Are energy drinks bad for you? Can they cause actual damage to your health?
The truth is too much of anything can be bad for you. So yes, technically energy drinks are considered to be unhealthy. But this can depend on the amount you consume.
Most energy drinks have around 100-200 milligrams of caffeine in them. The recommended limit for consuming caffeine daily is 400mg so, as long as you don’t exceed that limit you should be fine. This also depends on the type of person you are; some are more sensitive to caffeine compared to others. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health states, “In several studies, energy drinks have been found to improve physical endurance, but there’s less evidence of any effect on muscle strength or power. Energy drinks may enhance alertness and improve reaction time, but they may also reduce steadiness of the hands.” This proves that energy drinks can give you a boost when needed from the caffeine and vitamins in the drink. But once again, too much of anything is bad for you so if too much is consumed you may notice side effects like shaking or nervousness.
Most people do believe that energy drinks are dangerous, and that they should be banned. This is true for certain brands of energy drinks. For example, Monsters are considered to be very bad for you and have many negative side effects along with the amount of sugar and additives in them. But brands like Alani, Celsius and C4 are considered to be better for you because the ingredients are better, and there is not an unnecessary amount of sugar.
In order for the stereotype around energy drinks to be changed, there needs to be less misunderstanding. For example, people will read an article about someone getting hospitalized because of energy drinks, but the chances are they were overconsuming them. When you over-consume anything, — especially caffeine – it can have negative effects that could cause severe damage. But for this to change, we need to learn how to control our caffeine intake and limit it to only a few energy drinks a week and maybe less.
Overall, energy drinks can be good or bad for you. You can buy good brands with good ingredients, or you can buy the bad ones with unnecessary additives. You can over-consume them, or you can drink them in moderation and prevent side effects. It is all up to how you choose to consume them.
