You have probably come across some people claiming energy drinks are a great beverage and others terming it an incredible dietary supplement. Within these claims, you have probably found yourself wondering, “what really is an energy drink and why does it matter anyway?”
Well, sit tight as this piece demystifies all the buzz surrounding energy drinks. By the end of ingesting this knowledge, you will be well placed to make an educated decision about whether or not to become an energy drink fanatic.
The article explores in depth what energy drinks are, what makes them energy drinks, their ingredients, their health benefits, and side effects if any. Read on.
What are energy drinks?
While widely promoted as beverages that boost physical and mental performance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines energy drinks as beverages infused with high quantities of caffeine, added sugars, additives, and legal stimulants such as L-carnitine, Guarana, and taurine.
The presence of legal stimulants in energy drinks carries the potential of boosting your attention, alertness, and energy levels. What’s more, consuming an energy drink may also potentially increase your breathing rate, blood pressure, and heart rate.
So, quite simply, an energy drink’s primary effect on your body is to provide an extra energy boost.
Origin
While most people prefer hydrating using water, it is hard to pass by a vending machine or watch TV without an energy drink commercial popping up. This energy drink effect has continually succeeded in arousing people’s curiosity and many end up trying the drink out.
However, if you are among the undecided bunch, you might want to do some fact-checking first to become aware of what you are actually consuming.
The truth is that the energy drink buzz is as old as the drink itself. The first energy drink was originally spotlighted in Japan after the second world war or more accurately, in the 1960s. Lipovitan D became the first energy drink in Japan thanks to a striking invention by a pharmaceutical company called Taisho.
At the time, the drink was only considered an energizing tonic sold in tiny bottles. With the passage of time however, more vitamin-fortified and caffeine-infused beverages came into the scene and were mostly ushered by Japanese executives struggling to thrive in life.
From Japan, these stimulating drinks would move to Europe. Thanks to Dietrich Mateschitz who transferred the knowledge he had picked up in Asia to Australia, the very first energy drink was birthed in Europe under the label, “Red Bull” in 1987.
By 1997, the supercharged drink had penetrated the American market. Since then, energy drinks have increasingly garnered acclaim across the globe and continue to appeal to many demographics.
What makes them energy drinks?
In the marketing circles, the term “energy drink” is usually used to refer to any beverage infused with high levels of stimulant ingredients. The chief ingredient is typically caffeine accompanied by sugar and other supplements.
The beverage is promoted as an “energy drink” based on the premise that it can potentially enhance the consumer’s physical performance and mental alertness. In other words, with each sip or can of an energy drink, you are literally drinking more energy into your system.
That said, the main reason for describing them as energy drinks lies in the ingredients used to make the drink.
Thus, the only way to distinguish energy drinks from sports drinks that primarily restore water and electrolytes in the body or coffee and tea that are brewed and sometimes decaffeinated is through their distinct ingredients.
Furthermore, energy drinks are also different from soft drinks that may contain only tiny amounts of caffeine or no caffeine at all.
With that in mind, it is also important to note that while some energy drinks are promoted as beverages, others, especially those with food additives are mostly promoted as dietary supplements. Popular examples of energy drinks include Monster, Red Bull, NOS, Rockstar, and Amp.
Ingredients
The main ingredients of energy drinks include caffeine, Guarana, taurine, B vitamins, ginseng, sugars, trace minerals, antioxidants, ginkgo biloba, L-carnitine, and Glucuronolactone.
- Caffeine: The role of caffeine in energy drinks is to stimulate brain function as well as boost alertness and concentration.
- Sugar: Acts as the main source of calories in energy drinks. However, some energy drinks are low-carb and do not have sugar in them.
- Amino acids: The common ones are naturally-occurring L-carnitine and taurine which both affect your metabolism and energy levels.
- B vitamins: These help in converting or breaking down the food you ingest into usable energy by your body.
- Herbal extracts: Common ones are ginseng to improve brain function and Guarana to boost caffeine levels.
How much caffeine do energy drinks contain?
Many energy drinks are infused with caffeine to the tune of 80mg (close to a standard coffee cup) to nearly 150mg in each serving. Anything above 150mg per serving may be termed a highly caffeinated energy drink or an energy shot.
So, how much caffeine is too much? Before going around squeezing energy drink cans into your belly, you must be careful not to consume too much unless it becomes toxic! Also, it is not wise to make energy drink intake a daily routine especially if you are simultaneously consuming other caffeinated beverages. That would amount to excessive caffeine intake, which may be harmful.
To guide your intake of energy drinks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends a maximum of 400mg of caffeine each day for healthy adults. However, certain medications and conditions such as pregnancy may mean more sensitivity to caffeine intake.
Thus, it is important to consult with your healthcare provider about how much caffeine consumption is right for you, especially if you are dealing with a particular medical condition. Moreover, breastfeeding mothers, children, and teenagers are not ideal candidates for energy drinks.
Having said that, typically, the average concentrations of caffeine vary from beverage to beverage as follows:
- Coffee cup 200ml (90mg)
- Espresso coffee 60ml (80mg)
- Tea 220ml (50mg)
- Energy drink 250ml can (80mg)
- Cola can 355ml (40mg)
- Milk chocolate bar 50g (10mg)
What are the benefits of energy drinks?
Growing at an exponential rate, there is a good reason why the energy drink market keeps appealing to new consumers. Usually, the beverage is promoted as providing an instant energy boost while enriching mental alertness and physical performance.
Thus, whether you are for or against energy drinks, it is hard to overlook the hype surrounding these beverages. To put it into perspective, some of the benefits associated with energy drink consumption include:
Increased energy
The top benefit of energy drinks and the most obvious one is more energy. That is primarily why energy drinks are produced in the first place; to induce feelings of wakefulness, alertness, as well as productivity. What’s more, energy drinks may as well result in improved memory and elevate your mood altogether.
Faster results
Compared to coffee which is typically sipped hot, draining a can of energy drink is way faster because it is served cold. Thus, if you are after a quick caffeine reaction, the cold energy drink provides a way for the caffeine to kick in faster. Besides caffeine, energy drinks also provide a faster refreshing effect.
Standardized caffeine intake
While the levels of caffeine in your tea and coffee may vary greatly, energy drinks usually come with a standardized caffeine level in each can. A consumer who is aware that the standard energy drink package contains approximately 80mg of caffeine is in a much better position to regulate their daily caffeine intake.
More flavor options
Generally, energy drinks serve as a great alternative to the usual tea and coffee flavors. In other words, they easily appeal to people needing a quick caffeine boost but don’t necessarily take tea or coffee. What’s more, they come in all sorts of flavors to suit different taste buds where tea or coffee was deficient.
Better physical performance
According to a research study, energy drink consumption proved to enhance endurance performance in athletes by providing high levels of energy. What’s more, thanks to the cabs and caffeine, a person can recover faster after undertaking intense physical exercise.
Zero-calorie energy drinks
While most people usually give in to the temptation of adding milk, cream, butter, or sugar to their calorie-free black coffee, with energy drinks there is no such temptation. Instead, you get to decide from the get-go what type of energy drink you will consume.
Fortunately for you, there are plenty of sugar-free energy drinks that promise zero calories. Think of it as getting your full dose of caffeine without any unnecessary sugars and calories.
Medical benefits
Other medical benefits associated with the caffeine in energy drinks include:
- Liver detoxification
- Weight loss
- Slowed mental decline
- Increased long-term memory
- Cataracts prevention
- Skin cancer prevention
- Lower type 2 diabetes risk
- Lower stroke risk
What are the side effects of energy drinks?
With all the endless benefits of consuming energy drinks definitely adding a plus, the possible side effects cannot be overlooked. Thus, when trying to boost your performance with a can or two of energy drink, it is wise to ensure you are not signing up for more harm than good.
According to Shutter Health, energy drink intake may be especially risky to children and teenagers because of the high caffeine content and sugar. Caffeine is considered a drug and hence quite dangerous for children when ingested in high quantities. The risk of energy drinks goes even higher when combined with alcoholic drinks, which, sadly, has become a common habit among many young adults.
That said, ingesting too much caffeine boasts its fair share of side effects including:
- Restlessness
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- High blood pressure
- Increased heart rate
- Dehydration
- Heart complications
The bottom line
While energy drinks do an excellent job at boosting your brain function and helping you function when fatigued, you should not throw caution to the wind and consume as much as you like.
Remember, excessive caffeine and sugar intake may be harmful to your health. What’s more, combining energy drinks with alcohol may impair your judgment or perception and result in more drinking!
That said, should you decide to consume energy drinks, try not to make it a daily routine and strive to stay away from energy shots as much as possible especially if you consume coffee and other caffeinated beverages.
