The advertised benefits of energy drinks include increased focus, alertness, and support for both physical and mental performance. They have been marketed as products that “fuel your brain,” “pump up the beast,” “vitalize body and mind,” give you “focus, energy, and determination,” and help you “get animated.” However, these beverages may be bad for our health.
Due to the abundance of energy-boosting items on the market and the ease with which minors can obtain them, the hazards of energy drinks are receiving a lot of coverage. If not drunk safely or according to instructions, energy drinks may have adverse effects.
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According to Dr. Emeka Obi, a dietician in Abuja, the high level of “B vitamins’’ in energy drinks can be very toxic to the human liver.
Research by Marketing Edge, a marketing company stated that the energy drink market is now a ‘lucrative and viable sector’ with the market forecasted to have a yearly consumption growth of over 6.5% by 2022.”
Energy drinks are flavored drinks with variable quantities of caffeine and generally other additions such vitamins, taurine, theanine, carnitine, herbal supplements, creatine, sweeteners, and guarana, a plant-based product with naturally concentrated caffeine. Energy drinks come with some major dangers, including the following:
Here are some of the effects associated with Energy Drinks
High Blood pressure
Energy drinks and other caffeinated goods can cause blood pressure to rise. This isn’t a problem for those with normal blood pressure, but if they take too many energy drinks quickly, people with high blood pressure may increase their risk of stroke and other hypertension-related health issues.
Diabetes Type 2
Numerous energy drinks have a high sugar content as well, which can gradually wear down the pancreatic cells that make insulin, resulting in type 2 diabetes.
Cardiac Arrest
After consuming energy drinks, people with pre-existing heart problems have experienced cardiac arrest. Be sure to be aware of the condition of your heart before consuming caffeine or energy drinks. According to a recent study, energy drinks make heartbeats stronger, which could be dangerous for people who already have certain heart issues. According to one study, 4854 calls to poison control centers between 2009 and 2011 were about energy drinks. In 51% of these calls, kids were present. Another study demonstrates the connection between teen cardiac incidents and energy beverages. According to this study, kids shouldn’t take more than one 250 ml energy drink each day and shouldn’t do so before or during physical activity.
Dehydration
Energy drinks include caffeine, which has a diuretic effect on the body. It causes you to lose fluid through urination, which causes dehydration.
Energy drinks may cause anxiety
Energy drink abuse can have negative effects on your health beyond your physical wellbeing. Additionally, it may cause mental health problems like worry, jitters, and even panic attacks.
Inclination to engage in undesirable behavior
People are increasingly combining energy drinks with other unhealthier substances, such as alcohol, cannabis, or tobacco. Some would even refer to it as a “gateway drink”. Therefore, it seems that the likelihood of engaging in other unhealthy habits is raised if you routinely consume energy drinks.
Abnormal heartbeat
Regular users of energy drinks and anyone who consumes caffeine generally worry about irregular heartbeat. As a result, if you choose an energy drink that contains a lot of this stimulant, you can notice that your heart beats differently than usual.
However, the issue is that a lot of energy drinks are offered in 237 milliliters (8 ounce) and larger containers. The “energy shots” like 5-Hour Energy, which has 200 mg of caffeine in just 1.93 ounces (57 ml), are among those that have higher caffeine content.
Additionally, a few of energy beverages also include herbal extracts like guarana, a plant that naturally contains about 40 mg of caffeine per gram.
To avoid consuming too much caffeine, try to restrict all other caffeinated beverages and stick to no more than 16 ounces (473 ml) of a regular energy drink per day if you choose to drink energy drinks.
Energy drinks should never be consumed by anyone under the age of 18, including children and nursing mothers.