Energy drinks and health?

Question

Drinks such as Red Bull, Mother, V... How bad are they and how often and how bad does the situation need to be to have one?

Answer 1

When I think energy drink I can just imagine the executives in the boardroom at coke laughing because they can't believe how they managed to get away with charging 3X the price for soft drink with a few cheap ingredients added.

They are no worse for you than drinking soft drink really. They come in a smaller can so you would be getting less sugar which is a bonus. They have extra caffeine and other things added that so far have not been proven to do much at all. Taurine is an essential amino acid in cats. Its safe for humans, but what does it do? Thats a mystery.

I have friends that claim it help them when they are really hung over or tired, but I am not yet convinced they are anything more than soft drink. I need scientific studies as proof, and I have not seen any yet to convince me. I would love to see anything published in a peer reviewed journal anyone else can show me but.

Answer 2

i drink coffee and sometimes I drink too much of that and get jittery I can't imagine ho w awful those energy drinks would make me feel

I would not drink them no matter how desperate the situation

I think I would feel worse

Answer 3

they eat away the enamel on your teeth

Answer 4

they're the best thing ever,

keeps me energized,

but it not healthy.

i used to drink one every week,

now its more like once a month,

i switched to Arizonas

Answer 5

I have never had one, but a friend of mine said they make him all shaky.

Answer 6

They aren't good news.

Full of c**p in general.

They are full of both sugar and caffiene which will give you a quick engery kick but you'll end up real tired once it's worn off ... energy spikes.

As someone else pointed out they are acidy/sugary and not good for the teeth.

Replace with water is a good idea, I'm sure in the long run you'd be better off energy-wise.  I dislike the taste myself of energy drinks.  I always feel them rotting me on the way down.

I find people (and myself) who drink these drinks as a lifestyle (ie, few-per-day) end up really tired when they stop drinking them.  I don't drink these anymore, I drink tea + water mainly I do alot of walking, working and  cycling and never felt the need for an energy boost off these yet.

I guess alot of people like the kick they get.

Answer 7

Most energy drinks are nothing but suped up soda. Extra sugar and caffine. Some even have additional ingredients that cuase concerns such as taurine and gurana.

How bad they are depends on the amounts and how much you consume. You should not have more than 2 energy drinks a day, even the healthy ones like XS Energy, Tab, 5 Hour Energy, and Stacker's 6 Hour Power.

Now how bad the situaiton needs to be to have one... Does that mean how bad do you need energy to use an energy drink? Well that depends on your water intake, diet, and each individual. Some people never seem to be able to get moving without an energy drink or a couple cups of coffe or soda. However, it really should not be that necessary to have to have one either.

I consume enough water each day. How much. Take your body weight and divide by two and that is how many ounces you need. Add 8 more ounce for each 20 minutes of exercise too. Getting enough water will increase your motabolism and energy by 3%. If you think you are tired drink 2 glasses of water and wait 15 minutes. If you aren't tired after that then you were just dehydrated. If you are still tired then you really are.

I also supplement to get enough nutrition. Enough nutrition will also boost your energy and motabolism levels too. Don't go by just the RDA/RDI amounts either. Those levels were set up by the government as the minimums amount needed to prevent certain nutritional deficency diseases. For optimal health you need much more of those and other supplements that are not even listed in the RDA/RDI.

I rarely need to have an energy drink. If I sleep less than 6 hours I will have one just to make sure I am able to get going in the morning. I also take one before a workout. In both cases I also drink water too. Even then I still only have healthy energy drinks.

I prefer XS Energy for the taste, health, and variety. They provide energy from B vitamins, and have 0 sugar, 0 carbs, and only 8 calories. They have 10 great flavors and 3 of those have caffeine free versions. Even the caffeine levels in the regular ones are not high amounts like regular energy drinks.