Health Risks of Energy Drinks for human health is one of interesting topic, Do you ever consume the energy drinks? So, just like its name, the energy drink is the beverage that would be very beneficial to boost the level of your energy and stamina in a short amount of time. Also, energy drinks have a sweet taste, which make this beverage become very consumable for young people. But, the dangerous effects of energy drinks for our health are getting a lot of press and there are no doubt that the energy drink would harm our body based on its ingredients. Do you know the exact health risks of energy drinks? Here are various health risks of energy drinks that you would likely to get whenever you’re consuming energy drinks.
- Anxiety
whenever you consume the energy drink, even for a one time, there is a possibility of you getting the anxiety feeling. So, what is the correlation between energy drinks and the feeling of anxiety? As you already know, the energy drinks, especially those which have the caffeine components, will affect the adenosine receptor system, which will trigger the feeling of anxiety in your mind. Anxiety is the condition that commonly described as the body response to stress. In the matter of fact, people who consume energy drinks which contains caffeine will experience the full blown of panic attack.
- Insomnia
There is no doubt that the consumption of energy drinks would lead you to sleeping disorder, especially insomnia. So, insomnia is the sleeping disorder that commonly described whenever you feel struggle to have the good night sleep. We bet that you already know that people often consume energy drinks in order to stay awake in the middle of the night to do their job, watching sports in television, or driving in the night. But, the energy drinks could make people miss their sleep and this will lead you to medical problems and also, you will experience the impaired functioning, which will make you become unable to concentrate properly.
- Could Interfere With Medication
Whenever you’re in the medication process, you’re strongly suggested to avoid any energy drinks because the energy drinks could interfere with some prescription of medications that the doctor gave to you, especially when your medication is related to anti-depressant. The ingredients contained in energy drinks could interfere with your medications, such as caffeine that in the matter of fact could make the depression become worse than before. Also, gingko biloba could interfere with the medication related to the blood thinner and anti-depressant. So, in case you’re having the medication, you better stay away from energy drinsk for your own safety.
- Type 2 Diabetes
There is no doubt that whenever you’re over-consuming the energy drinks, the chance of you getting the serious medical conditions such as diabetes type 2 would be increased compared with the people who aren’t consuming energy drinks. In the matter of fact, there is no surprise at all that the energy drinks contain a high amount of sugar. The excessive consumption of type 2 diabetes would wear out the cells that have the responsibility ro produce the insulin in the pancreas, which of course will lead you to the diabetes type 2 in the future.
- The Addictive Effects
This is one of the most dangerous health effects that you would likely to get once you consume the energy drinks. In the matter of fact, the energy drinks could make you become addictive to them with the same mechanism whenever you become addictive with smoking or coffee. Just like coffee, the energy drinks also contain a lot of ingredients that will make you become addictive, such as caffeine and also sugar. As already mentioned above, the excessive consumption of energy drinks will increase the sugar level in your body which of course will lead you to various complications of your health in the future.
- Risky Behavior
This is also could be classified as the dangerous effects on consuming the energy drinks excessively. So, there is a possibility that people who consume the energy drink excessively would take the dangerous risks, without any thoughts at all and thus, it will be very dangerous to their lives too.
In the matter of fact, this health risk of energy drinks has already confirmed by the study that published in the Journal of American College Health, which shown that the teens that consume a lot of caffeinated energy drinks were more likely to take some dangerous choice that can threaten their lives and could cause some injuries in the future. In addition to that, people will be more likely to deal with the legal trouble.
- Jitters and Nervousness
Another health risk that would be likely to occur to you whenever you over-consume the energy drinks is the increase risk of the jitters and nervousness feeling. Just like as already mentioned above, the energy drinks will affect the adenosine receptor system, which will lead you to anxiety.
Aside from that, this energy drink could cause the constant changes in the emotional issues and also increase the risk of heart palpitations, because the caffeine content in energy drinks will make your heart beat faster than usual. In the matter of fact, according to the study that conducted at Perth, Australia have already evidenced that the consumption of at least 250 ml of energy drinks can increase the nervous feeling in young men.
- Vomiting
Whenever you have the excessive consumption of energy drinks, there is no doubt that you will vomit too. So, the question is, what is the connection between energy drinks and vomiting? As you already know, the energy drinks commonly contain a lot of caffeine. Just like the caffeine in the coffee, the caffeine in the energy drinks is classified as diuretics, which will cause the dehydration and make you want to have urination more frequently than usual. Also, the caffeine in energy drinks will cause the acid erosion in your teeth and esophagus, which will make some discomforts around your mouth and stomach, that will lead you to vomit.
- Allergic Reaction
This health risk will definitely occur to people who over-consume energy drinks. So, as you already know, the energy drinks contain a lot of ingredients and most of the ingredients will cause the allergic reaction in your body. Here are some ingredients of energy drinks which will cause the allergic reactions.
- Caffeine could lead you to skin rash, itching, difficulty in breathing, tightness in the chest, and vomiting.
- Ginkgo Biloba could lead you to dizziness, headaches, heart palpitations, and restlessness.
- L-Carnitine could lead you to nausea, vomiting, headaches, diarrhea, stuffy nose, restlessness, and sleeping difficulty.
- Headaches and Migraine
As already mentioned above, the over-consumption of energy drinks would cause the allergic reaction in your body, including headache and migraine. Migraine is not just a headache, but it can make you feel stabbed in one or both sides of your head. In addition to that, energy drinks which contains a high amount of caffeine will cause the addiction, just as already mentioned above.
Sadly, whenever you have already addicted with the energy drinks and then you stop to consume it for several periods of time, the headache and migraine will become worse than before and it could be relieved whenever you start to consume the energy drinks again. So, you better avoid consuming the energy drinks at all cost.
- High Blood Pressure
One of the most obvious health risks that will be more likely to happen to you whenever you’re over-consuming the energy drinks is the rapid elevation in your high blood pressure. There is no secret that the caffeine that contained in energy drinks would elevate your blood pressure. The sugar and artificial sweetener component in energy drinks will rapidly elevate the high blood pressure too.
So, if you consume the energy drink excessively, that would increase the risk of you having the serious medical conditions that associated with high blood pressure, such as cardiovascular disease and stroke. A recent study conducted by The Mayo Clinic has already evidenced that the participants that consume the Rocstar Energy Drink had a 6,4% increase in average blood pressure compared with the participants who consumed placebo drink.
- Releasing Stress Hormone
Since the energy drinks would lead you to nervousness and anxiety, there is no doubt that the energy drinks would increase the release of stress hormone from your body, which of course will lead you to the feeling of depression and can cause the panic attack. The specific stress hormone that would be released by the consumption of energy drinks is the norepinephrine.
To prove this theory, there was a study that conducted by The Mayo Clinic which shown that there is a connection of energy drinks and the release of stress hormone. The study found out that the 240 ml version of Rockstar Energy Drink will make the increase level of the release of norepinephrine hormone in participants up to 74% compared with the increase of 31% of norepinephrine among participants who consume placebo drink.
- Niacin Overdose
The other health risks that might occur to you whenever you over-consume the energy drinks is the niacin or Vitamin B3 overdose, since niacin is one of the main nutrients that contained in an energy drink. Actually, niacin will be a very good addition to your body and it has therapeutic effects on your body. However, we must agree that taking everything excessively wouldn’t be good at all. If you consume the supplement that contains niacin, and at the same time you over-consume the energy drinks, the possibility of you having the niacin overdose would be very high. The various symptoms that could be the sign that you already have the niacin overdose are dizziness, nausea, vomiting, itching, gout, heart palpitations, and diarrhea.
- Cardiac Arrest
Aside from high blood pressure, this is one of the serious medical conditions that will be more likely to occur whenever you’re consuming energy drinks excessively. According to many studies and health experts, the caffeine that contained in an energy drink could be very dangerous for your cardiac health. In the matter of fact, people who already have the underlying heart conditions would lead them to cardiac arrest juts for a few drinks of energy drink. There was a study that has already evidenced that the energy drinks will make the heart contractions, which of course would be very harmful for the health of your heart. In addition to that, another study showed that 18 to 40 years old who drank the energy drinks had a significant increase in QTc interval, which is the marker of an abnormal heart rhythm risk.
- Mood Changes
Since the energy drinks would lead you to stress, depression, anxiety, and nervousness, there is no doubt that the energy drinks will lead you to the frequent mood changes, because indeed the energy drinks would affect your overall mood. In the matter of fact, a study has already evidenced that the energy drinks could make the mood changes in people. So, according to the study, people who regularly consume the energy drinks which contains caffeine would have the reduced level of serotonin in their brain. As you already know, serotonin is a feel-good neurotransmitter and reduced amount of serotonin level has been linked with anxiety, depression, stress, and low moods.
- Reduce Your Productivity
There is also a link between energy drinks and the reduction in your productivity to do a lot of things in one day. Since the energy drinks could make you stay awake and get rid of the sleepy feeling in the night, which will lead you to insomnia, there is no doubt that the excessive consumption of energy drinks would cause the reduction in your productivity.
It is true that the caffeine and taurine from the energy drinks could boost our stamina and can make us stay awake in the night, but this thing without a doubt would affect you in the next day. If you don’t have an adequate time to rest, you might still awake in the next day, but your productivity would be reduced because you will be unable to concentrate and you will feel really struggle to do various activities.
- Increase Risk of Internal Organ Damage
There is no doubt that the energy drinks could encourage the risk of the internal organ damage inside your body. So, why the energy drinks could increase the risk of internal organ damage? So, energy drinks would send the signal to your brain, liver, kidney, digestive system, and heart to behave as in you’re in a fight or flight situation. This is why we tend to feel crash soon after we consume the energy drinks. In the other words, the high amount of caffeine and sugar in the energy drinks would send the signals to your organs react as if they are in the dangerous position, and your organs are not designed to handle so much pressure, which of course will lead to the damage of those internal organs in the future.
- Adrenal Fatigue
Another health risk that would be more likely to occur whenever you have the excessive consumption of energy drinks is adrenal fatigue. So, adrenal glands are very important for your overall wellbeing. These glands would be very beneficial to release the useful hormones that we need, especially during the times of stress. So, we bet that you have already know the reason why consume the energy drinks could cause the adrenal fatigue. Energy drinks could cause mood changes, stress, depression, anxiety, and nervousness, which without a doubt would make the adrenal glands work very hard to release the excess stress hormones. Those things would make the adrenal become fatigue and could make some damages in your adrenal glands.
- Obesity
Since energy drinks would lead you to high blood pressure and cardiac arrest, there is no doubt that the excessive consumption of energy drinks would cause the obesity. Obesity is the condition that commonly described whenever you have the excessive body weight. Since the energy drinks contain a high amount of sugar and artificial sweetener, there is no doubt that the chance of you become overweight would be increased because sugar could cause the insulin resistance. What makes it worst is that the sugar and artificial sweetener in energy drinks would make you become addicted, which make you’re craving to consume the energy drinks again and again. This thing would be very dangerous for the overall health of your body because obesity could be very fatal and could lead you to various medical conditions.
- Energy Drinks Can Kill You
This is the most fatal conditions whenever you’re over-consuming the energy drinks. In the matter of fact, many studies have already evidenced that the excessive consumption of energy drinks would lead you to death. In the past few years, many studies have already found that there are the connections between energy drinks and death. The report that submitted to the FDA linking that several energy drinks have been linked as the main cause of death in many people. So, there is no surprise that your parents or your beloved ones always tell you to avoid the energy drinks at all cost. If you want to improve you energy and stamina, it is better to you to drink plenty of water and exercise regularly.
Common Ingredients of Energy Drinks
So, after you already know all of the health risks of energy drinks, you might wonder what are the ingredients of energy drinks so that they can increase and boost your energy and stamina. Here are the common ingredients in an energy drink:
- Caffeine. This is the most common ingredients in an energy drink. Caffeine will stimulate the central nervous system and could raise the blood pressure and heart beat. As the diuretics, caffeine would also cause the dehydration too.
- Taurine. Taurine is an amino acid that naturally produced by our body. The taurine that contained in energy drinks is manufactured. Studies have already shown that taurine could lower the cholesterol level, increase the effectiveness of heart muscle contractions, and improve the blood flow.
- Guarana. Guarana is commonly comes from the plant that located South America and it has more dense caffeine than the coffee beans. Some people suggest that Guarana could improve their alertness, while other people suggest the exact opponent thing, that the Guarana doesn’t have any stimulating effects.
- Sugar. There is no surprise at all that energy drinks contain a high amount of sugar. As already mentioned above, the high amount of sugar in the energy drinks would cause some serious medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes type 2, and many more.
- Ginseng. Ginseng is often used as the medicinal herb and believed that this herb could increase the energy level, Have some anti-fatigue properties, relieve stress, and promote memory. In the matter of fact, this is one od the beneficial ingredients that contained in the energy drinks. The side effects of ginseng are diarrhea and moderate headache.
- Vitamin B complex. Another ingredients that actually would be very beneficial to your body that contained in energy drinks is Vitamin B complex. The Vitamin B would be beneficial to convert the foods into energy and thus, they can boost your energy level. But, you need to aware that the overconsumption of energy drinks would lead you to niacin overdose that already mentioned above.
- Artificial Sweeteners. Even if the energy drinks have already contained high amounts of sugar, the addition of artificial sweetener will be more likely to occur to help cover the medicinal taste of the other energy drinks ingredients. Common sweeteners that being used in energy drinks are Aspartame, Sucralose, Ace-K, and also alcohol sugars. This artificial sweetener will lead you to diabetes type 2, obesity, high blood pressure, and other serious medical conditions.
Tips to Reduce Energy Drinks Danger
So, after you already know all of the health risks of the energy drinks, as well as the common ingredients of energy drinks, you might want to know if there are anything that you need to do to reduce the dangers of energy drinks, so that you can still consume it without negatively affect your body. Sadly, the consumption of energy drinks definitely will lead you to the health risks that already mentioned above. But, you can do the following tips if you want to consume it and  suppress the negative effects of energy drinks:
- Always keep your eyes open on the amount of sugar content before you decide to buy an energy drink. Some of the energy drinks are very popular, but they contain a lot of sugar in their ingredients.
- Before you decide to buy the energy drinks, you need to take some attention on the caffeine amount in an energy drink. Look for one with the modest amount of caffeine, about 100 mg per servings, which is about the same as a cup of coffee.
- Before you decide to buy the energy drinks, please make sure to check the nutritional facts so that you can see what you’re ingesting. If you find that there is an energy drink that don’t have any nutritional facts label, you better to avoid that product for your own safety.
- Always remember that consume everything excessively is not good for your health. You need to remember that the moderation is the key to suppress the potential danger of the energy drinks. So, stay aware.
Read More Articles About Health Risks:
- Health Risks of Magnetic Cooking Pots
- Health Risks of Smoking
- Health Risk of Steroids
- Health Risks of High Levels of Saturated Fat and Cholesterol
- Health Risks of Colonoscopy
So, now you already know all of the health risks of energy drinks. Basically, it is better for you to drink plenty of water, take some time to rest, and exercise regularly if you want to boost your stamina and energy level instead of drinking energy drinks. After you know all of the potential harm that the energy drinks would cause to your body, you need to suppress the consumption of it or even avoid it at all cost. So, stay healthy!