Harmful Impact of Energy Drinks

Food Health Wellness

If you watch any television, you will see commercials advertising for various energy drinks. They make the claims that they give you that needed energy when you are feeling tired such as at work or while driving.

The commercials have been quite successful because next to multivitamins, energy drinks are the most popular supplement used by teenagers and young adults in America.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), which is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services:

“Men between the ages of 18 and 34 years consume the most energy drinks, and almost one-third of teens between 12 and 17 years drink them regularly.”

“There are two kinds of energy drink products. One is sold in containers similar in size to those of ordinary soft drinks, such as a 16-oz. bottle. The other kind, called ‘energy shots,’ is sold in small containers holding 2 to 2½ oz. of concentrated liquid. Caffeine is a major ingredient in both types of energy drink products—at levels of 70 to 240 mg in a 16-oz. drink and 113 to 200 mg in an energy shot. (For comparison, a 12-oz. can of cola contains about 35 mg of caffeine, and an 8-oz. cup of coffee contains about 100 mg.) Energy drinks also may contain other ingredients such as guarana (another source of caffeine sometimes called Brazilian cocoa), sugars, taurine, ginseng, B vitamins, glucuronolactone, yohimbe, carnitine, and bitter orange.”

But, are these energy drinks safe? According to a recent report, the answer is NO!

Dr. John Higgins, professor of medicine at McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston states:

“A lot of young kids use energy drinks when they exercise, a time when you need your arterial function to be at its top.”

So, what is the problem with the energy drinks?

Energy drinks that contain large doses of caffeine, tend to cause blood vessels to  restrict, not dilate. This causes a decreased flow of blood and oxygen to the muscles, brain and other organs which in turn causes problems with the heart, nerves and stomach to name a few.

The NCCIH reports:

Consuming energy drinks raises important safety concerns.

  • Between 2007 and 2011, the number of energy drink-related visits to emergency departments doubled. In 2011, 1 in 10 of these visits resulted in hospitalization.
  • About 25 percent of college students consume alcohol with energy drinks, and they binge-drink significantly more often than students who don’t mix them.
  • The CDC reports that drinkers aged 15 to 23 who mix alcohol with energy drinks are four times more likely to binge drink at high intensity (i.e., consume six or more drinks per binge episode) than drinkers who do not mix alcohol with energy drinks.
  • Drinkers who mix alcohol with energy drinks are more likely than drinkers who do not mix alcohol with energy drinks to report unwanted or unprotected sex, driving drunk or riding with a driver who was intoxicated, or sustaining alcohol-related injuries.
  • In 2011, 42 percent of all energy drink-related emergency department visits involved combining these beverages with alcohol or drugs (such as marijuana or over-the-counter or prescription medicines).

In other words, energy drinks are NOT healthy and have lead to many visits to doctors and hospitals. They work against your heart when doing anything physical and this can lead to serious complications.

The bottom line is, don’t use energy drinks and don’t let your teenagers use them either. If they are tired and need more waking energy, then make sure they get 7-8 hours of sleep each night and that routinely exercise. It’s a well-known fact that people who exercise on a regular basis and stay fit need less sleep and function better without the prolonged bouts of fatigue and drowsiness.

Energy Drinks Heart Health

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