Health experts continue to warn about the consequences of energy drinks on human health, especially the youth group that is increasingly accepting it. What is the effect of energy drinks on the body and why is it recommended to leave them?
Samantha Sharp, 33, nearly lost her life due to her addiction to energy drinks. Samantha is currently forced to live with a pacemaker. As this British young woman used to drink up to six cans of energy drinks a day. Symptoms began to appear on her through loss of consciousness at home, in addition to feeling very tired and unable to sleep. The German newspaper “Bild” quoted Sharp as saying in an interview with the British newspaper, The Leicester Mercury: “I have three children. I also work in the evening. This prompted me to consume energy drinks.” Samantha used to work as a cleaner before her current job in a bar. She describes the effects of energy drinks on her: “The drinks made my heart beat faster and gave me headaches. I was feeling angry and needed to drink another can to keep going.”
High in sugar and caffeine
Germany’s Federal Office for Risk Assessment (BfR) indicates that one cup of coffee contains 90 mg of caffeine. A can of energy drink contains 80 mg of caffeine. Despite the close proportions, energy drinks pose a much greater risk than hot drinks, because the latter is consumed slowly. Energy drinks are usually drunk quickly, which increases the risk of overdose. The recommended upper limit for adults is 200 mg of caffeine per day. Energy drinks should not be confused with carbohydrate-rich sports drinks, which aim to replace the loss of energy and water resulting from physical activity.
What happens in the body?
The BfR Federal Office for Risk Assessment issued a warning that energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine, usually along with other substances taurine, inositol and glucuronolactone, which stimulate the heart, blood vessels and central nervous system. In the presence of high levels of caffeine, unwanted effects such as increased agitation, palpitations, rapid and irregular heartbeat, and increased blood pressure can occur. Prof. Dr. Andreas Hensel, Head of the Federal Office for Risk Assessment, says: “Excessive consumption of energy drinks over a short period, drinking large amounts of alcohol at the same time, as well as intense physical exercise and poor sleep, may cause health problems. blunt.”