The thing is, our body doesn’t want all the energy 24/7.
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Coffee is no longer the only beverage to keep us awake and alert. Energy drinks tipped its popularity and valuation is in billions of dollars. The market is even expected to reach $52 Billion by 2016.
Effective or not, it doesn’t matter for me. I drink it because of the premise of extended performance. Knowing that I should perform longer is enough to push me to do more.
But studies show that energy drinks can really sustain energy for up to 90 minutes after consumption. Athletes perform better and drivers counter their sleepiness. Since these benefits are real, these drinks should be good right? We are not given all the facts.
We are not supposed to devour on energy drinks everyday. Franca Alphin, director of health promotion at Duke Student Health, said it well: “caffeine is not a substitute for sleep”. I know no one wants to sleep when we demand more time from us but drinking anything will not do the sleeping for our body. We still need to rest.
But energy drinks can be addicting and people will drink it everyday. People will think that an energy drink is a necessity for concentration. Tracy Falba, a faculty who studied addiction, claimed that energy drink addiction is in the same isle of alcohol or smoking addiction because people suffer the withdrawal symptoms after halting the consumption.
Bruce, et al’s (2000) study shows that caffeine dosage of 6 mg/kg body weight has the same effect with 9 mg/kg body weight. It doesn’t matter whether you drink more – you get the same benefit of increased performance. Nonetheless, certain energy drinks can contain caffeine of 7 cups of coffee.
More is worse. Cans after cans of energy drinks could lead to caffeine toxicity. Signs of too much energy are anxiety, nervousness, nausea and the list goes on. Seizures, manias and strokes are not unheard of. Death incidents are also linked to the head players in the industry including Monster and Red Bull.
Energy drinks are very high on sugar, which is one of the reasons why it’s very hard to combat diabetes. A ploy to escape the sugar content is using artificial sweeteners instead. Certain artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose are hazardous chemicals. Heck, sucralose is even harmful to plants and animals; and the human body won’t even recognize them as food but toxins.
It’s delicious, but the myriad of ingredients are too much for the human body.
How frequent do you consume energy drinks?
Sources:Experts: energy drinks can be addictive; The Chronicle
What happens if you drink too many energy drinks?; Livestrong
The Dirty Secrets of Energy Drinks; Natural Commando
Energy Drink Side Effects; Energy Friend
MarketsandMarkets: Global Sports and Energy Drinks Market is Expected to Reach $52 Billion by 2016; PRNewswire
Energy Drinks: An Assessment of Their Market Size, Consumer Demographics, Ingredient Profile, Functionality, and Regulations in the United States; Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety
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