Hey Red Bull — take a chill pill! The coolest new drinks on the market are designed to calm you down, not rev you up. With evocative names such as Mini Chill, Vacation in a Bottle and Mary Jane’s Relaxing Soda, these relaxation brews promise to soothe the savage beast in you with natural plant extracts such as kava, valerian and rose hips. It’s an appealing idea — but is it a good one?
The Anti-Energy Beverages
As we’ve said often enough in Daily Health News, “natural” doesn’t automatically equal safe. Just as with drugs, people have varying reactions to botanical extracts — sometimes unexpected and often paradoxical ones. Botanicals can also interact with medications. Since these drinks are formulated with botanical extracts, among other natural ingredients, these cautions are quite relevant.
Nearly 100 different kinds of these new relaxing beverages are now sold in drugstores, supermarkets, even convenience marts, each with its unique blend of ingredients, some safer than others. One ingredient of concern is melatonin — it is a powerful hormone that regulates your sleep cycle, and experts have varying opinions on the safety of consuming it as a supplement. The FDA recently requested that the manufacturer of one brand, Drank, produce evidence that the 2 mg of melatonin it contains is safe for human consumption (it’s 20 times the body’s natural daily production). Meanwhile, another product, a $2.99, berry-flavored, two-ounce shot called iChill, contains even more melatonin — 5 mg. Concerns have been raised about other ingredients, too, including valerian and kava root. The amounts used in the products are safe, but larger amounts have been associated with liver damage, so drinking them habitually is potentially harmful.
Okay or Not?
All that acknowledged, it’s the opinion of Mark A. Stengler, NMD, the author of Bottom Line Natural Healing newsletter, that so long as you use common sense, these relaxation beverages can be safe, even healthful and helpful. Just be smart about how you use them. It’s especially important to be wary if you’re taking medications (check with your doctor about whether such a drink might pose a problem) and, of course, your stress-relief program should also include other antidotes that don’t come in a bottle or can.
Reinforcing these concerns, manufacturers caution that you should not drink their relaxing beverages if you are taking medication, operating heavy machinery, pregnant, nursing or under 18 years of age, and you should limit your consumption to no more than two drinks a day. As a mom, I’m also concerned about the not-so-subtle alcohol and drug references aimed at young people by these products. For example, the small-sized versions of many “relaxing” beverages are marketed as “shots”… Mary Jane is a well-known nickname for marijuana … and the names of products such as Drank, Purple Stuff and Lean evoke a dangerous blend of codeine cough syrup and soda that has been implicated in the deaths of several hip-hop artists.
While an occasional “relaxing” drink is no problem, you can save money and eliminate unnecessary health risks by instead seeking out simple, natural ways to unwind. Take a brisk walk around the block, get a good night’s sleep, pray or meditate and sip calming, inexpensive, additive-free herbal teas such as chamomile, passionflower and valerian.
