BY SAPNA PATHAK

Mike LeClerc won’t name names. No, the Central High running back won’t tell you who’s doing it, but he’ll certainly admit it’s happening.

In fact, LeClerc’s even tried it a couple of times.

“Yeah, most of us guys will grab an Amp or Red Bull before a morning workout,” said LeClerc, a Hooksett resident and soon-to-be Little Green senior. “Or even after a practice when we’re totally tired and watching game films or something. I’d rather have an energy drink before work, but there are some guys downing them before most of the (morning) workouts.”

Out are bottles of water; in are cans of energy drinks, chock full of caffeine, promising an extra boost of energy or touting that so-called “edge” athletes crave.  

“I have a Monster before every game and usually practices,” said Salem’s Amanda Saab. “I’m not a morning person, and it definitely helps before those 7 a.m. practices. Most of my friends don’t do it, but it works for me, so I do.”

Saab, a junior in the fall, played for the Blue Devils varsity girls basketball and girls volleyball teams last season.

Though Monster doesn’t list the amount of caffeine in one can, its Web site boasts: “It’s a wicked mega hit that delivers twice the buzz of a regular energy drink.”

Hyper high schoolers

Americans spent nearly $5 billion on energy drinks last year – the same amount spent on video games – and high school athletes account for a large chunk of those spenders.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) lists caffeine among its banned substances, but without the authority to drug test student-athletes, Neighborhood-area high schools have no means of monitoring what’s going down before, during or after a game or practice.

“It’s a big-time issue with high school kids,” said Bedford’s Desiree Jubinville, Goffstown High athletics trainer. “It should be controlled, but it’s hard because how can (high schools) dictate what the kids are drinking and implement it if we’re not allowed to drug test? There’s the alcohol and tobacco rule, but caffeine is a drug, too.” 

Sarah Dumais, West High athletics director, agreed.

“We have no control over what they drink,” she said. “There’s no policy against what they can or can’t have. We encourage them to drink water, but if they decide to go out in the parking lot after practice and drink six Red Bulls, we can’t stop them.”

An NCAA athlete tests positive if more than 15 micrograms of caffeine is detected per one milliliter of urine – roughly the equivalent of being tested after drinking one large cup of Starbucks coffee. Until recently, the stimulant was banned from the Olympics.

Most energy drinks contain far more caffeine than coffee or soda. Plus, they contain ingredients that accelerate the effects of caffeine on the body.

Despite more than 100 new energy drinks hitting the shelves in 2006 alone, caffeine is also found in everyday products, some even marketed as healthy.

Trim Water, a TrimSpa product, has 50 milligrams of caffeine in a 20-ounce bottle, while Arizona’s Green Tea Energy, Dunkin Donuts’ SoBe Energy coolatta and Clamato Energia, a non-carbonated blend of tomatoes, onions, celery and spices, put a caffeinated spin on natural tea, slurpees and vegetable juice, respectively.

“I usually drink a Powerade or Gatorade in games,” said Central lineman Corey Lockley. “But I’ll definitely grab an energy drink before a workout or something. It gives me a kick of energy out there and brings my workout to a better level. I’ve got more energy, so I can get that extra (repetition) in.”

Ingredient inventory

“Is it in you?”
Gatorade’s well-known slogan caused Kim Dorval to look into what “it” really is.

The Dunbarton resident and licensed dietician broke down the basics of energy drinks.

“Energy means calories. So when we call these drinks energy drinks and they’re low-cal or sugar-free ones, those give a false sense of energy because the energy comes from caffeine,” said Dorval, owner of Nutrition in Motion of Bedford. “Guarana, taurine, those are the sources of caffeine. Throw in the whole fear of (carbohydrates) some athletes have today, and it adds more questions.”

Guarana, a fruit found in Venezuela and northern Brazil in the Amazon rain forest, has about 4 to 8 percent caffeine per seed; one coffee bean has 1 to 2 percent.

In a 2002 report in the  Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy, consumption of large quantities of guarana was linked to a heart-rhythm abnormality called premature ventricular contraction. The report did not define “large quantities.”

Taurine is the second ingredient in concentration in Red Bull and behind carbonated water, sucrose, glucose and citric acid in Monster. It is classified as a nonessential sulfur-containing amino acid naturally found in the body. Red Bull contains as much as 1,000 milligrams per 8.3-ounce can.

“All that caffeine dehydrates you,” said Dorval. “Energy drinks are designed to give you a burst of energy from caffeine, B-vitamins and other herbal substances, with the central active ingredient being caffeine. Caffeine and alcohol are both dehydrating. It’s the same (effect on hydration) using one or the other for sports.”

The name game

While Venom, Radioactive Energy, Vamp and Killer Buzz, among others, appeal to an increasing number of student-athletes, many still favor Gatorade or Powerade.

“I’ll have a Gatorade sometimes during games,” said Hooksett’s LeClerc. “Sometimes coach will bring packets of Gatorade to the games, and we can just mix them in with our water.”

But beyond the fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrates, Dorval said sports drinks may be more harmful than advertised.

“Sports drinks are mostly just colored sugar water,” said Dorval. “If you look at a label on the back of those bottles, you’re going to see sugar, citric acid and things that are still not coming in as ‘good carbohydrates.’”

When an athlete “hits the wall,” said Dorval, it’s because the body’s glycogen reserves are depleted. Sodium and potassium amounts also decrease during physical activity – lost during perspiration, urination, vomiting and diarrhea – but since both elements are also a part of everyday diets, she added the need for sports drinks simply isn’t there.

“The average person doesn’t need a sports drink,” said Dorval. “You get plenty of sodium and potassium from your diet. You don’t need sports drinks to replace them. For anything under 60 minutes, you should be drinking water. Anything over, still stick with water unless you’re an endurance athlete.”

Simple sugars are sweet in taste and broken down quickly by the body for energy. Sports drinks generally feature sucrose, glucose and fructose.

Gatorade’s first ingredient is water, with sucrose, or sugar, second. Citric acid, a common ingredient in both sports and energy drinks, can cause erosion of tooth enamel.

In contrast, newer sports drinks like Heed, Accelerade and E-Fuel are beginning to replace simple sugars with complex sugars, or glucose polymers.

The positive of polymers is the slower, more balanced release of energy. Since the body takes more time to break down a glucose polymer, an athlete will have more energy during a sustained period of time.

“The sales of sports drinks in schools increased 70 percent between 2002 and 2004,” said Dorval. “You’ve got all these parents pumping their kids full of Gatorade, but it’s really sugar-water that’s eroding their teeth. I wouldn’t say all sports drinks across the board are bad, but you really have to look at what’s in them.”

Buzz kill

While sports drinks and energy drinks are primarily marketed toward young and teenage athletes and rely on endorsements from professional athletes, some Neighborhood athletes refuse to swallow the hype.

“I’d never let myself drink energy drinks because I know how bad it is for you,” said Casey Stoodley, a Salem multi-sport athlete. “I mean, if you showed up to a game with a Red Bull, no one can stop you, but you have to know how bad it is for you.”

Stoodley’s sister, Danielle, said she’ll grab a can of Rockstar sometimes, but quickly added, “One time, I drank a Monster before a basketball game, and by the second quarter I couldn’t even run I was so out of it.”

Goffstown boys lacrosse and hockey player Liam House-Myers said he drinks nothing but water when playing sports. LeClerc said he stays away from mixing energy drinks and athletics after seeing the negative effects on teammates.

“Some guys just don’t think,” said LeClerc with a laugh. “They’re the ones that are puking and stopping during our runs. You’ve got the kids that don’t eat anything and then drink a Red Bull or something before practice. They just don’t think. Yeah, I’ve drunk energy drinks and Gatorade, but mostly I’m constantly drinking water.”