Yes, they may pair well with a hangover from the night before, however, many energy drinks and shots are artificially flavored with triple the caffeine, sugars, and vitamins your body needs. They can even take them away for that matter if you’re juggling other health issues.
Check out 8 reasons why you should nix the amped-up drinks to save your health:
Those who are prone to feeling increased anxiety when consuming caffeinated beverages should stay clear of artificial energy drinks and shots. For some, larger doses of caffeine can even ignite full-blown panic attacks.
READ: Sugary Drinks Could be Linked to Colon Cancer in Younger Patients
Because many energy drinks are also very high in sugar, they can eventually wear out the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, which unfortunately leads to type 2 diabetes.
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Yes, you can most certainly become addicted to the caffeine in these drinks. It’s all about dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that helps control movement, motivation, and emotions, so enhanced dopamine signaling makes a person feel more awake and alert.
Because caffeine produces that alert feeling, it’s classified as a stimulant. So, like many drugs, caffeine enhances dopamine signaling in the brain.
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Caffeinated products can elevate a person’s blood pressure. For those with normal blood pressure, this shouldn’t be too alarming, but those with already elevated blood pressure could be at risk of stroke and other health problems related to hypertension if they consume too many energy drinks in a short period of time.
A study published by the American Heart Association showed that energy drinks have a greater negative effect on blood pressure than drinks that contain caffeine alone as the active ingredient. They believe the combination of ingredients in energy drinks is why these beverages pose a greater risk of heart-related problems than coffee or tea.
Niacin, also known as Vitamin B3, is placed in almost every energy drink at levels that cause no harm and can even be healing. However, Niacin, which has often been inaccurately portrayed as a natural supplement to flush your system of marijuana, can cause an overdose when the vitamin is consumed with energy drinks. Symptoms include skin flushing, dizziness, rapid heart rate, vomiting, itching, gout, and diarrhea.
Energy drinks can certainly keep people awake, but when abused, they can cause some people to miss sleep altogether. This lack of sleep causes impaired functioning and can make driving or performing other concentration-heavy tasks dangerous.
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It has been recorded that those with underlying heart conditions have gone into cardiac arrest just after a few energy drinks. Before drinking energy drinks or caffeine, be sure to know your heart’s health. Studies have shown that these drinks cause more forceful heart contractions, which could be harmful to some with certain heart conditions.
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Between 2009 and 2011 there were 4,854 calls to poison control centers regarding energy drinks, 51% of these calls were involving children. It showed a strong link between energy drinks and cardiac events among teens. It’s recommended that teens consume no more than one 250 ml energy drink per day and not before or during sports or exercise.
Some of the ingredients in energy drinks can interact with prescription medications, especially medications taken for depression. Because of the many ingredients in these drinks, reactions could occur, from minor itching to airway constriction.
Tia Muhammad, BS, is an award-winning freelance content & media creative, copywriter, blogger, digital designer, and marketing consultant. She owns the boutique content and digital media company, jackieGLDN|studio.
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