The frenzy of caffeine in humans triggers a call

In the early hours of New Year's day last year, when Lachlan Foote returned home after a tame evening with his clbadmates, kissed his mother goodbye and got protein shake.

Shortly after, he fainted in the bathroom of the Blackheath family home and never regained consciousness. It was the eve of his 22nd birthday.

Given the timing of his death and the fact that he was in the town of Katoomba, bad rumors quickly ran that Lachlan had died as a result of an overdose.

In fact, it's something much closer to home and totally unexpected that killed this talented young musician.

His devastated family now wants to share his story as a warning to others – a desperate call that could save lives.

Last week, the Foote family received a coroner's report that concluded that Lachlan had died of caffeine-related toxicity after the 21-year-old man unknowingly ingested a dangerous amount of powder in a shake protein.

A teaspoon of the caffeine powder that he had was equivalent to 50 cups of coffee.

"It turned out that Lachlan had gone home after celebrating New Year's Eve with his friends and had made a protein shake, innocently adding too much pure caffeine powder." A teaspoon is deadly ", said his father, Nigel.

Caffeine powder is popular in the world of fitness, generally marketed as a dietary supplement and used in addition to protein shakes and health drinks.

We do not know where Lachlan comes from. A search of his computer and bank records of his family and the police were blank.

"We think Lachlan got the caffeine powder from a friend or co-worker," Nigel said.

"So it seems that the pure caffeine powder was bought by another person and shared, so it is very likely that Lachlan never read the warning label on the package and was not aware of it. its efficiency.

"And the fact that he kept the caffeine powder in our pantry, where one of us could have taken it for flour or sugar, proves that Lachlan does not have it. would never have kept there had he known that it was a threat to the family. "

The night of his death, Lachlan sent a last message to his friends on Facebook saying that his shake had a bitter taste.

"I think my protein powder has disappeared," he wrote at 2:07 am "Whatever it is … the guys at night, Cya in the morning."

The morning has never come for Lachlan, said Nigel.

"We found him dead and cold on the bathroom floor (the) New Year's Day 2018 … the day before his 22nd birthday," he said.

"The wait was painful for the coroner's findings, but the love and support we received from our family, our friends and this fabulous Blue Mountains community allowed us to get through . "

In the months following his death, rumors began to circulate that Lachlan had succumbed to a drug overdose, which added to the grief of the family.

A pathologist quickly confirmed that no illegal substance was present and he would probably have drunk only a few beers, his blood alcohol level being less than 0.05.

"I think the rumor about Lachlan's death probably started innocently enough because it happened on New Year's Eve," Nigel said. "People make badumptions, casually talk about it to a friend or two, and everything goes like a bush fire."

Nigel said he felt no discontent with anyone sharing the caffeine powder with Lachlan, knowing that they, too, were probably unaware of how dangerous it was.

"However, it is outrageous that this product has not been banned in Australia," he said.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of large quantities of pure caffeine powder in 2018, four years after the death of an Ohio teenager in a situation strangely similar to that of Lachlan.

Logan Stiner was a champion, a talented student, and a local favorite in his hometown of LaGrange when he died shortly before completing high school.

He bought the powder online on Amazon and, like many others, used it in protein shakes.

"As long as I live, I will chase things like that," his mother Kate told local media after his death.

A search on eBay shows that pure caffeine powder is widely available in Australia.

"It's just foolish that something so dangerous is so easily available," Nigel said. "Thanks for telling your friends, talking to your kids and maybe checking your kitchen cabinets.

"Pure caffeine powder looks like any other white powder, but a teaspoonful will kill you."

A fact sheet published by Cornell University in the United States indicates that pure caffeine is often sold in quantities of 400 grams for as little as $ 10. This amount equals 1,000 cans of Red Bull.

A single teaspoon of pure caffeine powder contains 5,000 milligrams of caffeine, which could be deadly. Mixing two teaspoons in a shake or another drink equals consuming 70 Red Bull cans at a time.

"Since caffeine is a drug, its effects can vary from one person to another depending on weight, bad, medication and general health status," he said. declared.

"High amounts of caffeine can lead to an increased risk of heart arrhythmia, palpitations, seizures, strokes or even death."

The caffeine powder is no longer on Amazon. The Stiner family sued the retailer and won, but Amazon won on appeal.