Energy drinks and the impact on health

• April 25, 2024

At exam time, they are consumed indiscriminately. They are energy drinks that promise extra doses of vitality and that have replaced the coffee thermos of other times. Only that there is an important difference: a can has more than double the caffeine than a cup of coffee. Many young people, to experience a high, combine these drinks with alcohol without knowing that the mixture can cause tremors and arrhythmias.

The stimulating drinks or "energy drinks" were created to face the day to day with more energy and without feeling signs of fatigue. Although the labels indicate that they revitalize body and mind and that they have powerful stimulating effects, the experts do not consider them as harmless as their manufacturers claim.

Miguel Ángel Rubio, secretary of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN), warns that "energy drinks contain more calories and caffeine than a cola drink. They are not really designed to improve either intellectual or physical performance. At least, there is no scientific verification of it. "

Risks for hypertensive and cardiac

Taking this type of product without any control can be harmful to health. It must be taken into account that these drinks contain, in addition to caffeine, certain components such as carbohydrates and proteins that, at a certain time, can be harmful if the body registers an overdose.

Ephedrine and others

Another cause of concern for physicians is the increasingly indiscriminate consumption of substances such as ginseng, taurine, ephedrine or guarana that can be a authentic pump for the organism.

A study conducted by a group of researchers at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit (United States), has revealed that people who have the high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid the consumption of energy drinks. According to Dr. James Kalus, author of the report, "the levels of caffeine and taurine they possess are responsible for causing these diseases."

The researchers observed that in the person who ingested said beverage the heart rate increased from 7 to 8%, while blood pressure was 7%.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends naming these drinks as stimulants , instead of energetics. In any case, it is advisable to carefully read its composition and evaluate its intake according to the illnesses or ailments of each person. A revealing fact: in some countries, like France, until 2008 the sale of these concoctions was authorized, before it was prohibited.

Video Medicine: Energy Drinks and Your Heart (April 2024).