Energy drinks worry some experts; addiction specialists warn against mixing them with alcohol

• When pop princess Britney Spears needs a pick-me-up, she turns to a popular energy drink for a quick boost.
• Red Bull mixed with apple juice, she has said, "really pumps me up."
• Highly caffeinated energy drinks - such as Red Bull, Go-Fast!
• and Monster - market themselves as sources of increased energy and concentration.
• "In the United States, these energy drinks have not had any warnings.
• In Europe, it's been more cautionary," says Karam-Hage, medical director of the Chelsea-Arbor Treatment Center, a joint program of the U-M Health System and Chelsea Community Hospital.
• The energy drinks typically contain sugar, caffeine (often 80 mg per can, about the same as a cup of coffee), and taurine, a sulfur-containing amino acid.
• Some countries have raised concerns about the amount of caffeine in the drinks and the uncertain health effects of taurine.
• While Karam-Hage stops short of saying people never should consume energy drinks, he says that mixing them with alcohol is dangerous and should be avoided.
• "The best analogy I can come up with is it's the same as driving a car, putting one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes," he says of combining the stimulants in caffeine and the intoxicating effects of alcohol.
• Mixing alcohol and caffeine is nothing new - think of the people who try to sober up by drinking coffee after a night at the bar - but Karam-Hage says the belief that caffeine makes someone alert after drinking alcohol is a myth.
• When people consume these beverages before intensive exercise, he says, they should be aware of the effects the drinks have on people's bodies.