Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman and you're listening to Science Verses.

And this is the show that pits facts against flat whites.

On today's show, caffeine. Should you quit it?

Caffeine is one of the most used drugs in the world.

85% of people in the US drink at least one caffeinated beverage each day, and that includes kids.

But yet, despite the fact that we are shoving this drink down our pie holes,

there have always been these fears that caffeine is bad for our health.

Your cup of coffee could soon come with a spoonful of cancer warning.

My heart was racing. I was super anxious. Something was happening. I was having a panic attack.

Could it all be a sign, though, of a serious problem? A problem like caffeine addiction.

And our worries around caffeine have reached new heights when it comes to energy drinks.

Just last year, a 17-year-old from Texas died after drinking Alani knew.

A Texas family is filing a wrongful death lawsuit over an energy drink that they claimed killed a teenage girl.

According to family lawyers, a coroner's report shows that she died from an enlarged heart

caused by stress and a large amount of caffeine from Alani energy drinks. The distributor being sued

denies the claims and the company that makes the drink says it's labeled not recommended for

children. But this is just the latest in a string of scary stories from the past several years, of people, often younger people, dying soon after drinking energy drinks.

Davis collapsed in the classroom of his high school in South Carolina.

It wasn't a car crash that took his life. Instead, it was an energy drink.

She drank two 24 ounce energy drinks in less than 24 hours.

And it took her life.

So today on the show, what is this drug doing to our brains and our bodies?

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