The rising popularity of energy drinks is very visible these days. Various brands of energy drinks including Adrenaline, Red Bull, Monster Energy, and Full Throttle are easily available in grocery stores in the form of small cans. These cans of drinks are specially designed to give a mental alert to user’s physical performance. This happens due to the presence of caffeine, vitamins, and amino acids. Some herbal supplements also have a very stimulating effect on the caffeine content. The students pull their night-out study sessions and the athletes boost their performance with these drinks. Since people are seeing the bright side of the energy drinks, it is time they learn the negative side of these as well.
Effects of ingredients from energy drinks
1. Caffeine
Every popular energy drink contains about 80 mg of caffeine per can, which is almost twice the caffeine in the cup of tea consumed. There are other stimulating agents like ginseng, which enhances the effects of caffeine. The other energy drinks contain proportions of these in multiple amounts. These drinks are consumed in large amounts, which lead to excessive intake of caffeine. Since these drinks are consumed in large amounts quickly, it leads to excessive anxiety, annoyance, lack of sleep, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, and stomach upset. Similarly, like alcohol, caffeine works as a diuretic, which causes extra urine output that leads to dehydration very quickly. Caffeine being addictive also leads people to get the ”caffeine high”.
2. Carbohydrates
Sugar or carbohydrates, which people try to burn down, are the main ingredient in an energy drink. The nervous system gets over stimulated, feels energized, and causes people to have laxative effects. This can lead to sudden crash in levels of energy in the body as with the entry of sugar, there is a blast of energy. After this, the energy reduces automatically and the reflexes face dizziness and cause muscle powers to decrease.
3. Herbs
Herbs contain guarana seeds, kola nuts, and yerba mate leaves, which are present in large amounts in the energy drinks. The manufacturers very often add synthetic caffeine to boost the effect of the natural source. Other ingredients like astragalus, schizandrae, echinacea, ginkgo biloba, and ginseng cause the immune system to be polluted. The athletes feel their performance levels increase with the intake of these herbs even though there has been no scientific evidence.
Other ingredient like taurine, which is an amino acid product in the body helps to regularize heartbeats and muscular contractions. People have its effect via a drink since every energy drink contains upto 1000 mg of taurine per can.
Energy drinks like Red Bull contain 600 mg of glucuronolactone, a substance that is naturally found in the body leading to detoxification of the body and protection against cancer. Again, no scientific evidence found for this as well.
4. Alcohol and energy drinks
Vodka mixers are used in energy drinks like Red Bull. Alcohol being a great depressant can reduce the effects of intoxication like dizziness and headache by not interrupting blood alcohol ratio. Furthermore, caffeine is present in both alcohol as well as these energy drinks, which is why it is recommended not to consume both the drinks together.