13 Jun Are Energy Drinks Bad For You?

Energy drinks have been a hot topic of discussion since they first became popular in the early 2000s. Some people love them and drink them daily; others claim they are bad for your health. But are energy drinks as bad for you as some people say?

In short, energy drinks can sometimes contain a lot of sugar, but new sugar-free options mean you can get the energy hit without the sugar. With so many flavours to choose from, energy drinks can be a delicious way to increase your focus and energy levels.

We’ve taken a closer look at the truth behind energy drinks, so read on to learn more.

Top 3 Benefits Of Consuming Energy Drinks

The debate surrounding energy drinks is so well known because while there are claims they can affect you negatively, there are undoubtedly benefits to drinking them. Some people claim that consuming energy drinks every day can ruin your sleep pattern, negatively impact your mental health, and cause long-term damage to a person’s overall health.

Despite these claims, energy drinks are not regulated as closely as alcohol and other substances that are proven to be bad for an individual’s health. This is because even with claims against them, there are plenty of benefits to having energy drinks. Here are just three of the main advantages of drinking energy drinks.

More Energy

Of course, the primary benefit of drinking energy drinks is the caffeine and subsequent energy boost. Plenty of people don’t like the taste of coffee or don’t want to drink hot drinks on a warm sunny day. Reaching for an energy drink can help keep you cool and give you the caffeine hit you need.

Since energy drinks come in so many different flavours, you can find something that is perfect for you.
Of course, the slight downside is that you can have a post-energy crash with all caffeine products, leaving you feeling very tired. Some people claim the energy drink crash is bad for your health, but in reality, it’s no worse than being addicted to coffee. While it might make you feel tired for a time, it won’t significantly impact your health.

The combination of caffeine and sugar can give you more energy than coffee, but the corresponding crash is also more enormous.

The only real danger of drinking energy drinks for energy is that you are likely tired from sleeping poorly. Sleep is hugely important to your health for a variety of reasons, so to ensure you stay healthy, you should be using energy drinks to boost your energy and not sacrificing a good night’s sleep.

Better Workouts And Increased Weight Loss

Research suggests that consuming an energy drink before working out can help improve your workout and lead to more significant weight loss.

Energy drinks not only give you a short-term energy boost, but they may also help increase your stamina and endurance. This means you can work out harder for longer. Getting in better workouts could lead to increased weight loss.

Research into this area found that drinking an energy drink around 40 minutes before a workout improved cardio performance and increased muscle strength and endurance. For anyone looking to increase their fitness or lose some weight, energy drinks could have a positive impact, not a negative one.

Improved Memory And Concentration

One of the main reasons so many people choose energy drinks is because of the unique effect they can have on your brain.

Energy drinks have a combination of sugar and caffeine that can stimulate your brain to work faster and send messages around your body more quickly. Multiple studies have found that people who drink energy drinks generally have better memory and recall as well as improved concentration.

This means better performance in academic tests and improved focus in the workplace.

However, if you become dependent on energy drinks and drink them too frequently, your brain may become accustomed to the hyper-focused state, and you’ll find concentrating without energy drinks almost impossible. So, to get the benefits without impacting your long-term health, you need to moderate how frequently you consume energy drinks.

Why Energy Drinks Are So Popular

While energy drinks are a more recent trend compared to coffee, they have become hugely popular. According to research, around 10% of students and even more adults drink energy drinks every week.

And with such positive research showing that they do work to help boost your memory and brainpower, give you more energy, and help you work out, it’s no surprise they are so popular. The current global market for energy drinks is around US$57 billion, and it’s expected to grow in the coming years.

But when it comes down to it, energy drinks are also popular because they taste great. Like any fizzy drink containing sugar, they aren’t exactly a healthy smoothie, but as a tasty treat to give you a boost, energy drinks come in so many flavours you are bound to find one you love.

The popularity of energy drinks still outweighs the negative rumours surrounding the industry. There is some research that energy drinks can negatively impact your mental health as well as the impact of consuming sugar.
But this evidence seems to be no worse than any other high-sugar diet. It also doesn’t appear to be any worse than consuming caffeine in coffee, so the bad reputation of some high energy drinks isn’t exactly deserved.

However, like coffee and other sugary products, it’s very easy to get addicted to energy drinks which is why they are so popular; people just can’t stop drinking them! There is some concern that teenagers, or younger children, could become addicted to energy drinks. Still, there is no objective evidence that they are likely to become more addicted to any other sugary drink.

Final Thoughts

There are some really excellent reasons why energy drinks remain so popular. Not only can you get a much-needed energy boost, but drinking energy drinks could make you happier and put you in a better mood. And that’s not to mention all the brain benefits to help you concentrate and perform well in tests.

Like all good things, you can have too much of a good thing. Drinking large quantities of energy drinks can make you jittery, cause headaches or even make you addicted to the high you get when you drink them. If you have existing health conditions or are pregnant, then energy drinks may not be right for you.

But in the end, are energy drinks actually bad for you? It really depends on how much you drink! There is plenty of evidence to prove that the benefits of energy drinks offset the sugar and caffeine intake.