Energy Drinks Side Effects

With all the advertising put into energy drinks, it is no wonder that most people view them as the anti-thesis of kryptonite’s weakening effect to a famous superhero. This is probably due to the fact that advertisements on the product have highlighted them as stuff that can get you through any physically stressful day and with stress being overrated nowadays, then the ads have hit a need that has translated into millions in sales.

Energy drinks have trendy, sporty and cool imaging that is given to energy drinks aside from the message of endurance and strength that it capitalizes upon, people might think that energy drinks could only do well for the body. As such, they are being consumed by both adults and teens alike to get through a sport event, staying up late for an exam or to meet a deadline at work and other activity that requires your more than usual energy. What they might not be aware of is that these drinks can be harmful and can carry long-term side effects that can take you by surprise.

A bottle or can of energy drink actually contains big doses of caffeine and sugar which make it the stimulant that it is. In addition, it contains substances like taurine which is an amino acid, B vitamins, sodium citrate and guarana which is an herbal stimulant. Each bottle contains 50-80 mgs of caffeine which is the major force behind its energy boosting capability. Unfortunately, it is this ingredient that is the cause of the negative side effects of energy drinks.

The benefits that you reap from energy drinks do not come without a price. For one, because of the high-caffeine content, energy drinks increase the heart rate. This increase leads to palpitations which can be dangerous to people who have a heart ailment or to women who are pregnant. What makes it worse is that is that people who drink this usually do so in large amounts unlike coffee or tea, also high in caffeine, which are sipped slowly. This magnifies the said side effect and you could just imagine how grave it could become when these energy drinks become a part of a person’s daily intake much like food.

Aside from an increased heart rate, drinking these energy boosters can affect the sleeping patterns of the consumer. Being a stimulant, the drink makes you more alert for several hours which is the reason why people drink it for activities that require to them stay up late in the night. However, this serves to disrupt your body clock and when this continues for some time it could lead to insomnia.

Due to an interrupted sleeping pattern, nervousness and irritability can also arise. These mood changes may not be noticeable during the first few days of consuming the energy drink but soon enough relationships will be affected because of said changes whether at home or at work. The temporary kick that you get, which could later on turn to a sort of euphoria due to overconsumption of the product, would have a devastating effect not only on your body but also on your social relations.

As mentioned, overconsumption of the product can lead to a feeling of euphoria. This leads to the other side effect of energy drinks. According to research, caffeine and cocaine have the same effect on the body and that is to increase motility and locomotion. Being both stimulants, these substances make a person more active for several hours while these remain in the body system. Coffee can also be addicting much like caffeine and that is why you often hear coffee drinkers say that their day cannot start without their cup of coffee. As such, because caffeine makes up much of energy drinks, then they will experience similar effects.

It is said that mixing energy drinks with alcohol would have a euphoric effect on the body. Because of this, it has become one of the most popular drink mixes in bars and similar joints. The energy drink actually counteracts the depressant effect of the alcohol so that the person wouldn’t experience fatigue or impairment.

If you’ve tried drinking one, you might have noticed that you did not feel any of the usual effects of alcohol like headaches, grogginess, fatigue and motor impairment. It is your tendency then to drink more which, of course, would be detrimental to your overall health especially when done regularly. Plus, caffeine in the energy drink could be highly dehydrating which means that the alcohol that you drank would stay longer in the body because the ability of your body to metabolize alcohol is slowed down.

It is also wrong to take a bottle of energy drink before a physical activity because unlike sports drinks which hydrates the body during the exercise and gives the necessary electrolytes and sugar lost through perspiration, energy drinks are dehydrating and induces urination because of their caffeine content. As such, it could lead to loss of more water in the body and, thus, weaken the person during the physical activity.

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