Girl, 14, ‘Died From Heart Attack After Just Two Cans Of Monster Energy Drink’ As FDA Launches Probe Into Five Deaths From Popular Beverage

• Anais Fournier, from Maryland, had a heart attack brought on by ‘caffeine toxicity’ two days before Christmas last year

• Her parents have launched wrongful death suit over ‘death trap’ drink

• Monster is the leading U.S. energy drink by volume with 39% of the market

• Energy drink, described by the company as ‘killer energy brew’, contains seven times the amount of caffeine as can of cola

Monster Beverage has been sued by the family of a 14-year-old girl who died after she had just two cans of the energy drink.

The Food and Drug Administration announced today it was investigating reports of five deaths associated with the drink and one non-fatal heart attack, prompting the company’s shares to fall 14 percent.

Anais Fournier, died on December 23, 2011, from a heart attack brought on by ‘caffeine toxicity’ after drinking two 24-ounce Monster cans within 24 hours.

Toxic: The parents of Anais Fournier, who died from caffeine toxicity after two cans of Monster energy drink, have filed a lawsuit.

The FDA reported people had adverse reactions after they consumed Monster Energy Drink, which comes in 24-ounce cans and contains 240 milligrams of caffeine – or seven times the amount of the caffeine in a 12-ounce cola.

The wrongful death suit, filed in California Superior Court in Riverside, said that after drinking two 24-ounce cans of Monster Energy on consecutive days, Anais went into cardiac arrest.

An autopsy revealed the teenager, from Hagerstown, Maryland, died of cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity that impeded her heart’s ability to pump blood.

The medical examiner also found that she had an inherited disorder that can weaken blood vessels.

Miss Fournier’s parents Wendy Crossland and Richard Fournier claim Monster failed to warn about the risks of drinking its products.

Ms. Crossland told the Record Herald: ‘I was shocked to learn the FDA can regulate caffeine in a can of soda, but not these huge energy drinks.

‘With their bright colors and names like Monster, Rockstar, and Full Throttle, these drinks are targeting teenagers with no oversight or accountability. These drinks are death traps for young, developing girls and boys, like my daughter, Anais.’

Monster is the leading U.S. energy drink by volume with nearly 39 percent of the market, but Austria’s Red Bull has the highest share by revenue due to its premium price.

The company touts Monster Energy Drink on its website as a ‘killer energy brew’ and ‘the meanest energy supplement on the planet’.

The cans bear labels stating that the drinks are not recommended for children and people who are sensitive to caffeine.

Health concerns: The FDA said it was investigating reports of five deaths and a non-fatal heart attack linked to highly caffeinated Monster Energy Drinks.

Although the FDA is investigating the allegations, which date back to 2004, the agency said the reports don’t necessarily prove that the drinks caused the deaths or injuries.

‘As with any reports of a death or injury the agency receives, we take them very seriously and investigate diligently,’ Shelly Burgess said in a statement.

Monster Beverage Corp said it does not believe its drinks are ‘in any way responsible’ for Miss Fournier’s death.

‘Monster is unaware of any fatality anywhere that has been caused by its drinks,’ the company said in a statement. It said it intends to vigorously defend itself in the suit.

Monster’s shares plunged $7.59, or 14.2 percent, to close at $45.73 in trading on Monday.

Tragic: Miss Fournier died following a cardiac arrest on December 23, 2011

Energy drinks are a tiny part of the carbonated soft drink market, representing about 3 percent of sales volume, according to a recent report by industry tracker Beverage Digest. Last year, sales volume for energy drinks rose by nearly 17 percent.

The increased sales have brought heightened scrutiny from state and federal authorities.

In August, New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued subpoenas to energy drink makers, including Monster, as part of the state’s investigation of the industry.

In September, Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked the FDA to take another look at the effect that caffeine and other ingredients in energy drinks have on children and adolescents.

Taking a dip: Monster Beverage Corp, which is based in California, saw shares fall by more than 14 percent.

By Louise Boyle
www.dailymail.co.uk

BPA Disrupts Metabolic Rates And Causes Obesity, According To New Study

image © Ruggiero Scardigno – fotolia.com

A new study conducted by the New York University of Medicine reports that packaged food is directly correlated to the obesity levels rising in American children because of their exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA).

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003, 92.6% of children 6 years and older had obviously measurable levels detected in tested urine.

The study also concludes that BPA disrupts other multiple metabolic mechanisms.

BPA has been identified by scientists as a cause for recent early pubescent development in our children. Between the ages of 5 – 7 is the new average pubescent age, wherein this physiological change used to occur several years later just a generation ago.

BPA is a highly toxic estrogen accelerator that is used in all plastic products commercially produced. The chemical mimics natural estrogen when leeched into the body. It offsets natural estrogen levels, causing the body to hasten its pubescent generation. Nearly all children are exposed to this chemical through plastic toys, pacifiers, bottles, sippy cups. Its influence on natural hormone distribution within the body has proven to be incredibly damaging.

In April of this year, GlobalData surmised that manufacturers would produce 4.7 million metric tons of BPA to be used in plastics worldwide.

While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned its use in certain children’s products, it is widely used in packaging processed foods.

In fact, the FDA claims that there is not enough convincing evidence to support the banning of BPA from use in food products, plastic packaging, and personal care products. The FDA also asserted that there is insufficient scientific proof to justify restricting BPA’s use.

Other chemicals linked to obesity in humans are:

• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

• Phthalates (used in plastics)

• PFOA (used in Teflon) also are harmful to the human immune system, liver, and thyroid

• Corn fed cows has higher levels of saturated fat in their beef

• Arsenic (fed to pigs and chickens) affects the thyroid gland

• Pharmaceuticals and medications in public water supplies negatively affect the natural chemical make-up of our bodies

The claim by recent a recent study that obesity is linked to IQ, which was funded by the pharmaceutical industry serves to purvey the ideal that drugs are the answer to America’s weight problem. By determining the metabolic syndrome rate in a teenager, it is suggested that their cognitive brain function is compromised by their body mass index (BMI).

The author of this study recommends using methods to develop a classification for overweight children in America so that the psychiatric industry can work together with the pharmaceutical corporations to develop drugs.

Young people have been targeted as having a propensity toward becoming obese in rural areas. It was also noted that ethnicity played a part in the likelihood of becoming overweight. Blacks and Hispanics, according to the study, have a poor diet and are physically isolated, and do not necessarily have access to healthy food.

The World Health Organization (WHO) have asserted that American over-consumption of food is a drain on global resources and unsustainable. Although Americans only account for 6% of the global population, more than a third of them are considered obese.

WHO would like the average global body weight to be near emaciated levels to conserve food stores and reduce the human impact on the planet.

Michelle Obama has remarked that the growing number of obese children in America is a threat to national security.

Endocrinologist Robert Lustig of the University of California, San Francisco observes, “This epidemic of obese 6-month-olds. Since they’re eating only formula or breast milk, and never exactly got a lot of exercises, the obvious explanations for obesity don’t work for babies. You have to look beyond the obvious.”

Early life exposure to traces of chemicals and hormone-mimicking pollutants, such as BPA, in the environment, act on genes in the developing fetus and newborns and turn more precursor cells into fat cells. These chemicals cause the cells to hoard nutrients, directly causing weight gain in infants. They may even cause severe alterations in the body’s metabolic rate.

by Susanne Posel – Occupy Corporatism