Energy Drinks and Performance: No Correlation

Raise your hand if you know the difference between an energy drink and a sports drink. Correct. Sports drinks have little if any sugar in them, and no caffeine. Energy drinks are packed with both. So what does all that caffeine and sugar do for athletic performance? Gretchen Reynolds, writing in the New York Times Well column tells us: Not much. At least, there is little evidence that it does anything useful. Reynolds reports that caffeine has been shown to improve performance, but only up to a point, and only until the body becomes accustomed to the stuff. Also, Reynolds reports, different people respond differently to various amounts of caffeine, and more is not always better.

Read more from Gretchen Reynolds.