By: Shereen Mohammad
Smohammad@kcautv.com
Federal Officials received reports of 13-deaths in the last four-years that were possibly linked to Five-Hour Energy drinks.
The little two-ounce bottles are filled with 215-milligrams of caffeine which, believe it or not, is just about the same amount you would find in three-cups of coffee. But the energy shot has mixed reviews from some folks.
"I used to be addicted to them, I loved them," said Skylar Graves of Sioux City.
But others, like Eric Chamberlain, steers away from the drink.
"It scares you, I mean is it really worth taking it just to get through a couple of hours of your workday, I'm not interested in taking that chance." he said.
Just like any other energy drink ...
Some folks are drinking these energy shots in place of sleep, and one doctor says that replacing sleep with anything could lead to life-threatening injuries such as a heart attack.
"Get some sleep, coffee doesn't substitute for sleep neither do these, and that's probably how they're being used, a sleep substitute." said Dr. Thomas Benzoni, at Mercy Medical Center.
When it comes to Five-Hour Energy, Dr. Benzoni says folks need to do more research.
"When you pick up something in a can, you still have to know what's in that can, it's your job to figure it out not the company's job."
However, Living Essentials, the distributor of Five-Hour Energy says the product is safe when used as directed and that it is "unaware of any deaths proven to be caused by the consumption of Five-Hour Energy."
To be clear, the energy shot is not directly causing these deaths, but Dr. Benzoni did say it could be a contributing factor.
