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Though many Americans may be consuming fewersodas, the sales of energy drinks and energy shots have soared.
According toMintel data, these beverages brought in $13.4 billion in sales in 2017 alone.
But why all the fuss over these stimulating beverages?
While that may be great for sales, there is such a thing as consuming too many energy drinks.
How many energy drinks is too many energy drinks?
In doing so, though, you’ve already surpassed experts' recommendations.
For children, even one is too much.
But what about the benefits of having energy drinks?
If you drink an energy drink, you obviouslywant some energy, right?
These beverages do indeed deliver on that front.
One2015 reportrevealed that consuming energy drinks may have beneficial effects on a person’s physical performance.
Additionally, “significant improvements in mental performance” were also noted.
If these sound like good things, that’s because they are.
However, the bad most certainly outweighs the good.
Now, think of the last energy drink you had.
Chances are it was, at least,16 ounces.
And what if you have more than one energy drink?
Do the math and yikes.
That’s a whole ton of caffeine.
Consuming too many energy drinks and thustoo much of this stimulantcan lead to a caffeine overdose.
Milder symptoms are still unpleasant, including increased thirst, diarrhea, and dizziness.
Because caffeine travels through breast milk, babies can also suffer from a caffeine overdose.
Of course, caffeine overdoses are completely preventable.
One 16-ounce energy drink could, in fact, be one too many.
Svatikova had some advice for doctors, too.
So if you want to stay healthy, you shouldn’t drink too many energy drinks.
This is because your heart rate is elevated.
That’s not all that’s going on inside, though.
According to Higgins, caffeine is not solely to blame for this.
It may be a case of how the caffeine interacts with the added ingredients like taurine.
This amino acid can have an effect on the water and mineral levels in the blood.
Is adding additional caffeine to an already heavily-caffeinated beverage really necessary?
More research needs to be gathered to fully understand how these ingredients respond to one another.
“They’re sort of a black box,” the cardiologist shared.
“We really don’t know a lot about them.”
The tests revealed nothing unusual except “high levels of caffeine and taurine.”
Thesugarcontent, in particular, is cause for concern.
Test results revealed what appeared to be evidence of a chronic hepatitis C infection.
A liver biopsy further revealed “severe acute hepatitis with bridging necrosis and marked cholestasis.”
The patient even denied taking prescription or over-the-counter medications.
Thankfully, he got better after giving up energy drinks, but his case report isquitethe cautionary tale.
This is mainly because it has more caffeine than even a cup of coffee.
However, it also causes “adverse energy drink side effects,” which can even include mood swings.
As highlighted above, drinking too many energy drinks can also lead to a caffeine overdose.
“Unwanted physical results are in the … foreground, noticeable and visible,” the researchers explained.
In less than two months, he wound up hospitalized at a psychiatric facility.
His short-term memory was described as “disrupted,” and his attention span was short.
After 42 days in the hospital without energy drinks his symptoms disappeared.
With the increase in energy drink consumption, researchers expect to see similar cases.
And there is alotof acid in energy drinks.
in between each dousing.
You shouldn’t just write off these headaches though, especially if they’re severe.
“It comes on very intensely, within minutes.”
“Energy drinks have megadoses of caffeine and sometimes other stimulants,” Hajj-Ali explained.
Hajj-Ali added, “These are typically young, otherwise healthy people in their 30s and 40s.”
And there’s really no telling who will be affected.
Just not in the way you’d probably hope.
His family filed a lawsuit against multiple energy drink companies in connection with his death.
The companies, however, denied culpability.
As of this writing, though, energy drinks continue to be sold without restriction.
But clearly drinking too many energy drinks should be avoided.
