T or F: Sugary Soft Drinks Increase Energy

November 14, 2006
The Claim: Sugary Soft Drinks Increase Energy
By ANAHAD OCONNOR for The New York Times (read it!)

THE FACTS Turning to a sugary soft drink for a midafternoon energy boost might be tempting. But is that sugar rush all it’s cracked up to be? Probably not.
Besides having only short-lasting effects on energy, the sugar high of soft drinks can ultimately work against you, decreasing attention span, slowing reaction times and putting you to sleep.
High sugar content is often taken to mean high energy, but research refutes this.
In one recent study, published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology, a group of healthy adults took 90-minute mental tests after eating a small lunch on various days. On some days, about an hour after lunch, they drank a soft drink that had 42 grams of sugar and about 30 to 40 milligrams of caffeine. On other days, they drank a similarly flavored drink with no sugar or caffeine.
With the high-sugar drink, the subjects’ test scores were lower and they had more delays in reaction time and lapses in attention. After a 15-minute rush of energy, they became tired and less alert.
Other studies have found beneficial memory and attention effects for drinks with sugar and caffeine — but only with caffeine levels twice those of a typical soft drink.
THE BOTTOM LINE Sugary soft drinks may make you sleepy.