Borrowed energy: the harm of energy drinks
Energy drinks have become widespread in modern society. They are especially popular among young people. Energy drinks allow you to get a boost of energy for a short period of time. However, few people think about how this influence affects health.
Harm from energy drinks
These drinks contain substances that have a stimulating effect on the vital systems of the human body. As a result, after drinking such a drink, a person feels cheerful and energized. The effect of an energy drink can last up to three hours, depending on the type of drink.
According to doctors, after consuming the permissible dose of an energy cocktail and stopping its effect, a healthy person needs a full sleep for four hours. But people who drink these drinks rarely stop after one can, trying to prolong the fun as long as possible.
Drinks with an invigorating effect are classified as food additives, which allows manufacturers to not indicate their exact composition on the packaging. Therefore, poisoning with energy drinks has long become commonplace. The main components of any energy drinks are taurine, glucose and caffeine. Other substances are added to them that enhance the invigorating effect, for example, vitamins C, PP and group B, ginseng extract, Chinese lemongrass and others. The maximum concentration of the main active components is usually exceeded tens or even hundreds of times. For example, one can of Red Bull contains 300 times the daily requirement of glucose, and the concentration of caffeine corresponds to three cups of the strongest coffee.
As a result of abuse of energy drinks, a person can get:
- Tachycardia.
- Blood pressure surges.
- Cardiac arrest.
- Exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases.
- Allergic reactions.
- Cramps and suffocation.
- Diabetes.
- Anaphylactic shock.
- Edema.
- Feverish conditions and so on.
In addition, energy drinks have a negative effect on the psyche, causing addiction, hangovers and suicidal thoughts. With prolonged use of these drinks, personality degradation occurs.
Why are energy drinks harmful to children?
Based on the composition of these drinks and their effect on the body, we can definitely say that drinking energy drinks in childhood and adolescence is not only not recommended, but is strictly prohibited. Long-term and uncontrolled drinking of energy drinks can cause drug addiction, mental retardation and neurological disorders.
It is especially dangerous to drink energy drinks in combination with alcohol, as nightclub visitors often do. This combination is extremely dangerous, since alcohol acts as a counterbalance to energy drinks, suppressing the nervous system. As a result, the person completely loses control over his actions. This can cause poisoning as a result of a large dose of alcohol entering the body.
Due to the danger, in some countries the sale of energy drinks is generally prohibited, in other countries restrictions have been introduced on their sale and the mandatory use of warning labels. In Russia there are no measures yet to restrict the sale of these drinks, so almost anyone can buy a can of energy drink.
Safe energy drinks
In fact, there are simply no safe energy drinks. The action of all these cocktails in bright jars is aimed at giving the maximum possible release of energy in a short time. After all, company owners primarily care about good sales, and not about the health of customers.
If you are looking for a way to restore the body after physical work or, conversely, to prepare for a working day, then natural energy drinks are the best option. Such products saturate the body with useful substances, and do not poison it. Natural energy drinks do not contain caffeine or chemical ingredients, or a heavy dose of vitamins; they are made from natural ingredients and are always fresh. An example of such drinks is lemon water with honey, ginger tea, or ginger drink with lemon and honey.
