You’d be hard-pressed to walk into a convenience store in the United States and not find so-called “energy drinks” lining the coolers.
Some even have their own specialty branded displays with bright colors and promises of increased performance, whether it be mental or physical.
While the science is still out regarding what’s exactly in these drinks and what the health effects are, some new research suggests chugging down a large energy drink could affect your circulatory system through your entire body.
A recent study — done on a tiny sample of medical students (who are typically younger), presented at a conference, and not published in a peer-reviewed journal — claims even just one energy drink could hurt a person’s blood vessel function.
Researchers at the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston found that an hour and a half after consuming a 24-ounce energy drink — larger than most available at corner stores across the United States — that 44 subjects had their blood vessels constrict to nearly half their size.
This is a problem because the smaller the vessels, the harder the heart has to pump to get blood to parts of the body, including the lungs, brain, and the heart itself.
The researchers say they believe that these effects may be related to the combination of ingredients in the energy drink: caffeine, taurine, sugar, and “herbals.”
“As energy drinks are becoming more and more popular, it is important to study the effects of these drinks on those who frequently drink them and better determine what, if any, is a safe consumption pattern,” the authors noted.
But the observation in the study is virtually meaningless, warns Dr. Morton Tavel, clinical professor emeritus of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.
As to the study itself, he says it doesn’t look at health outcomes and we, the readers of the research, are “left in the dark about what ingredients in the energy products, if any, could be responsible for such changes.”
The pace at which energy drinks have hit the market have greatly outpaced the research into their short- and long-term health effects as well as regulation into their use.
The global energy drink market is predicted to reach $72 billion by 2024. While their consumption is popular among kids, the age group that reports the highest daily consumption are those ages 30 to 39.
As to energy drinks themselves, Tavel says they’re a waste of money. Their power comes from caffeine, the same kind found in coffee. As for ingredients like taurine, Tavel says they’re simply marketing jargon.
“Additional ingredients simply provide ‘window-dressing’ to convey a scientific-sounding aura,” Tavel told Healthline. “The amount of caffeine in these products varies greatly, ranging from minuscule to near toxic levels.”
Some of the more popular drinks have names like Red Bull, Monster, and Rock Star. There’s also one called 51 Fifty, a reference to the California law code justifying the psychiatric commitment of someone because they might be a threat to themselves or others.
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