WorldHealth

How Are Energy Drinks Draining Your Brain’s Power?

Authored by Michelle Standlee via The Epoch Times

One step through the grocery store doors, and you’re surrounded by lightning bolts and bold lettering screaming, “Energy!”

The main ingredients of energy drinks—caffeine, amino acids, and herbal extracts—vow to deliver superhuman focus and alertness with just a sip. Yet lurking beneath the surface is a hidden risk that may outweigh any apparent benefits. It’s time to ask: What if this burst of energy comes with a cost greater than the price tag?

The origins of energy drinks can be traced back decades before their rise to mass popularity. In 1929, the glucose-based drink Lucozade Energy (formerly Glucozade in 1927) was introduced in the UK as a nutritional supplement for hospital patients recovering from illnesses, including the flu.

Later, in 1949, Dr Enuf, containing a mixture of caffeine, B vitamins, and sugar, became the first carbonated energy drink in the United States when it was launched in Chicago.

However, it was not until the introduction of Red Bull in 1987 in Austria and its vigorous marketing campaigns that energy drinks really took off globally. Red Bull, a mixture of caffeine, taurine, B vitamins, and sugar, established the standard energy drink formula many brands mimic today.

Today, the global energy and sports drinks market is valued at over $159 billion, with the United States alone accounting for nearly $14 billion.

In addition to adults, teenagers are drawn to these energizing tonics for academic or sports performance. Some schools have started to ban energy drinks because of their high sugar and caffeine content, which can result in an energy crash, making long-term focus and studying difficult.

While energy drinks may provide short-term benefits like alertness and focus, research indicates they can also have negative health impacts.

“The amount and quality of caffeine inside the energy drinks gives a false source of energy,” Omar Eliwa, a registered pharmacist in Wisconsin, told The Epoch Times. “You’re getting more than what your brain can take. It will be detrimental in the long-term to memory, the ageing of the cells, depletion of nutrients, and it makes you not want to eat, so it affects metabolism as well.”

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