Caffeine isn't made for a developing athlete.

Health authorities have said this for years. The Canadian Paediatric Society advises that
developing athletes avoid the stimulants in energy drinks. Health Canada recommends children and adolescents take in no more than 2.5 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight a day. None of that is new. What's new is that the rules are starting to catch up to the guidance.

In June 2026, Quebec passed the first law in Canada restricting energy drink sales to anyone under 16, treating them like a controlled product. It takes effect this December. England is following. A ban on high-caffeine energy drink sales to under-16s is set to take effect in April 2027. An estimated 100,000 children in England drink them every day, with links to anxiety, poor sleep, and trouble concentrating. Different countries, same conclusion. Caffeine and stimulants aren't built for a growing body.

Energy drinks and sports drinks are not the same category. Energy drinks rely on stimulants that act on the nervous system. Sports drinks work on the body itself, hydrating it or fuelling it for the activity. One masks fatigue. The other gives you something to run on.
Hydrate + Go is the fuelling kind. Carbs your muscles can use, three electrolytes, and no
stimulants at all. That wasn't a response to any ban. It's how we built the can from the start.

The League

Sources
- Canadian Paediatric Society, "Energy and sports drinks in children and adolescents."
https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/energy-and-sports-drinks
- Health Canada, "Caffeine in Foods."
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/food-safety/food-additiv
es/caffeine-foods.html
- CBC News, "Quebec becomes 1st Canadian province to ban energy drinks for youth,"
June 11, 2026.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-legislature-new-bills-9.7231667
- GOV.UK, "Children's health further protected with energy drinks ban," July 16, 2026.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/childrens-health-further-protected-with-energy-drinks-ban