The Side Effects of Energy Drinks

Energy drinks are very popular, but there are side effects of energy drinks that you need to be aware of.

Energy drinks are beverages that contain large amounts of caffeine and sugar, although sugar-free versions of some energy drinks are available.

Most energy drinks also contain additional ingredients like B vitamins, amino acids and herbs. Energy drink manufacturers often tout the energy producing benefits of these additional ingredients, but there's little scientific evidence to support many of the claims. Most of the energy from energy drinks comes from the caffeine and sugar.

The caffeine in most energy drinks comes from multiple sources, so it's often hard to tell how much caffeine the drinks actually contain. Energy drinks list herbal stimulants (like guarana) as separate ingredients from caffeine, but they often don't tell you how much additional caffeine these herbal stimulants provide. Guarana contains two to three times more caffeine than coffee beans do.

The typical energy drink contains about 80 mg of caffeine per can, but many energy drinks contain much higher amounts than this. 80 mg is about the same amount of caffeine that's in an average strength cup of coffee and about twice the amount of caffeine that's in a cup of tea or a can of soda.

Here are the side effects of energy drinks that you need to know about:

• The high amount of caffeine in many energy drinks can overstimulate your heart and nervous system and increase your blood pressure.

• The high amount of caffeine in many energy drinks can cause dehydration.

• The high amount of sugar in many energy drinks can cause your energy to spike and then crash.

• The high amount of sugar in many energy drinks can lead to excess calories and weight gain.

• Some of the herbs in energy drinks may not interact well with certain medications.

If you're consuming energy drinks because you're frequently tired, there are better ways to boost your energy: get adequate sleep, exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet. You also need to stay well-hydrated, as dehydration is a common cause of tiredness.

Drinking plenty of water is the best way to stay hydrated because water is processed by the body differently than other types of fluids. Water also has plenty of health benefits. Visit the Importance of Drinking Water page for information on water's many health benefits.

In conclusion, many energy drinks can have unhealthy or harmful side effects, and they should be used infrequently, if at all.

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