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Are Energy Drinks Bad for You?

Well, let’s just say they aren’t necessarily good for you. Energy drinks have become all the rage amongst the younger generation over the last few years. Energy drinks have been highly touted as natural alternatives that can improve performance and concentration and this has made them the younger generation’s pick me up of choice.

The majority of these popular drinks like Red Bull, Venom, and Adrenaline Rush, among others, contain large amounts of caffeine and sugar. (Zipfizz energy drink has only 10 calories, 0 sugars and 2 net carbs.)  Some reports show that the amount of caffeine in an energy drink was higher than 65mg per 12 ounces, which is higher than the FDA limit set for soft drinks. The caffeine levels in energy drinks are not currently regulated by the FDA. Many of these drinks contain more than 80mg of caffeine. To put these caffeine levels into perspective, a regular cup of coffee contains about 80mg of caffeine, while a Mountain Dew contains around 37mg.

So to sum it all up, although energy drinks may not necessarily be bad for you, they aren’t really good for you either. If you’re going to drink them, be sure you are drinking sufficient amounts of water to ensure you stay properly hydrated at all times. Be wary of the claims like “improved performance and concentration”, as these can be misleading. They are basically just highly-caffeinated short-term energy boosters. Be aware of what they contain and how they affect you.