The Positive and Negative Effects of Energy Drinks

In the last several years, the popularity of energy drinks has risen. The popularity started with a drink named Redbull, which was targeted for adults. However, as energy drinks became more popular a drink called Monster came out that was more targeted towards children and young adults. However, the negative effects of energy drinks are not worth the health benefits.

So what is the difference between an energy drink and a sports drink? Well, a sports drink ismade to quench thirst and is composed of a large amount of sugars and electrolytes. It is thesugars in these sports drinks that causes high concern. High sugar intake can put you at risk fordiabetes and obesity. What makes an energy drink differ from a sports drink is the high amount of caffeine and other stimulants that cause a quick burst of energy and alertness. These “benefits” however are often followed by a state of mind in which you feel drowsy and unalert due to thequick drop in energy. The recommended amount of caffeine for adults is roughly around400mg, but it is unsuggested entirely for children.

It is important to note the positive and negative effects of energy drinks. It is actually surprising how unrecommended energy drinks are by pediatricians, not just for children, but also forathletes. The caffeine in energy drinks is dehydrating while sports drinks are meant to replace the fluids lost from exercising. If you are just doing simple tasks like participating in gym class thenwater is the fluid of choice. If you are an athlete who is constantly exercising, pushing yourself as far as you can go then sports drinks are the drink you should go with. The body needs naturalenergies produced by itself so replacing that energy with artificial energies from energy drinks isnot wise. While the recommended amount of caffeine is around 400mg for adults, someenergy drinks can contain as much caffeine as 14 cans of soda (4 more than the recommended daily amount) and 30 mg of sugar, the same amount in a case of soda.

Energy drinks can also cause anxiety, headaches, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure from the caffeine that they contain. A cup of coffee on the other hand with a standard amount of added sugar only contains roughly 8 grams of sugar, and allows your body to create antioxidants that fight disease. It’s hard to tell if energy drinks even work. “Just because a molecule appearsto heighten attention in a small study on a couple dozen people does not mean it will have anyeffect if it is mixed into a drink and given to people at random in unknown doses.” If you’realready performing well anyways, it is unlikely to be helpful. Energy drinks are not all bad for you though. Caffeine boosts cognitive performance andincreases glucose amounts in the body. Many of these drinks also contain guarana in them, a fruitthat contains caffeine.

There are also organic forms of energy drinks that give you the same kickas everyday energy drinks, but perform such a task in a natural manor. These kind of organicdrinks are used by South Americans to prevent fatigue. Such drinks contain a leaf called “yerbamate” that provides caffeine in forms of theophylline and theobromine, and are high inantioxidants (similar to coffee). You can also buy yerba mate leaves by themselves and brewthem as tea. Some fallbacks to this kind of organic drink are high cost and low availability. It can be hard to tell how bad energy drinks really are for you considering the amount ofchemicals that compose them. L-theanine is an amino acid found in green tea. L-theanineproduces waves in the brain that cause relaxation and focused concentration. This amino acid works particularly well with caffeine.

Another compound that energy drinks can be composed ofis phosphatidylserine which is naturally found in the brain and can cause an improvement inmemory. Despite all of these positive sounding things, consuming them together can causeunexpected results. Like this source says, “These energy supplements shouldn’t be considered asmedicine, but as dietary supplements.” This means that these supplements don’t have to beproven to have benefits like drug manufacturers do. The problem with taking these energysupplements is that there isn’t extensive research done on them. “If you buy a bottle of aspirinyou can see how many milligrams are in each pill, and how many pills you should take. Youcan’t find out how much of each chemical is in these energy drinks.” Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Although it cannot be proven, since 2014 there havebeen 34 alleged deaths related to energy drinks. 22 linked to 5 hour energy, 11 linked to monsterand one death linked to rockstar. There have also been 56 reported injuries, 54 of which werehospitalizations reporting high blood pressure, convulsions, and heart attacks. The amount ofsugar in a Rockstar is also over three times the recommended amount from the American RedCross Association.

In summary, while there can be positive effects from drinking energy drinks and taking energysupplements, it is not the best for you. There are hardly any health benefits, especially if yourbrain already functions healthily. While there are healthy alternatives to typical energy drinksthat are better for you, a majority of energy drinks can have large negative impacts on your dailylife. There has not been extensive research done on the effects of energy drinks so it’s hard to tellwhat all of the negative effects are. Just from the research that has been done it is safe to assumethat unless you celebrate on occasion with an energy drink that they should not be consumed in large amounts, especially if you are under the age of eighteen and or have depression, anxiety, orheart problems.