Modern life is rushed. Regardless of your age, you are more than likely running to a tight schedule all the time. More than a century ago, Welsh poet William Henry Davies wrote the poem Leisure, saying: “What is this life if, full of care? We have no time to stand and stare.” It is truer today than it was then, and underscores the deleterious impact of stress on mental and physical health. Even children are trying to cram too much into their daily routines.While unhealthy food choices lead to poor nutrition in even well to do families; it ensures that few people get the energy levels they require from their daily diet. It is symptomatic of 21st century life that people are seeking short cuts, in the matter of energy generation too. In many cases, guzzling energy drinks is nothing less than an addictions.
If you service that with an energy drink, you are treading thin ice. The traditional cup of tea, or mug of coffee doesn’t harm you, if taken in reasonable quantities, while energizing flagging spirits and vitality. Coffee is known to make you feel wider awake, and more alert. It is the caffeine in it which narrows the blood vessels, clinically called vasoconstriction, forcing a faster heart rate to increase the flow of blood. However, a single cup of coffee contains caffeine which is within acceptable limits. Even if you are drinking only green tea, too many cups will hurt you as your system will get overloaded with tannin.
Obviously, too much of any beverage is bad for your health. Surprisingly, too much of even water can harm you as it puts a strain on your kidneys.Findings published in the Journal of theAmerican Heart Association indicated that more than the quantum of caffeine in energy drinks, it is the additives indrinks like Monster Energy, Red Bull, and 5-Hour Energy, which are dangerous for people. These additives includedan amino acid — taurine, glucuronolactone which is commonly found in plants and connective tissues, and B-vitamins. When B Vitamins are ingested naturally through fruits, leafy vegetables, and cereals like whole wheat and oats; they are especially beneficial. The combination proves problematic. Some energy drinks also contain one or more additional stimulants, such as ginseng and guarana.
The extremely high proportion of caffeine and plain refined sugar in energy drinks give you the spike you needed. This means that every can of energy drink you drink has 320 mg of caffeine — the amount you getfrom about four cups of coffee —androughly 113 grams of sugar, which explains the spike. The net result is that it throws out of gear the heart’s natural electrical activity.Electrocardiograms (ECGs) taken a day later displayed an ECG changeknown as QTc prolongation.
Unlike your usual cup of coffee, a 30 ounce (around 800 ml) energy drink changes the intervals between each heartbeat causing life-threatening irregularities in the heartbeat. Since most energy drinks are sold in 500 ml cans, drinking even one can might potentially endanger your life by increasing stress hormones.The spike in the heart rate and blood circulation leaves blood vessels dilated even several hours after imbibing an energy drink. Further, it raises the blood pressure (BP) by as much as five points. What is terrifying is that the BP remains elevated six hours later. With younger people also being diagnosed hypertensive these days, the risk of cardiac damage is heightened. After all, prolonged, untreated high blood pressure enhances the risk of sustaining a heart attack due to a clot forming in a blood vessel, ora stroke when an artery or vein ruptures or leaks in the brain; along with the perils of blindness, and kidney disease too.
The huge quantity of sugar per can means that those who are diabetic, and those who are borderline diabetic should lay off all energy drinks, as even drinking any of them once daily is potentially capable of enhancing your blood sugar levels dangerously. Further, the lining of the arteries and veins get damaged which can cause atherosclerosis (plaques in blood vessels), or narrowing of the blood vessels in diabetics. In youngsters, certain instances of seizures have been linked to drinking energy drinks. Don’t forget some children as young as 12 years are drinking energy drinks. Some nutritionists also warn of youngsters engaging in potentially high risk behavior after swigging one can too many of energy drinks. Some people imagine that they can cheat on sleep and much rest since they get their spike from an energy drink. In reality, they are heading for — sometimes permanent — brain damage street.
Remember the case filed against Monster Beverage Corp’s energy drinkMonster in 2012? The parents of a 14-year old girl filed a suit California Superior Court in Riverside, stating that drinking a 24 ounce can ofMonster energy drink for two days consecutively caused her to suffer cardiac arrest. A few days later, she suffered cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity, and died.