continuing with the original study at hand …

According to scientists, eating peanuts 3 to 4 times a week could help lower body mass index (BMI). That could be especially good news for children and teens with developing bodies. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics show obesity affects about 12.7 million children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 19. (The only problem is that BMI is a bit antiquated.)

For the study researchers at the University of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, and Texas Woman’s University followed 257 Latino adolescents over the course of 6 months. Each was in the 85th percentile or greater for BMI.

Source: CDC

During the study period, about half the group snacked on peanuts or peanut butter right after school 3 to 4 times a week. The other half of the group had the same snack less than once a week. All of the students were taught proper nutrition and engaged in physical activity.

The group eating the most peanuts during that time reduced their BMI more than twice as much as the group eating peanuts less than once a week.

“Peanuts provided an acceptable, healthy snack for children. Although peanuts were relatively high in fat, the weight loss intervention of replacing energy-dense and unhealthy snacks with peanuts and peanut butter helped children maintain a healthy body weight.”

Lead study author Craig Johnston, assistant professor at the University of Houston’s department of health and human performance, said in a statement:

“Schools are doing a great job of teaching kids, getting them workforce ready, and a whole bunch of other things. We’ve just got to make sure that our kids are going to live long, happy lives with that kind of education.”

Snacking is more common among teenagers, who are usually left to their own devices in the food department, and that can lead to serious weight gain.

Johnston said:

“What we found is that kids get home from school around 4 p.m. There’s less supervision by parents and less structure. Kids are sitting down at the TV and eating, eating, eating because they really didn’t eat at school.”

The researchers recommend schools cut out energy-dense unhealthy snacks and replace them with healthier ones like peanuts to get kids in the habit of eating nutritious foods in proper serving sizes.

Johnson said obesity “is the most pressing health issue facing us today We’d like to think it’s preventable, but from where I sit right now, there hasn’t been a lot shown to be very effective on a large scale.”

As snacks go, peanuts have been shown to be more universally liked than “health foods” like vegetables, and the protein found in peanuts can help kids feel full longer.

The study was published in the Journal of Applied Research on Children.

Sources:

Medical Daily

Newser

CDC

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Just THINKING About Mobile Devices Disrupts Kids’ Sleep

Parents, shut off your kids’ mobile devices at night and get them out of the room, because a new analysis shows that children with access to smartphones and tablets at night don’t get enough sleep and are groggy during the day – whether they use them or not. [1]

Researchers reviewed 20 previous studies and discovered that kids who use portable media devices around bedtime were more than twice as likely as kids who didn’t use them to have short sleep times. Not only that, but the same was found of kids who had access to the devices, but didn’t actually use them.

Lead study author Ben Carter of King’s College London said:

“A lot of people argue that it’s the device light emission that leads to sleep outcomes, but even if you’re not using it, even having the presence of the device near you affects sleep.

My personal view is it’s due to continuous stimulation from things like social media engagement.

Your social group is active and you can be thinking about it. If I text a loved one an hour before bed then I’m hoping I might get a reply.”

Unconscious but Connected

Carter and his colleagues looked at studies of children aged 6 to 19 years, covering a total of more than 125,000 kids, which measured exposures to tablets, smartphones, and other types of mobile devices, but excluded research involving TV, personal computers, or sources of electromagnetic radiation.

In every study, bedtime media device use was linked to trouble falling or staying asleep, and poor daytime function due to sleepiness.

Kids who used media devices at bedtime were found to have insufficient sleep times, considered less than 10 hours per night for children, and less than 9 hours for teens.

Children who had access to mobile devices at bedtime at least 3 times a week, or who had a device in their sleep environment, also had poorer measures of sleep quality and quantity than kids with less or no access.

Dr. Charles Czeisler, director of the Sleep Health Institute and chief of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said:

“It’s normal to wake up during the night but when the phone is there, many people instead of just turning over will tap on the phone ostensibly to check the time, will see 15 text messages from their buddy or whatever, then 2 hours later they’re going back to bed.”

Czeisler, who co-authored an editorial accompanying the review, added:

“It’s very engaging technology and when it’s present in the bedroom it reduces sleep duration.”

In other words, kids are continuously stimulated by devices in their environment, even when they are not using them.

Carter explained:

“One theory I hold is that there may be the effect of continuous mental stimulation and engagement which is keeping children awake.” [2]

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: What Parents Can Do:

In the editorial, Czeisler writes that blue-light blocking apps for smartphones and tablets can help reduce some of the negative sleep effects caused by mobile devices. Blue light interferes with the body’s internal clock and makes the brain tell your body you should be awake, when you really should be snoring away in your bed.

Source: How It Works

Additionally, Czeisler says:

“For those concerned about the effect of media use on sleep time, technology is now available to restrict service between designated hours or allow a maximum daily duration of media use each day, while allowing for parental overrides in exceptional circumstances. Such programs can be used to reinforce consistent bedtimes and wake times, which are vital for sleep health, especially in children and adolescents.”

It’s likely your smartphone has an option to shut off notifications between specified hours of your choosing. I know mine does. Of course, it’s also likely your kids know how to turn notifications back on…

The most effective (and perhaps most obvious) solution is to keep mobile devices out of kids’ bedrooms. Have children and teens charge their devices in another room. You can purchase family charging stations at just about any store that sells smartphones. [3]

It’s also important for parents to instill in their kids the importance of “winding down” before bedtime. About an hour or so before bed, have your child take a calming bath and read a book together. Have teens “unplug” and read a book or do some other quiet, relaxing activity before lights-out.

Most importantly, parents should model healthy sleeping habits. Establish your own “winding down” routine, and make sure if you buy a family charging station, that your device is plugged in, too.

Sources:

[1] Reuters

[2] CBC

[3] Common Sense Media

How It Works

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.