Rather not

Jul 9, 2007 18:51 GMT  ·  By

They advertise for energy drinks as if the drinks themselves were the ones pulling the weights when you go to the gym. Hold on! Besides pure advertisement, some of these chemicals can after all induce the contrary effect of what you really want. That's because the active ingredient in energy drinks, varying in dose depending on the case, has its side effects.

Caffeine, an alkaloid found from coffee to tea and chocolate, works by stimulating your brain, the same as amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin. A 12-ounce (300 ml) of caffeinated energy drink contains 70-100 mg of caffeine, like 6 ounce (150 ml) cup of coffee. Guarana, another fashionable energy drink, contains in fact just caffeine. Inside the brain, caffeine blocks the chemical that turns you naturally drowsy. The chemical, adenosine, is also involved in dilating the blood vessels. This way, caffeine makes the brain's blood vessels constrict.

Your heart rate increases, muscles tighten, blood pressure booms, blood vessels near the surface constrict and more blood flows to the muscles. Caffeine also increases dopamine, the happy feeling hormone, in your brain. Caffeine is a mild diuretic.

But if you're going to make bodybuilding training, the heart beat can increase dangerously high, while triggering extremities shivering and nausea.

Moreover, the long term effects can be really tricky. Once the temporary stimulation goes off, the brain cells begin to need caffeine for stimulation and a sudden neural sluggishness installs. The unnatural heart racing is unhealthy, and can trigger heart problems. Sleep is damaged and the alkaloid needs 12 hours to completely leave your body.

Due to the diuretic effects, caffeine, while speeding the urination cycle, "steals" calcium which is lost through urine. Long term, heavy caffeine use hurries up the osteoporosis development.

Sugar. Only "sugar free" drinks have no sugar at all; even "light" drinks have a lot of sugar. The sugar in 8 ounce (200 ml) can vary from 5 to 8 teaspoons and 80 to 130 calories. Just one bottle of energy drink has all of the sugar your body needs in a day.

Sugar induces you a rapid momentary energy burst, as it is absorbed much faster than other energy source foods, like protein. It raises the blood sugar level and gives that quick energy. But lasts very little, as the body quickly releases insulin, that makes the glucose be rapidly absorbed in tissues. And the sudden insulin burst plummets your blood sugar, and also your energy and endurance.

These insulin fluctuations increase the appetite but, in the long run, they have been linked to type 2 diabetes.

Perhaps the most popular ingredient to be found in energy drinks is taurine. Taurine is pushing potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium into and out of cells, these ions being implied in nerve signals. But most researches have shown taurine not to be energy-giving, even if it might help to decrease muscle fatigue.

B Vitamins are crucial for many functions of the body including reduction of stress and depression, metabolism and digestive system. But overdoses can trigger nausea, gout, hypothyroidism, insomnia or reduced insulin release, and many other side effects.