What are Energy Drinks? And its Good for your Health?

Energy drinks contain components marketed to increase energy and mental performance. Red Bull, 5-Hour Energy, Monster, Amp, Rockstar, NOS, and Full Throttle are popular energy drink products.

Nearly all energy drinks contain the ingredient caffeine to stimulate brain function and increase alertness and concentration.

Energy drinks are propose to boost your energy, alertness, and attentiveness.

The range of energy drinks is extensive. We can find them in all sizes and even flavors. Despite the differences, they have a common denominator: they all promise to improve mental and athletic performance. A beautiful promise, especially for a sector of the population, adolescents. Who is looking for an extra boost?

What’s in a can of Energy Drink?

Energy drinks often comprise high doses of caffeine, sugar, taurine, vitamins, and herbal extracts like guarana and ginseng. This mixture is the one that is usually associate with most problems.

Caffeine is the main ingredient. An 18-ounce can contain anywhere from  70 to 140 milligrams of caffeine. A similar volume of coffee contains 85 to 100 milligrams. It is also estimated that lower doses of 400 milligrams of caffeine do not cause any electrocardiographic changes.

The danger of energy drinks

The effect of energy drinks can be extremely harmful. especially when it comes to children.

What is Considered an Energy Drink?

Energy drinks are non-alcoholic beverages that contain sugar, caffeine, taurine, some vitamins, and herbal extracts and are often promoted as “stimulants and energizers also.”

It is essential to differentiate them since they are often confuse with sports drinks, design for recovery after intense physical activity due to their mineral salts and sugar contribution.

Problems in its Composition

Large amounts of simple sugar.

Caffeine: one can contain approximately 300-400 mg, depending on the commercial brand, equivalent to 3-4 cups of coffee or cola, and may exceed the maximum recommended dose for adults and far exceeds the suggested quantity for children.

Moreover, High concentrations of herbal extracts – Very few studies determine their effects in humans.

The extent of these electrical changes, which signal the heart’s chambers to contract and relax, “is generally consider mild,” according to study author Sachin Shah, a professor of pharmacy in the School of Pharmacy and Sciences of Thomas J. Long Health.

Energy Drinks and the Mind

Dependent on how many energy drinks you drink, doses of caffeine equal to or greater than 200 milligrams can be link to caffeine intoxication, according to an article publish in the International Journal of Health Sciences in 2015. Symptoms include anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal irritation, muscle spasms, restlessness, and periods of turmoil.

“To give you an idea of ​​caffeine products, Java Monster contains 100 milligrams per serving; 5 Hour Energy contains 200 milligrams per serving. Note that it does not include amounts of other stimulants found in energy drinks that can increase caffeine’s effects,” said Sheri Zidenberg-Cherry, a nutrition specialist and vice-chair of the nutrition department at the University of California, Davis.

Harmful Effects on Adults

A study carried out by experts from the University of Bonn in Germany indicates that energy drinks containing taurine and caffeine have a short-term effect on the contractility of the heart.

From the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration), the connection between this type of beverage with several deaths reported by their consumption is being studied. All deaths were cause by a heart attack, although it has not yet been possible to establish the relationship.

And in children

One of the main problems today is that children and adolescents consume these drinks, sometimes without control, since they consider them mere soft drinks and neither they nor their parents are aware of the dangers involve.

A study by the EFSA (European Food Authority) indicates that two out of 10 children consume energy drinks and also points out some of the adverse effects that it can cause:

• Mood disorder, low self-esteem, and depression
• Decreased school performance
• poor sleep quality
• worsening of asthma
• Obesity
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased hyperglycemia
• drug interaction
• Bone and dental problems
• May worsen pre-existing heart conditions

There is an increasing variety of energy drinks in the supermarket: different colors, flavors, brands, alleged properties. Also the consumption of this product -innovative a few years ago- has spread. Life’s frenetic rhythms, studies combined with jobs, and long working hours. Also endless leisure plans and wanting to do everything. We look for solutions to pull more, perform, and satisfy everyone and everything that demands us.

Is Heart Arteries were Completely Closed”

After drinking an energy drink, you may notice your heart rate increase.

Your fast-beating heart could pose a health risk, as “energy drinks have been shown to increase stress levels, increase heart rate, increase blood pressure, but they’ve also been shown to make the blood a little thicker.

The impacts energy drinks can have on your heart and the cardiovascular system could be due to how caffeine interacts with other ingredients, such as taurine.