Energy Drinks Are the New Coffee

For older generations, coffee is the very engine of existence. It helps us get up in the morning, and provides us with the necessary energy to go through a hard day's work. It's scientifically proven that the wonderful beverage brings people together, and helps strengthen social networks. It also has a number of advantages on health, if consumed moderately, and is often prescribed by medics to people suffering from low blood pressure.

But the new generations, comprised mostly of teenagers and young adults, have a different “elixir,” namely energy drinks, which are mainly made up of caffeine and sugar, alongside taurine and guarana, and are created to boost mental alertness and physical performances.

According to nutritionist Stephanie Cote, from university of Montreal's Extenso health and nutrition think-tank, "Energy drinks are the coffee of a new generation. These drinks are made up of sugar and caffeine and can have a negative impact on health. Energy drinks don't hydrate the body efficiently. Because they have too much sugar. And caffeine doesn't necessarily improve physical performance. In high quantities it can increase the risks of fatigue and dehydration."

 

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2008 released a report saying that more than 1.5 billion cans of Red Bull had been consumed in the United States in 2004, with a similar number recorded in Canada. The trend has most likely grown even further during the last five years, which means that updated figures about last year's consumption levels will only be available in a couple of years at best.

 

Another problem with these drinks is that they are at times mixed with alcohol, and that some retailers sell them over the counter to underage children. Because the main ingredients in these products are designed to boost the body's normal endurance to fatigue, the effects of alcohol are masked. That is to say, if a person usually drinks a lot of it, they become tired over a while, which prompts them to go home and sleep it off. But energy drinks circumvent these feelings, and make the person believe that nothing is wrong.
 

Thus, consumers are at risk of not even realizing that they are drunk, and they generally act accordingly, sometimes even driving while intoxicated. "Usually when someone consumes too much alcohol, their head spins and they feel tired. Energy drinks cancel out these warning signs. The person feels good and therefore keeps drinking without realizing they are drunk," Cote explains.

 

Among some of the side effects of consuming more than two cans of energy drinks per day, the scientist enumerates hypertension, heart palpitations, irritability, anxiety, headaches and insomnia. The human body is not designed to be kept running for prolonged periods of time, without having the chance to replenish itself by sleeping. And seeing how, when on energy drinks, young people tend to consume alcohol, and occasionally use drugs, the effects of the drinks themselves are further amplified in the worst way possible.