Energy Drink Side Effects
Are there side effects from the ingredients in Energy Drinks?
As the safety of an energy drink debate rages on, we thought we would take a look at what harmful consequences could result from consuming to many energy drinks.
It’s important to understand that energy drinks contain supplements and therefore, most brands contain some type of warning label about consuming more than the recommend serving. In moderation, most people will have no adverse, short term side effects from drinking energy drinks, however, the long term side effects from consuming energy drinks aren’t fully understood as of yet.
We will take a look at the most common energy drink ingredients and list the potential side effects that could result from ingesting too much of them through your favorite energy drink.
Caffeine
Of course this is the most common energy drink ingredient and most of you know the side effects, but the list wouldn’t be complete without it. Caffeine can be disguised as guarana, green tea extract, and coffee extract so be aware of this when reading energy drink labels. Caffeine can produce the following side effects;
- Dizziness, irritability, nausea, nervousness, jitters.
- Allergic reactions can include; rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the (mouth, face, lips, or tongue), diarrhea, shakiness, trouble sleeping, vomiting.
- Headache and severe fatigue from withdrawal.
- Breast shrinkage in females.
It’s hard to pinpoint a safe dose because it varies from person to person and according to a person’s tolerance. Between 500 milligrams to 1000 milligrams in a 24 hour period will probably result in some of the above side effects.
Sugar
Most energy drinks are high in sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup and/or cane sugar. Some use creative names to make their version of sugar seem healthier, like “natural cane juice” or they’ll call it “glucose”. High sugar drinks are linked to the obesity epidemic and the rapid increase of type 2 diabetes. The sugar in energy drinks causes insulin spikes which later result in a “crash like” feeling.
Taurine
No side effects from Taurine in energy drinks have been documented. Some countries ( France, Denmark, and Norway) originally banned energy drinks because of their taurine content, but have since accepted that taurine consumption is safe based on the evidence to date.
B Vitamins
- More than 35mg of Niacin (B3) can cause flushing of the skin. Intake of 3000mg or more can result in liver toxicity.
- More than 100mg of B6 can cause sensory nerve problems (burning sensation) or skin lesions.
Inositol
No known side effects have been reported, but ingesting large quantities has been linked to diarrhea. Large doses have been used to treat certain psychiatric disorders.
Ginseng
- Some studies have linked it to sleeplessness, while others refute this.
- Other possible symptoms include; nausea, diarrhea, headaches, nose bleed, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, and breast pain.
Glucuronolactone
While no side effects have been reported there’s still debate on its safety which has lead Canada, England, Germany, and France from allowing it in non-prescription products.
Artificial Sweeteners
If you like the sugar-free energy drinks variety there is ongoing debate over the safety of these. Here’s good article from diet-blog on the subject.
Ginkgo Biloba
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, and restlessness.
- Can interact with other medication such as blood thinners and anti-depressants.
L-Carnitine
- vomiting, nausea, headache, diarrhea, stuffy nose, restlessness and sleeping difficulty.
L-Theanine
This amino acid is derived from green tea and many energy drinks and shots have begun putting “green tea extract” in their products. It produces a different type of alertness than caffeine and there hasn’t been any scientific evidence of it causing adverse side effects. Some have reported feeling light-headed when consuming a dose of more than 300mg of L-Theanine.
Conclusions
Its important to note that with some of the energy drink side effects many ingredients can have similar negative effects, so with much of the information being anecdotal from patient’s records, it’s hard to say which ingredient actually caused the problems if the patient was ingesting several combinations of these at one time.
I think, overall, the evidence supports the safety of energy drinks within the context of moderation and knowing your body i.e. allergies, tolerance etc. However, we still don’t know any long-term energy drink side effects that could result, if any, because energy drinks haven’t been around long enough to draw any conclusions from their long-term effect on the human body.
If you drink responsibly and use energy drinks when you need a boost of energy and not use them as a replacement for water, then you most likely will avoid energy drink side effects.
Sources:
The National Institutes of Health
131 Comments
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Dam man that’s messed up. You should sue the corp. But i just wanted to know, it seems these drinks are intense but only at the rate you were taking them its a shame somthing so easy to buy even by children could be so detremental to your health how many red bulls would it take to get a 135 pound 15 year old lad to get addicted?, and can the addiction be fatal?
Energy drinks?! There is no energy in them! Someone has created these poisons @ the expence of mainly of ur kidneys, ur cardiovascular organs & gi tract.It is a matter of time b4 they are all exposed.They’re only 10 yrs old.
@Just -Energy drinks have been in the US since 1997 but the ingredients used in energy drinks are nothing new and they have been studied and researched. They are fine in moderation as anything can be harmful in excess, for example too many coke’s a day are harmful, too many cookies a day are harmful, even too many carrots a day are harmful. To say that they are poison is being overly dramatic sorry.
For a few years I was having one energy drink per day. I started having coffee in the morning and then I would still drink my energy drink later on. And even that was rare. But one day, I saw a documentary on the food and drinks we have and how we put junk into our bodies. So it made me think and stop having energy drinks. About a week after I stopped, I started having health issues that started out as just insomnia. I didn’t relate it at the time. Then a few days later, at night, I would wake up about 20 minutes after I fell asleep and had a feeling in my heart like it was weak. I would also wake up feeling VERY short of breath like my lungs were failing or something JUST as I would fall asleep. These symptoms went away after a while, until 2 days ago I went to a rock concert and they were giving out free energy drinks(trying not to mention brand names). I thought since I hadn’t had one in a long time, it would be okay. That night I slept fine, but the next day(last night) I had insomnia again. After some online research, I have determined that it is some kind of withdrawal form the energy drinks that’s causing my health problems. Also, the adrenaline rush that keeps me up at night with insomnia I believe to be adrinal fatigue. So personally, I suggest that energy drinks ARE far more dangerous than people think and should be given with a health warning!
on average, i might have 1-2 energy drinks a month. plus i drink alot of water and eat vegetables often. and eat home cooked meals. so yes, i am very healthy and responsible.
My 22 year old son drank one Monster drink once or twice a week until three weeks ago. He was scheduled to work a night shift and go to an early college class the following morning. After class he had a late lunch with his father. He was feeling tired bought a Monster drink on the was home. Arrived home about 3:00 pm talked to me for about half hour went to his room was playing a video games with his younger brother and drank his Monster drink. Around 5:00 pm his brother yells “Something is wrong with Dale!” I ran it the room and he was having seizure, he face was blue and he was shaking all over; his back was arched, bitting his tomgue, hitting his head on the bed. (It was the scariest 5 minutes of my life.) 911 was called. His heart rate and blood pressure were high. He oxygen was low and he was placed on oxygen. He taken to emergency. Most of the test we negative, including a drug test. The only abnormal test was the blood sugar a little high from the sugars in the drink. The ER doctor asked if he drank a energy drink and he told them he drank one. The ER doctor and the nurse told me they had several cases of seizures related to energery drinks. (This has been his only seizure.) Called the Monster company, was told by Maria, “The can has a warning label do not drink more than three sixteen ounce cans in a day, or if caffeine sensitive, or pregnant”. The company feels it safe to drink and it is not responsible if someone has an adverse reaction. According to the company a seizure is not a side effect that is possible. He now has thousands in hospital bills that he has to pay (he does not have insurance) and it possibly could have cost him his life. He has not had another seizure since he stopped drinking the Monster drinks, he will not drink other energy drink because he is not sure they are as safe as they claim to be. Just be careful.
welli ussually have 1 red bull a day but i havent had side affects…and i only have 1 because if it makes you “smaller” down there…well thats just horrible
Wow. It just hit me. I should stop drinking these. I almost died a few times. BP went through the roof. Be careful kids.
Hey:You all have good points, some even realizing they are going a little aver board,my first suggestion is if you have to drink an enrgy/d-1 a Day
If you want an alternative revert to the first energy drink discovered; tea-green better yet-in closing the antioxidant factors counter the neg of the caffiene-you can drink up to 4 cups per day
(be ready to P like a race horse though)
My heart beats very fast after drinking an energy drink, no matter how much caffeine was in the drink.
I have like 3 a day!
The acid in these will dehydrate you and induce vomiting before anything else,
even if they do kill you what if they don’t? you get monthly bills a bitch of a wife and a squad of twerps that don’t respect you?
drink up!
bob,
you should be ashamed, there are kids out there who beleive that crap!
D,
energy drinks speed up your heart which will eventually damage it, esp at the rate you are drinking
them. give it 5-6 years and then tell us again that they DO NOT cause heart problems.
Nurse? There’s not much evidence for that statement, in fact it has been shown through several well documented studies that people who drink 5 or more cups of coffee a day actually have better heart health and overall health. That’s a lot more caffeine then what’s in most energy drinks even drinking several a day.
i love monster, and am a huge fan of this drink…i started drinkin monster when i was 14…after read all the side effects..for me most of them sound familiar to the way i am and the side affects i have observed in my action. Although, the side afects are not as servere as i thought.i attempted withdrawl from this awesome yet mind diostorting drink. like D said, withdrawl is biach nd irritability and depression leads to suicide and kills too. i lov monster and will only drink it in moderation. monster liberates, cheers me up, and sends me flying..what iz better thean flying for ever with no worries of this world.
How sad for all of you who think it is ok! If you take a regualr coke – place a nail in it for 4 days—go back and check the nail? These energy drinks have the caffeine AND all of these other harsh ingredients…drinking a MONSTER is like having 4 coke-colas. You can also pour coke on your battery that is corroded and it will clean it immediately. What do you think it is doing to your insides? And what about the sugars that are clotting arteries—YOUNG PEEPS OF TODAY–this is the first time any generation has been officially announced that you will NOT outlive your parents!! DID YOU HEAR THAT?
Cooper Institute Certified Personal Trainer / Fitness Director
i drank 1 mother. and after that. i couldnt stop Scarching. my body was going from cold to hot. i was dizzy i couldnt stand stright . and i couldnt think. at all. i was tired. after a few hours i couldnt stop shaking and feelings of being cold. Just Be careful how much u Drink maybe my body cant take it. but this is warning bells.
Thanks for your comment Nick, but I would have hoped that in your education to be a personal trainer you would have covered some basic biology and chemistry. i.e. sugar doesn’t clot arteries, also coke is made with phosphoric acid which is what reacts with the metal of the nail. A Monster has no phosphoric acid in it. No one would argue with the fact that energy drinks aren’t the healthiest thing to put in the body. Anything other than water isn’t optimal really, but to demonize energy drinks isn’t really accurate.
BOB !!! lol!! thats all i have to say
I LOVE ENERGY DRINKS I’M SO ADDICTED IT’S NOT FUNNY!!! 0.o