By Jennica Nash

Drinks like Monster and Red Bull energy drinks are a huge part of many people’s diets. However, should they be? With names like “Monster Hitman,” are they a healthy choice? Do you drink them?

Many high schoolers go to Chuck’s after school. A lot of student go there to buy Monsters. Chuck said every week he buys five cases of Monsters, each case consisting of 24 cans, adding up to about 120 cans per a week, each costing between $1.99- $2.99 a can. But did you know that every Monster contains carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, taurine, sodium citrate, color added, panax ginseng root extract, L-carnitine, caffeine, sorbic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, sodium chloride, glucuronolactone, inositol, guarana seed, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sucralose, riboflavin, maltodextrin, cyanocobalamin?

Many students live on Monsters. One such student is my friend, James Hoegemann. A couple of weeks ago, it was his birthday. He brought a 10 pack of original Monsters as well as many shooters. He guzzled all of them down in just two days. Although he shared a few of his shooters, he had all 10 cans. James said that they don’t really give him much energy, and he just drinks them for the flavor.

Garret Heritage is a senior who never seems to be far from a can of Red Bull, although now he only drinks one or two a week. When asked about his opinion of Monster drinks, Garret said, “Monster is a fruity drink for people that can’t handle real energy drinks like Red Bull. Monster is the drink for people who want to look cool drinking an energy drink and only get through it with excess amounts of sugar and flavoring. Monster is also weighted down with other chemically engineered additives, and Red Bull isn’t. Red Bull has the good B vitamins and caffeine …. If you’re going to drink any energy drink, drink Red Bull. If you don’t like the taste of it, you don’t like energy drinks. Don’t drink Monster because it has loads of sugar to make it taste better.”

Cody Alvord bought a ten pack last month to help him get through a busy weekend filled with performances of the play he was doing in Cohoes, “Les Miserables.” He explained, “I needed to be focused. The adrenaline helped me sing better.”

Galway’s health teacher, Mrs. Gerber, claims these drinks are out of control. “Kids need to slow down and stop consuming them like they’re juice.” She believes the warning labels on the products should be much larger. The small label warns that no more than four should be consumed in one day, and people should space them out over the day.

I have interviewed a few other kids about the energy drinks too. One kid said that he only drinks them for the taste, and that in the past he had issues. I asked about 50 students a simple question “Do you like Monster energy drinks?” Only one person said she didn’t like them at all. Ciara Aulds said, “They are disgusting because they have way too much sugar, kids abuse them, and people don’t tend to realize the affect that high intakes of sugars and carbs can do to your body.”

In my opinion, Monsters are good every now and then. They are good in moderation. I love the Monster taste, however I feel that Mrs. Gerber and Ciara Aulds have a good point. Leave a comment and tell us your opinion.