30 April, 2017
More than 5,000 cases of people who got sick from energy drinks were reported to USA poison control centers between 2010 and 2013, and nearly half of those cases were in children did not realize what they were drinking.
Unaware of how much energy drink they are consuming, caffeine overdose is a real risk.
"Although the cardiovascular safety profile of caffeine has been relatively well established, there is little published literature on the electrophysiologic and hemodynamic changes with multi-ingredient energy drinks", the researchers said.
Having a tall energy drink may certainly give you a boost in energy, but at the same time it may also cause your heart to develop some funky rhythms.
It was also noted that blood pressure increased by almost five points after participants consumed the energy drink, but by just under one point after drinking the other beverage.
Current European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidelines indicate that 400 mg of caffeine a day from all sources is not a safety concern.
In a recent study conducted by Emily Fletcher, from the David Grant USAP Medical Center, she claimed that they chose to study energy drinks because lots of military personnel consumed the drinks.
As part of the study 18 healthy adults consumed two cans of energy drink before downing two cups of coffee with the same amount of caffeine, but a week later.
Researchers also found that when people drank the energy drink, their blood pressure increased by five points after drinking the beverage and remained at mildly elevated levels after six hours.
The World Health Organization has warned that energy drinks "may pose a danger to public health". The first group were given 32 ounces of an energy drink that contained 108g (around 8-and-a-half tablespoons) of sugar and 320mg of caffeine, along with other ingredients.
"The energy drink industry claims that their products are safe because they have no more caffeine than a premium coffee house coffee", said Dr. Jennifer L. Harris from University of Connecticut's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity in Storrs to Reuters, who wasn't involved in the study.
Six days after the initial round, the two groups switched drinks and the effects were again studied.
Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base in California, said that they have chose to examine energy drinks' potential heart health impact due to past research that showed 75 percent of the base's military personnel have drunk an energy drink. Energy drinks also contain "natural substances" such as taurine, ginseng, and carnitine. "It's the pause from the end of the electrical impulse generating the heart to beat to the next impulse", Dr Fletcher explained. Though according to Fletcher, the results needs further evaluation but the overall preliminary evidence, researchers concluded energy drinks may not be good.
"I have spoken to families that have been affected, and that is my driving factor in researching the safe and efficacious use of energy drinks", Shah said.
One former energy drink consumer, who didn't want to be named, said his habit cost him his health.
However, a new study has completely negated this belief saying that energy drinks are worse than caffeine itself.
