Energy drinks are becoming increasingly popular for people who are looking for competitive edge especially in high school. There are those energy drinks taken by children as low as 4 years to boost their energy.
Too much sugar can result in a negative impact on the health of individuals. It is advisable to take energy drinks with caution.
The pro and cons of energy drink help determine whether it is good for your health or not.
Pros:
1. Boost energy: Taking the energy drink will boost your energy and focus. The nutrients contained in the energy drink like amino acid taurine, caffeine, and vitamin B increase your heart rate giving you an energy boost when you feel tired.
2. Vitamin B: Energy drinks contain vitamin B components that help to fight cancer and other diseases while improving your mood.
3. Pantothenic acid: The acid in the drink helps to fight anxiety, stress and any skin disorders or allergies.
4. Riboflavin: It is used to treat blood disorders and muscle cramps during exercise or athletics.
5. Electrolytes: When exercising, we lose not only water but also electrolytes inform of sweat and if you don’t replace it immediately, it may result in dehydration. Taking energy drink, especially those with sodium will help maintain water and electrolytes levels.
6. Simple sugar: Taking sugar in controlled doses can help provide the energy your body needs. Getting a lot of carbs from drinks with a simple solution will help you when playing a football match or in a long distance marathon.
7. Convenient drink: You can grab the energy drink any time and take some gulps. You will feel replenished immediately unlike if you are to take a cup of coffee.
8. Boost performance: During workouts and bodybuilding exercises, the energy drink is used to boost the performance. It helps build a long-lasting positive impact on one’s body.
9. Regulative nervous system: Vitamin B12 found in the drink helps regulate your nervous system as well as maintaining a healthy digestive system. It helps keep red blood cells.
10. Contain Niacin: This helps fight arthritis pains and reduce blood lipids in your body.
Cons:
1. Affect kids dental formula: Too much sugar in the energy drink may make one have several trips to the dentist. Some energy drinks are unsuitable for children.
2. Attention and concentration: Some energy drink contains sugar and large quantities of caffeine and this affects the kid’s attention and their concentration.
3. Sleep deprivation: When the caffeine product is taken before bed, it makes it difficult to sleep and can cause headaches.
4. Serious side effects: Large amount of caffeine results to high blood pressure or irregular heartbeats and sometimes hallucinations.
5. Weight gain: The excess sugar (broken down to glucose and sucrose) and calories in energy drink result in weight gain.
6. Chronic health problems: Taking energy drinks consistently results in chronic health complications and osteoporosis. This is due to the caffeine component that makes your body lose calcium, resulting in weak bones.
7. Belly fat accumulation: The acidic ingredients have a high amount of artificial flavors or sweeteners to make the drink taste better. These ingredients affect your organs functions and lead to belly fat accumulation.
8. Heart arrhythmia: Mixing caffeine in the energy drink interacts with heart medication drugs causing arrhythmia.
9. Type 2 diabetes: High consumption of caffeine component reduces insulin sensitivity in the body. Diabetic people should take energy drinks with moderation.
10. Miscarriage: It can cause late miscarriage to pregnant women and in extreme cases, it results in low birthweight.
