How Bad Are Energy Drinks?

High caffeine intake in teens can cause serious damage.

Graphic+that+includes+a+popular+flavor+of+Monster+Energy%3A+Ultra+Black.

Photo Juno Le

Graphic that includes a popular flavor of Monster Energy: Ultra Black.

Jenna Falkowski, Staff Writer

Everybody needs something that gets them through the day or just something to give them that extra umph. Many start their day off with coffee, but most of us drink energy drinks. A few very popular ones would be Bang, Monster and RedBull. All very terrible drinks for your health and do more bad than good.

A healthy intake of caffeine is 400mg in one day. Many of the energy drinks these companies put out have at least half of the amount of the healthy limit of caffeine in one can alone! Therefore any more than two would seriously put a hurting on you and your body over time.

Many of these drinks can cause jitters and anxiety. Although it is hard to always get the recommended eight hours of sleep, these energy drinks should NEVER replace sleep.

“BANG has 300 mg of caffeine per 16oz. That is about three cups of coffee in one can alone.” nullchiropractic.com

Monster has 160 mg of caffeine per 16oz. caffeineinformer.com

Celsius has a total of 200mg caffeine per can. publix.com

As you can see if you drink more than two cans of any of these highly popular drinks you will have gone over the healthy limit of caffeine needed for your body.

What happens when you intake too much caffeine?

Caffeine is technically a drug, and you can indeed overdose. When having caffeine in high dosages can lead to irregular heartbeats and sometimes even seizures. It can also lead to hormonal imbalances.

Now just as bad as it is to intake too much caffeine if you don’t drink it that often it can also have a bad effect. When you rarely consume caffeine, when you do your body can react almost immediately. Many start shaking and notice their hands not being able to stay still.

While most symptoms are minor like headaches, irritability, and increased thirst there are some that are way more severe and can even be life-threatening. Some of those symptoms are; vomiting, trouble breathing, hallucinations, and even conclusions.

Energy drinks are very popular, especially amongst us teens. However, they do need to be drunk in moderation to avoid any long-term negative health effects. Energy drinks are okay to drink especially when needed to get you through the day, but really try to be mindful of how much caffeine your body is intaking and stop if you start to notice any side effects.