Energy drinks are part of the fasting growing area of the drinks market, but are they actually good for your wellness and wellbeing, or should you steer your family away from them as much as possible?
Energy drinks promise the user a quick burst of energy as soon as they down the liquid. Whilst this may be useful for various scenarios, such as a late night of studying or a challenging sports event, there is increasing concern that they could have worrying effects on the health of those who drink them on a regular basis. There is particular concern that these energy drinks may have a damaging effect on the health of the heart.
A team of researchers in Australia have been looking into this problem, using a group of participants. There were 50 participants in total and none of them had any underlying health problems. Each member of the research group was given either a can of an energy drink or the same amount of carbonated water. An hour after they had consumed these drinks, the group who had consumed the energy drinks were found to have experienced elevations in their blood pressure. Worryingly, the group who had had the energy drinks were also found to be experiencing something called endothelial dysfunction, which is a condition where the arteries of the heart are unable to relax properly and where there is an abnormal clumping of platelets. Both of these things increase the risk of the person suffering from a heart attack.
The researchers believe that the platelet clumping and the endothelial dysfunction are not down to the caffeine in the drinks (which is usually the ingredient that is suspected of causing harm) but down to the glucouronolactone that is contained in the drinks.