Let’s talk about energy drinks. By now, you’ve probably heard a lot of people tell you, “Oh, don’t drink energy drinks because they are bad for you.” But have you ever just stopped and seriously thought about this? Is it really bad for your health, and if it is bad, how bad? What can it do to your body?
About energy drinks:
In the last few years, energy drinks have become more and more popular, and people are starting to drink them almost like water—drinking one energy drink after the other. And these companies are making a fortune. According to Statista.com, energy drinks are one of the top-selling packaged beverages in the United States. In 2019, energy drinks accounted for 31% of the dollar sales of packaged beverages sold at U.S. convenience stores. Energy drink sales in the United States reached around $14 billion in 2021. Red Bull is the best-selling brand of energy drink by a large margin. In 2020, Red Bull sales reached $2.9 billion in US dollars. Monster was the second-leading energy drink brand in the United States that year, generating sales of $1.76 billion USD.
Why should you stop drinking energy drinks?
Your energy drink is not just a quick energy booster; it is actually a nutritional time bomb. And if you actually care about your health, about your body—because you only get one in this world—that’s it. If you care about your body, you need to stop drinking it now.
Let me give you four facts about what I mean:
Sugar is the number one
- Sugar is the number one drug in the world, causing chronic health conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, to mention just a few.
- A lot of people these days complain about inflammation.
- Sugar gives you inflammation.
- According to insider.com, the Heart Association only recommends 36 grams of sugar a day for men.
- By that measure, a 24-ounce energy drink has tripled the amount of sugar recommended in a day.
- Now, when you drink this much sugar, I mean, it’s triple the amount you need in a day, so then you eat all the other food as well, so you get all that sugar in.
- But let’s just go back to the drink.
- So, you triple the amount there.
- Your body struggles to control all that sugar.
- That gives you high blood sugar, which then damages your nerves and blood vessels over time.
- and this will then give you heart disease and even kidney problems.
- Well, let me not say for sure that it will happen.
- Let me just say that the chances are very high; it’s very likely.
For you guys who want to lose weight, you need to stay away from energy drinks.
- because if you habitually drink energy drinks, it can prevent your body from burning fat.
- Glucose is the sugar your body breaks carbs down into.
- It goes straight into your bloodstream.
- So, when you give your body that energy drink with all that sugar, your body goes crazy.
- Red Bull has 27 grams of sugar in a normal 250-milliliter can.
- That’s seven teaspoons.
- Monster has 54 grams in 473 milliliters.
- That’s 14 teaspoons of sugar.
- So, when that goes into your system, your body stops burning fat, it stops everything, and it tries for dear life to handle all of that sugar, but it can’t because it’s too much.
- And then if you add caffeine to it, which most, well, almost all energy drinks have, it’s just a recipe for disaster.
- For example, Red Bull contains 80 milligrams per 250 milliliters.
- Monster: 142 milligrams at 473 milliliters.
- Now, caffeine already gives your body an energy boost.
- just like the caffeine you get from coffee.
Energy for the short term and serious health conditions for the long term.
- People who usually focus only on the now and don’t care about the future tend to experience a whole lot of problems as time goes by.
- It’s not very smart to live that way if you don’t plan for the future.
- As I always say, you plan to fail.
- And that’s the same for your body.
- Your body will fail, and you only get one.
- It is your decision, but you will have to be okay with the consequences of your decisions as well.
- If you choose to give in to your emotions, to just feel good, to drink energy for now,
- Just for the taste, or just for the energy you think you need, you will also have to deal with the energy-crashing part because what goes up must come down.
And then you’ll also have to deal with
- all the possible other wide range of conditions like sleep deprivation, weight gain, or bad blood pressure.
- And then there’s overarching evidence that suggests that energy drinks may lead to substance abuse, mental health problems, a higher diabetes risk, tooth decay, and kidney damage.
- According to men’shealth.com, are you willing to deal with chronic health conditions until the day you die, only for a few energy drinks?
It is more harmful to teenagers and young adults.
- including cardiovascular and nervous system anomalies, cognitive underdevelopment, increased risk of depression and other mental health illnesses, and sleep disorders.
- Now, you would think that these companies would know the risks of these energy drinks for teens and young adults.
- The truth is, they do, and they don’t care.
- And we see that in their marketing because, despite these health risks for teens and young adults,.
- The marketing is specifically for them, for young people.
- Well, not specifically, but it is heavily marketed to young people.
- See through the cracks.
- You need to look at the truth whenever you look at any form of marketing from food or drink companies.
- You need to be able to see the truth.
