Are energy drinks bad for you?

Question

If so, in what way?

all my friends drink red bull all the time....& I want to try it too....but I'm really careful about what I put in....so plz give me real facts if possible.

Thanks

Answer 1

Yes
Energy drinks contain high amounts of sugar and will make feel sick sometimes because of it. Tea is actually a better source of natural energy and it won't make you feel slugish.

Answer 2

Individual responses to caffeine vary, and these drinks should be treated carefully because of how powerful they are. Energy drinks' stimulating properties can boost the heart rate and blood pressure (sometimes to the point of palpitations), dehydrate the body, and, like other stimulants, prevent sleep.

Energy drinks should not be used while exercising as the combination of fluid loss from sweating and the diuretic quality of the caffeine can leave the user severely dehydrated.

Know what you're drinking. Energy drinks are not necessarily bad for you, but they shouldn't be seen as "natural alternatives" either. Some of the claims they make like "improved performance and concentration" can be misleading. If you think of them as highly-caffeinated drinks, you'll have a more accurate picture of what they are and how they affect you. You wouldn't use Mountain Dew as a sports drink. And a drink like Red Bull and vodka is more like strong coffee and whisky than anything else.

What happens when energy drinks are combined with alcohol?
Energy drinks are also used as mixers with alcohol. This combination carries a number of dangers:

Since energy drinks are stimulants and alcohol is a depressant, the combination of effects may be dangerous. The stimulant effects can mask how intoxicated you are and prevent you from realizing how much alcohol you have consumed. Fatigue is one of the ways the body normally tells someone that they've had enough to drink.
The stimulant effect can give the person the impression they aren't impaired. No matter how alert you feel, your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the same as it would be without the energy drink. Once the stimulant effect wears off, the depressant effects of the alcohol will remain and could cause vomiting in your sleep or respiratory depression.
Both energy drinks and alcohol are very dehydrating (the caffeine in energy drinks is a diuretic). Dehydration can hinder your body's ability to metabolize alcohol and will increase the toxicity, and therefore the hangover, the next day.

Answer 3

Red Bull consumption and energy drinks in general was just on the news last week. They are finding that is causes some major heart problems. If you read the ingredients, there is nothing natural in it. If you are looking for something to give you energy, try something natural. Go to a true health food store. Generally, the people who work there are very knowledgeable. Avoid GNC and places like that.

Answer 4

Energy drinks can be a good way to re-energize yourself for a short period of time. However, they are loaded with caffeine. The recommended caffeine intake for adults is 300 mg and 100 mg for children. However, many energy drinks contain 200 mg of caffeine per can! They also are often loaded with calories, sometimes up to 260 per serving. They also usually contain legal stimulants such as ephedrine, guarana, and ginseng. In contrast, a can of Mountain Dew contains 37 mg of caffeine.

Over-stimulation on energy drinks can be dangerous. High doses of ephedrine have been known to be occasionally fatal to teenagers, especially athletes. This is very rare, however. The drinks raise blood pressure and heart rate greatly, sometimes to the point of palpitations, which is when your heart beat is very irregular. Also, energy drinks are diuretic, in other words, they dehydrate you. Too many energy drinks before practice can put you in great danger.

Also, don't mix alcohol with energy drinks. I'm assuming you are about my age (I'm actually a teen, too, albeit I'm a bit of a nerd), so you shouldn't be drinking alcohol anyways

All that being said, energy drinks are alright to drink if they are consumed in moderation. The reason they aren't regulated like alcohol and tobacco is because they aren't as dangerous. 1 to 1/2 servings of energy drinks a day should be fine. However, I'm no doctor, so check with your doctor to see what is safe for you. This does not mean my facts about energy drinks are false. They came from very credible sources. So there you go.

P.S. Personally, I hate energy drinks because of the taste.

Cheers!

Answer 5

Just as with most things in life, enjoying in moderation is the key. I will drink the occasional Red Bull myself when I feel I need a bit of a boost, but drinking a few of them every day doesn't feel normal to me. Sounds like your friends have what i would call a R-B "addiction" now, and they have convinced themselves that they just can't do anything without drinking one first, and that somehow it's just the "cool" thing to do, because they all do it.

Answer 6

They are not that bad but if you suffer from any issues like blood pressure,any problem you have with your heart do not take it because, energy drinks raise your heart beat levels and gove you energy but after its wore off you will feel even more down and with even less energy then before you took it. Its just an instant upper but with major down fall after.Look on the back of the energy drinks and sometimes theres some that dont give you a bad crash fall down but most do so....unless your drinking enery drink after another then no i dont recommend them

Answer 7

Certain energy drinks are worse than others. Some of them are pure caffine. Red Bull is one example of that. Caffine depleats the body of water. This causes dehydration, and can make people sick. Other energy drinks ("sports drinks") like Gatorade are much better for you, as they put needed water back into your body, as well as energy, in the form of carbohydrates.

Answer 8

energy drinks bad for you because it raises your heart rate and that can cause damage to your heart or your heart could stop your friends will probably tell you it's not true but it is so don't drink it. I dont think you would have a problem with it if you just tasted it and not drink a lot of it.

Answer 9

They are chock full of sugar and chemicals. Its just as bad if not worse than soda.

Stick to water, if you need a boost an apple or a cup of green tea (real green tea) will work just fine.

They wouldn't need so much red bull if they didn't drink so much red bull...

Answer 10

NO they completely rot ure teeth and are reli bad for you. All the top athletes stay away from such drinks, and think how much energy they need. You may get a buzz from them, but trust me - u make up for it later. caffine is ok - energy drinks are 10x worse that caffeine.