Energy Drinks.... are they damaging your health??

First off I want to know how many of you go out and buy a energy drink?

here is a wiki link to monster energy : en.wikipedia.org...

I have a brother in law that is going to be a doctore soon and same with my sister going to be a doctor soon.

I usally buy huge crates of monster energy .My sister hits me in the back of the head saying I am stupid. My sister tells me the sodium is too high.

Yet my brother in laws says it's not he sodium it's the caffeine that does most of the damage.

He said he drank one energy drink and couldn't sleep for 3 days. He said the caffeine gurrana seed is loaded with caffeine and disrupts your sleep for about 3 days per can.

I usually drink energy drinks for 2 things... one for college classes and the other reason is that when I am home I program/code on the computer.

I also asked my doctors about if the energy drink is ok to use he said it's fine cause it has vitamin B etc.

So I got 1 doctor and 2 other soon to be doctors opinion and the 2 thinks energy drinks hurts your health and the doctor tells me that is good for your because of the vitamins.

So I ask what you guys think personally .

So my question here is it good for you or does energy drink destroy your health?


I know the energy drink has some good and some bad thinks about it like the calories.

I just want to know a overall opinion if it's more bad then good or more good then bad.

and would you take it ... why or why not?

reply to post by computerwiz32


My freshman year of college, when I did the programming projects, I would drink coca cola and swallow a ginseng pill. I typically only did this if it was due by midnight, or if I had some serious studying to do for a test the next day.

I stopped doing that in my second year because I moved in with a sister and her boyfriend, and I couldn't even get dialup internet access, so I had to do those programming projects at school until the midnight deadline.

In my junior year I started frequenting a particular coffee shop, and drinking maybe two highly cafeinated "tea shakes" (I didn't think they were that heavy on the caffeine until about 2 years later). Then years later, it felt like my heart was skipping beats or something like that. That turned out to be an alien psychic in my head (I just couldn't hear it in there at the time and didn't notice anyone chasing me around back then).

But that's not the point I'm trying to make. The point that I want to make is that it is certainly *very* hazardous to your health to drink these things. I get my information from this news article:

health.blogs.foxnews.com...

So can it kill you? Certainly.

If you're up late working on programming projects, then if you're legal age, I would suggest liquor instead.

I have been drinking tons of liquor every night since the last half of 2007. That alien psychic or whatever it is up in my head, was keeping me wide awake, and I was going to die of sleep deprivation easily. The only thing that gets me to sleep legally these days is tons of liquor each night. Otherwise I simply don't sleep. No doctor can help, the cops just say "don't know what you're talking about" and wanna taser you, and your family kicks you out the door.

In my senior year of college, I did programming projects completely busted on liquor, and it worked! I made the engineering dean's list both semesters. These days I obviously drink the stuff alot more, and have been doing so for a much longer time, so it's obviously pretty safe.

Well, considering I'm still alive that is. I'd imagine I should be dead about now.

I think it's like 3000mg of caffeine can kill you?
That or its 5000.
I need to go look that up again

I don't know for sure but I have always stayed away from them, I'm happy being lazy and slow.

I do know that they can be just as bad as drink driving in certain conditions, one kid in the UK chugged about 5 down one after the other and drove like a mad man untill he killed him self, everyone agreed that it was seriously out of character.

I think they could quite easily lead to anxiety problems, maybe even heart related problems with heavy use, they really can get your heart rate up and blood pressure up.

Originally posted by MegaCurious
I get my information from this news article:

health.blogs.foxnews.com...

Firstly, who is Paula Rizzo? Secondly, mainstream media health blogs aren't the best source of information. If you want a real blog to read then check out Dr. Michael Eades. Those journalists and contributors are having problems interpreting a study's conclusions. Besides, most of these mainstream writers are Journalists that focus on a wide variety of material.

If you're up late working on programming projects, then if you're legal age, I would suggest liquor instead....

Wow, great idea. :shk:

So, is it the caffiene? Probably not, the verdict isn't out yet on how bad/good it is for ya...

Sodium can be a problem but only in combination with another little guy. That little guy is insulin. Seeing that insulin causes sodium retention, it's safe to assume that sodium, in conjunction with insulin, can cause some serious problems. But wait.....There's no insulin in energy drinks is there?

Nope, but there is sugar out the Whazoo. And sugar raises insulin levels.

Honestly, if you want vitamins, get them from a whole food or supplements, not something processed and full of sugar. :shk: Vitamin B taken oraly usually doesn't do much for energy concerns. It usually only has a large impact if it's injected or left under the tounge for direct absorption.

The best supplement for energy, in my opinion as well as leading researchers, is CoQ10. It's only been recently that researchers have realized CoQ10's true impact on energy and overall health.

-Dev

Originally posted by DevolutionEvolvd

If you're up late working on programming projects, then if you're legal age, I would suggest liquor instead....

Wow, great idea. :shk:

That's actually as dumb as it sounds, small amounts of alcohol have been showen to improve motivation, concentration and creativity. But it is a very fine line and you really have to watch your self. I thinking something like a single largeish glass of red wine for ever 2 or 3 hours of solid working would be optimum, thing is the stuff is so goddamn moorish! And of course if your working on mechanical things like a car or mororbike it's not exactly advisable... Although when I'm out in my garage I always have beer around unless I have to drive/ride.

According to the Wiki link you posted, there are 27 grams of sugar per serving, 3 servings per can. That's 81 grams of sugar per can. One teaspoon of table sugar is 4 grams, so one can of that energy drink contains the equivalent of just over 20 teaspoons of sugar.

Plus other sweeteners like sucralose

I imagine that as far as caffeine goes, the problems are pretty similar to consuming large amounts of coffee, and you'll notice unpleasant side effects long before it kills you (shakiness, anxiety, palpitations, etcetera). But all that empty sugar is not good for you, artificial sweeteners may be harmful, and as a product it contributes to the promotion of oversweetened garbage as "food".

Originally posted by americandingbat
According to the Wiki link you posted, there are 27 grams of sugar per serving, 3 servings per can. That's 81 grams of sugar per can. One teaspoon of table sugar is 4 grams, so one can of that energy drink contains the equivalent of just over 20 teaspoons of sugar.

20 Teaspoons of sugar can wreak havoc on your hormonal system. Crashing occurs when too much sugar is countered with an excess amount of insulin which, in turn, lowers blood sugar too much. Hypoglycemia is the crash. Then the body has to release another hormone, glucagon, to raise blood sugar back to normal. It's a stressful rollercoaster ride that you don't want to be on.

Excessive energy drink consumption is a one way ticket to Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes. No wonder diabetes, as well as every other chronic disease, is on the rise.

-Dev