Energy Drinks - Benefits and Adverse Effects - Essay Example

Energy drinks al Affiliation) Introduction: Facts about energy drinks There has been exponential growth in the energy drink since the advent of the red bull drink in 1987 and subsequently in 1997. Thailand has the highest energy drinking consumption rate per head, but the US leads in terms of total sales. Red Bull lead to the increase in advertisements of the high caffeine content energy drinks. Currently, there are over 500 brands in the world and over 200 brands in the US fighting for the competitive and limited market share. The caffeine content in the energy drinks increased from 50mg to currently over 550mg per bottle. The energy drink has been experiencing growth in its annual sales despite the rise of health risks associated with the drink (Arria, pp, 600, 2011). What are energy drinks? Energy drinks are a bottled beverage, which contains caffeine, and other stimulants that make individuals feel energetic after ingestion. The drink is popular among the teenagers and the athletes who ingest after training. The popularity of the drink has increased in recent times due to its high advertisement, especially in the sporting events. Most of its consumers believe what is advertised and fail to notice the side effects of too much ingestion. Energy consumption in campuses has increased as most of its consumers drink it together with alcoholic drinks. The energy drinks main constituents include different amounts of caffeine, taurine, guarana extract, and ginseng. Further vitamins, amino acids, and carbohydrates, complete the list of allegedly beneficial ingredients. The anticipated effects of the energy drinks are to offer sustenance, improve performance, endurance and concentration. Manufacturers advertise their product to students, athletes, and professionals that need sustained alertness (Johnson, pp 377, 2014) Establishment of Red Bull The red bull energy drink was first introduced in Austria in 1987 and subsequently in the United States in 1997. The drink was later banned in France in 2008 due to its health related problems (Reissig et.al, pp 1, 2009). In the rapidly growing beverage sector, Red Bull dominates about 42% of the energy drink market in the US, and in 2011, it sold over 4 billion units in over 160 countries globally What are the benefits of energy drinks? Despite information of the harmful effects of energy drinks to the body, numerous benefits have been adequately documented. Energy drinks have positives, which have helpful and useful effect on the human body. Energy drinks increase the alertness upon consumption. The alertness effects are because of some ingredients, which include caffeine and the guarana extracts. Energy drinks increase the athlete’s performance and stamina as the ingestion of the energy drink when fatigued rejuvenates the athlete’s energy levels (Schneider & Benjamin, pp 1185, 2011). Caffeine has further been proven to improve the attention, mental health, physical performance of its consumers. Energy drinks are widely consumed in athletics, as they tend to boost the athletes performance and strength. Furthermore, caffeine as well can improve mental, physical performance and the attention for anyone who is an energy drinker (Reissig et.al, pp 7, 2009). Energy drinks help in maximizing workouts. Consumption of energy drinks during training increases the energy levels hence the increase the training period. In such a case it helps an athlete gains endurance during training (Schneider & Benjamin, pp 1186, 2011). According to (Johnson, pp 378, 2014) caffeine can influence an individual’s memory and cognition ability. Therefore, energy drinks can benefit individuals suffering from the Alzheimer’s disease. Adverse effects: caffeine toxicity There has been increased concern of the caffeine contents of energy drinks. These concerns are because of the adverse effects of caffeine on the body. Caffeine intoxication, which arises because of too much ingestion of energy drinks, has further been included by the world health organisations to its lists of diseases (Gunja & Brown, pp 48, 2012). Typical features of this disease include restlessness, nervousness, insomnia, anxiety, tachycardia, gastrointestinal upset, tremors, and psychomotor agitation and in very rare cases, it can cause death. Additionally, energy drink consumption has been reported to cause seizures and acute mania in some of its consumers. It is alarming that the trend of toxicity and misuse is increasing among teenagers and that the energy drinks units ingested by far exceed the recommended maximum levels by manufacturers (Arria, pp, 601, 2011). The manufacturers recommend 200mg/day caffeine as a maximum, which amounts to approximately one and a quarter cans 500mL cans of the drink. Caffeine ingestion by average consumers has been noted to surpass the recommended limits (Gunja & Brown, pp 50, 2012). High blood pressure and increase heart rate Increase in caffeine consumption has resulted in heart rhythm problems, increased blood pressures and some cases causing cardiac arrest. (Burrow, pp 139, 2013). The effects of caffeine on the heart beat rate are severe in individuals who have heart problems. In some cases, it has been reported to cause death in such patients. Older people who consume energy drinks stand an excellent chance of having heart failures upon consumption of large amounts of caffeine. The risks related to energy drinks’ consumption are believed to be high on people who have existing medical conditions, such as certain heart conditions or heart defects. Affect person’s Ability to Function Properly The ability to function well decreases because of anxiety, irritability, nervousness, and distracting jitters like those experienced by individuals drinking too much coffee. Too much ingestion of caffeine results in addition. According to (Reissig et.al, pp 6, 2009) Individuals that take too much energy drinks experience withdrawal symptoms when they fail to ingest caffeine. The withdrawal symptoms may cause severe headache, which in turn affects an individual’s productivity Weight Gain The amounts of calories present in the energy are high in energy drinks as they are filled with sweeteners and sugars. Energy drinks are ideally suitable for athletes who need them to supplement their energies during workouts and training (Schneider & Benjamin, pp 1186, 2011). Most individuals who ingest these energy drinks do not work out as a result, they are bound to gain weight because of the high calorie levels in these drinks Conclusion The consumption of the high caffeine products has been on the rise, even though, there has increased health conditions due to its high intake. Energy drinks have positive attributes to the body, however, the negative impacts surpass the positives. Caffeine intoxication presents the greatest problems resulting to more and more people getting addicted to it. Therefore, in my opinion, the consumption of the energy drinks needs to be done responsibly. References Schneider, M. B and Benjamin, H. J (2011)Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents: are they appropriate? Pediatrics 127(6): pages 1182-1186 Burrow, T (2013) What are the implications associated with the consumption of energy drinks? a systematic review. Nutrition reviews 71(3): pages 135-148 Gunja, N and Brown, J. A (2012) Energy drinks: health risks and toxicity. Medical journal of Australia. 196(1): pages 46-49 Reissig, C. J, Strain E. C and Griffiths, R. R (2009)Caffeinated energy drinks: a growing problem. Drug and alcohol dependence. 99(1): pages 1-10 Arria, A. M (2011)The “high” risk of energy drinks. JAMA. 305(6): pages 600-601 Johnson, L. A (2014) Energy drinks: review of performance benefits, health concerns, and use by military personnel Military medicine. 179(4): pages 375-380 Read More