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Energy drinks and their harmful effects

Written By Agent 737 on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 | 12:43 PM

The energy drink market is rapidly burgeoning into one of the most lucrative business ever with over 330 million liters of boosters consumed every year amounting to an estimated £1 billion in revenue. However the safety of these drinks leaves much to be desired as evidenced by various statistics on mortality and morbidity associated with their consumption.

Energy drinks are supposed to help boost energy level substantially and keep individuals active for longer periods of time than usual. This is what accounts for its very huge hit with young clubbers, students, and commercial drivers wanting to bolster their energy levels.
Energy drinks contain some forms of vitamins and other chemicals which boosts energy for a short span. Many energy drinks contain nutritional supplements such as Gingko Biloba, which is supposed to enhance memory, Taurine, a natural amino acid that regulates heart-beats, the Guarana seed, a natural stimulant and Ginseng, which has been used for centuries for its numerous health benefits. On average, an 8.5 ounce can of an energy booster contains at least 80 to 100mg of caffeine which is well more than double the legal amount of caffeine permitted in a soft drink can. Some very popular brands of energy drinks even contain more than 200mg of caffeine in a single can!

Although a 250ml can of Red Bull (one of the most popular brands around) contains 80mg of caffeine, which is about the amount found in instant coffee, evidence suggests that youngsters binge on several cans at a time.
While the products are often promoted as relatively harmless drinks there are concerns that people who binge on energy drinks could be risking their health. Studies have shown that consumption of energy drinks over an extended time can result in problems such as elevated blood pressure, increased anxiety levels, insomnia and heart palpitations.
These drinks have been banned in countries such as Norway, Uruguay and Denmark, and restrictions placed on sales and marketing in some other developed countries because of health concerns, this have resulted in energy-drinks-producing companies shifting focus to developing countries where neither such constraints exist nor the consumption of the drinks regulated.
Some studies have also raise the alarm over drinking too many energy drinks when doing exercise. Experts at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, US, urged patients with existing heart problems to avoid energy drinks as they increase the heart rate and blood pressure to dangerous levels.
A study at the Cardiovascular Research Centre in Adelaide, Australia, showed a single can of Sugar-free Red Bull could be damaging to the heart within 60 minutes. They discovered that these drinks thicken the blood to such a dangerous extent which compares to that found in patients with heart disease.
Though these drinks have been said to be effective by people who use them but the short and long term effects of energy drinks are numerous:
·         The most common short term effects of energy drinks include headache, insomnia, palpitation, increase in blood pressure and restlessness.
·         The excessive sugar in energy drinks can lead to weight gain and problems with insulin regulation due to dangerous surges in this hormone when the drinks are consumed.
·         The abundance of caffeine that is present in energy drinks has been shown to result in increased nervousness, sleeplessness, irritability, rapid heartbeat and increased blood pressure. This becomes even more of a problem when energy drinks are combined with alcohol, which is the manner in which it is frequently consumed.
·         Caffeine is a diuretic. When consumed in excessive amount, it triggers severe dehydration. Energy drinks leaves a dehydrating effect on the body which makes it dangerous during rigorous exercise where a lot of body water has already been lost. For this reason, it is better to drink water during exercise instead of energy drinks.
·         Makers of energy drinks are under no obligation to disclose the source of any natural supplement used in the products. As a result, consumers have no way of knowing whether the herbs and other natural supplements that are used have been contaminated by pesticides, irradiated or contaminated in other manner. It is hard to know what kind of toxin may be present in energy drinks.
·         The food supplements, Taurine, have proven health benefits but the synthetic version used in the manufacture of energy drinks have been known to cause illness such as high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes.
·         Several cases of brain block and impaired judgement have been reported among students, drivers and pilots who consumed energy drinks in lieu of rest.
·         The long term effects of these drinks include dangerous addiction to the use of these drinks and other caffeine products, and other health problems whose association with the consumption of energy drinks are still being researched. Some preliminary studies suggested that there is a link between the consumption of high energy drinks and adult-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus as these drinks are postulated to burn-out the insulin-producing pancreatic cells from frequent stimulations.
Any boost provided by energy drinks is often short lived and comes at a huge price in terms of their harmful effect to the health of consumers. This health concerns, though not always life-threatening but should not be overlooked either.
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