JEDDAH, 1 June 2005 — Energy drinks, coffee, tea, potato chips and chocolate are the lifeblood of a student during final exams. Students do their best to stay alert and absorb the wealth of information in their textbooks, especially for the graduating high-school students. Power drinks can put some “oomph” into hitting the books.

“There is nothing that can make me active and keep me away from my bed during exams like energy drinks,” said Hamza Imam, a 12th grader. “I drink six cans daily. They really give me the extra boost I need.”

Imam added that without the energy drinks he would collapse on his books.

Since students stay in their rooms alone to study, food can become their sole companion.

“I keep the chips bag near me while I study to entertain me,” said Lama Ibrahim, a second-year med student. “If I stayed up at night without doing anything but studying, I would fall asleep.”

Guess what chocoholics prefer for an energy source?

“During my final exams, I can’t resist it,” said Suzan Mahmoud, a first-year university student and devotee of chocolate.

Of course there are tea and coffee that have caffeine that will keep you awake and alert and energized and make you think you can stay awake all night and study and read and do math and maybe even make you write run-on sentences because you can get very wound up on them especially if you use a lot of sugar.

“My grandmother tells me that I should drink coffee with milk when studying,” said Elham Mamdouh, an 11th grader. “Coffee to stay up and concentrate, and milk to relax.”

“Tea is richer in caffeine than coffee, as far as I know; however, it is healthier,” said Hussam Ahmad, a 12th grader. “I read that it reduces the risk of strokes and heart disease unlike coffee.”

Did you notice the number of students above citing fruit juices as their favorite study aid? Leave it to the experts to spoil what could have been a great excuse to eat junk food.

Dr. Nabila Al-Azab, nutritionist at the Saudi Chinese Health Center for Acupuncture, recommended fresh fruit juices for students on the studying regime.

OK, what about energy drinks?

“Energy drinks are really harmful for students’ bodies,” said Dr. Al-Azab. “They contain large amounts of sugar, which in large quantities cause more damage than harm. They also contain caffeine, which the nervous system learns to rely on, much like an addiction. The nervous system would then require more caffeine to keep the mind alert. The same can be said for coffee and tea, since they also contain large amounts of caffeine.”

So much for tea-aholics and coffeeholics, and it seems energy drinks have more “oof” than “oomph.” Chocoholics don’t get off the hook, either. If students crave chocolate, there is no harm in indulging; however, an abundance of chocolate would make them feel drowsy after a while because cocoa contains nutrients, which can lead to drowsiness if ingested in large quantities.

So what’s best for the student body?

“The healthiest food for a student during exams is to eat more than the three regular meals per day in small quantities or even better than that would be regular meals of seafood,” said Dr. Al-Azab. “As for drinks, fresh fruit juices provide natural sugars, which revitalize the body.”

It is doubtful that students will abandon their favorite tried-and-maybe-not-so-true study foods, but some may be able to stay awake just thinking about what they’re doing to their bodies; others may register for a nutrition class next year, and hopefully, all of them will survive their exams. And there are probably a few students who will read this article and say “Notice how she didn’t say anything about chips.”