Energy drinks, the amazing beverage we know and love, whether it’s a Redbull or a Celcius, are harming us much more than we realize.
Like many High School students, I love energy drinks. But lately I’ve started wondering what’s actually inside these beverages that we crave.
When the morning is slow, a pick-me-up is wanted, or when there is an athletic event and someone needs a performance boost, it’s common to reach for one of these yummy, high energy beverages.
With bright colored cans and enticing labels, companies grab our attention, using a psychological method called “The Color Psychology Method.” This method makes us more susceptible to company products with its marketing trick of high contrast colors to indicate health, flavor, and positivity.
How many of you bought a drink because you saw an appetizing flavor, lots of caffeine and the can said something such as, “No sugar!” or “Prebiotics!”? I know I’ve given into advertising countless times, and I often justify my purchase by telling myself that what I’m consuming is healthy.
But what’s actually in these drinks?
Let’s start with caffeine. According to the American Medical Association, caffeine as a drug isn’t inherently unhealthy; in fact, a moderate amount of natural caffeine is beneficial. Nature caffeine can improve focus, give an energy boost without a crash and improve mood. This type of caffeine can be found in certain nuts, dark chocolate, teas and famously, coffee.
Unfortunately, unlike coffee, most energy drinks get their caffeine from artificial sources, such as chloroacetic acid. This type of artificial caffeine causes the body to depend upon it for daily energy, along with disrupting the natural production of melatonin for sleep.
A lack of melatonin in the body limits its ability to absorb calcium. Calcium is what makes your bones strong and healthy, as well as being necessary for muscle contraction, heart rate regulation and hormone balance.
If you’ve ever had an energy drink and suddenly felt tired, depressed or like your heart was going to explode, you’re not alone. This is because the caffeine in your drink disrupts your body’s natural rhythm and causes your body to actively fight against the caffeine.
Occasionally, that process is rather innocuous, but the body can only take so many internal hits before the consumption becomes dangerous. Although cardiac arrest is very rare, constant consumption can be a trigger, as well as cause cardiovascular diseases as found by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The issue with energy drinks isn’t just artificial caffeine either.
Manufacturers attract customers by advertising “no sugar”. Sweeteners are what allow companies to do so, since sugar alcohols aren’t considered “added sugar.”
The artificial sweeteners that companies put into drinks are highly problematic, as found by the World Health Organization. Sucralose and aspartame are the main two sweeteners companies use and are what make energy drinks taste so sweet and addictive. Those two are often linked to strokes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome.
Similarly to caffeine, in small quantities sweeteners aren’t technically harmful, but when overly consumed, issues arise. What’s actually in these drinks shouldn’t be ignored, and if you look at the ingredient label, you’ll notice over half the ingredients are pure chemicals.
Now that you know a little more about what you’re consuming, I’d like to add that I am in no way saying we should stop drinking these drinks. But consumers can’t allow themselves to get swayed by the fun flavors and seemingly harmless benefits to these beverages. If we are going to willingly drink, we should know what it is we are drinking.
Once educated on the harmful chemicals and overused replacements advertised to us, we can brainstorm ways to change these drinks for the better.
One way is to use natural caffeine like the caffeine found in Bloom Energy drinks, or Yerba Madre. Another way is to extract flavor from teas and fruit, as well as accept regular added sugar, instead of fake alternatives.
On par with those changes, consumers need to be mindful of how often they consume energy drinks. By monitoring how many drinks you consume, you can enjoy them while avoiding the harmful impacts of long term consumption.
According to professionals, teenagers shouldn’t consume more than three energy drinks a week. Although three might seem like an insignificant number, that’s almost a drink a day for over half a week.
As someone who has about two a week, I understand the importance of giving my body a break. I hope change happens for the better, because who wants to get rid of their fun drink of the day?
No one. And we shouldn’t have to either. This issue isn’t an “all or nothing” situation.
Change, compromise and moderation are all necessary if we want to have these drinks accessible and sustainable for our bodies. With more people educated on why change is needed for our health, the more likely it’ll happen.
