Knowledge | Posted by Zarni Kyaw
Energy drinks are often the go-to for people wanting to tackle tiredness, however, new research suggests these drinks could be linked to serious conditions.
The beverages often contain high levels of sugar and caffeine. Doctors have now warned that they may trigger a life-threatening condition requiring emergency treatment.
Energy drinks contain caffeine ranging from 80mg to 300mg per serving, compared with 100mg found in a cup of coffee.
Many of them also contain other additional ingredients, such as taurine and guarana, which are thought to alter heart rate, blood pressure and other heart functions.
The popular drinks can potentially disrupt the heart’s electrical system, increasing the risk of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia) which lead to severe health consequences such as a sudden cardiac arrest – where the heart stops beating.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the US looked at the medical data of 144 patients who had survived a cardiac arrest following emergency treatment.
Results found that seven of them, aged between 20 and 42, had consumed an energy drink some time before the life-threatening event, with six requiring electrical shock treatment and one needing manual resuscitation.
(Doctors advised caution as energy drinks may trigger life-threatening conditions in patients with genetic heart diseases (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive)
Peter Schwartz, of the Centre for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin and Laboratory of Cardiovascular Genetics, in Milan, Italy, wrote in an accompanying editorial: “Critics might say of these findings, ‘it’s just an association by chance’.
“We, as well as the Mayo Clinic group, are perfectly aware that there is no clear and definitive evidence that energy drinks indeed cause life-threatening arrhythmias and that more data are necessary, but we would be remiss if we were not sounding the alarm.”
The two main stimulants in fizzy energy drinks are caffeine and sugar, so what exactly is that doing to our bodies?
“Caffeine increases the heart rate, increases concentration, keeps people awake for longer and prevents them from going to sleep,” explains Dr Belinda Griffiths from The Fleet Street Clinic.
However, refined sugar – especially in the quantities found in energy drinks – is not healthy at all.
“It increases blood glucose, gives a short burst of energy and then a drop afterwards, which can affect your mood, and also make you feel increasingly hungry afterwards [meaning] you might want to eat more.”
Ref: Doctors issue urgent warning to anyone who drinks energy drinks (independent)
Photo Credit: (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive)
