Over the past few years, consumerism has been an issue from the rise in the consumption of social media. One of the most influential and most notable could be energy drinks. In the past energy drinks have gained popularity due to influencers on different online platforms profiting off sponsoring different energy drink brands. Although this may seem harmless, energy drinks are still very caffeinated beverages and could cause issues to the regular person. The questions asked residing along energy drinks, Celsius, and recently popular Alani, all consider the possible risk of what could be considered too much for your health.
So when asked the question “what do you use other than energy drinks?” Della Dininger, LHS student, replied with “I drink like flavored water that has electrolytes in it.”
Electrolytes can be found in many different types of sport energy drinks (Gatorade, Powerade, etc) to help substitute the high levels of caffeine that are in an energy drink which would be a considerable alternative when talking about energy drinks. According to NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) and SMAC (Sports Medicine Advisory Committee), it is stated that,
“Energy drinks can contain up to 500 mg of caffeine, which is five times as much as a typical cup of coffee and 10 times as much as found in a 12-ounce soda. The effects of this can lead to abnormal heart rhythms and even death. After a period of increased alertness, symptoms of caffeine withdrawal predominate. The drinks also contain large quantities of sugar, which causes a spike in blood sugar levels that may be followed by a “sugar crash” with fatigue, shakiness and anxiety. The marketing of these beverages is targeted toward adolescents and young adults. Despite the decrease in the consumption of soft drinks, the sales of energy drinks continue to rise, increasing 47% from 2016 to 2021.”
The effects of energy may seem little to the regular consumer’s eye, but can have lasting effects and withdrawal if not dealt with. Considering a different outlet on what to drink is heavily recommended. Many substitutes can come from sport drinks and water since those hold the most efficient way to replenish lost hydration and energy.
“Caffeine is a diuretic and it dilutes your water and electrolytes that are in your system, so if you drink tons of caffeine drinks or energy drinks, and you go out there in hundred degree heat, heat exhaustion, sweat, your going to be in the hospital because it’s going to dilute your electrolytes in your system, people forget about that. So it kinda picks you up kinda thing because it’s like coffee, but those energy drinks have 500 more milligrams of caffeine in them, that’s not good for your health.” replied Phil Levine, LHS Athletic director.
The question to be considered for yourself is how much caffeine and sugar am I taking into my body? Although it isn’t effective from a rare use of these types of drinks, daily use of energy drinks can cause side effects within your body. The advertisements online from energy drinks often showcase the ‘healthy’ aspects of the drink without considering that energy drinks are not regulated, which could affect many people and especially athletes with certain tests, like drug tests etc. which will cause a change within your body causing you to fail this test from the recent consumption of certain energy drinks.
“I’m not sure I really like any of them for teens, if you have to maybe one, but some of them have more sugar in them than you should have in an entire day and not to mention, loads of caffeine. It pretty much affects every part of your body, well cardiac, you’ll have faster heart rate, it can lead to irregular heartbeats. If you have other heart conditions, like older people, drinking them could cause heart failure even. The tachycardia, the fast heart beat, a lot of that can lead to feelings of jitteriness and being anxious.” said Michelle Howe, LHS nurse.
Although this isn’t to fully stop you from drinking energy drinks, it is best to do your research about different ingredients that you are consuming with these types of drinks. Having alternatives for these drinks could help your body in the future from sudden withdrawals if you are not able to access an energy drink. With the rise of social media and people being influenced from what to buy, is causing a rise in the consumption of these harmful drinks, which could one day send someone to the hospital from over utilization of energy drinks.
