The New York Times reported that in recent years there have been a number of deaths or hospitalizations from energy drinks in the United States. This also gives people a wake-up call. Although energy drinks can provide energy for the body and refresh the brain, they should also be controlled so as not to threaten life.

According to the British Medical Journal, a 21-year-old man who drank four cans of energy drinks a day for two years suffered from exhaustion and shortness of breath, was diagnosed with heart failure and renal failure and was admitted to the ICU.

The reason why functional drinks can "refresh the brain" is that they add taurine, lysine, caffeine and other functional factors, and accelerate the metabolism of the human body with the assistance of B vitamins, inositol and nicotinamide.

So what exactly do these ingredients do for the human body?

01

Taurine

Taurine is a kind of amino acid, which has the function of protecting retina, enhancing heart contractility, anti-oxidation, promoting immune function and promoting lipid digestion and absorption. But studies have shown that the unique mix of sugar, caffeine and taurine in energy drinks can have an effect on the heart, increasing heart shrinkage in drinkers.

02

Lysine

Lysine has been destroyed in food processing, and its content in cereal food is low, so it is the first limiting amino acid in human body, which plays an important role in improving intelligence, strengthening physique, strengthening memory and improving immunity.

03

Caffeine

Caffeine is a nerve stimulant, moderate intake can refresh and relieve fatigue, improve the brain and body capacity, is safe for the human body. However, if caffeine is overused, large doses can cause caffeine intoxication in the drinker over a long period of time.

04

B vitamins

B vitamins boost metabolism in the body, converting sugar from energy drinks into calories, soothing the mood, relieving tension and making you energetic. But too much can also cause metabolic stress in the liver and kidneys.

05

Creatine

Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid naturally present in vertebrates, which can assist in providing energy for muscles and nerve cells. However, because the sugar and creatine provided by functional drinks are abundant, if not consumed in time, it is easy to cause weight gain.

Recently, Red Bull drink experienced the storm of being removed from shelves. "Regarding whether the use of sodium benzoate and caffeine in Red Bull beverage at the same time will be harmful to health, the expert group has studied and demonstrated that the two raw materials are used according to the approved amount of use, which conforms to relevant state regulations," the CFDA official website said. It is safe for consumers to use it in accordance with the appropriate population, method and amount of food indicated on the label. "

Although safety has been confirmed, He Rihui, director of the Psychological Department and Youth Addiction Treatment Center of the Guangdong Provincial Armed Police Headquarters Hospital, said: "In fact, the real risk of drinking functional drinks is that their caffeine content is too high. Long-term consumption of large amounts may lead to addiction and even some mental disorders."

01

Increased pancreatic burden

Long-term intake of a large number of drinks with high sugar content will cause a great burden to the pancreatic system, which will cause damage to insulin function. In severe cases, acute complications will occur, such as diabetic ketoacidosis and so on.

02

Damage to teeth

After drinking sugary drinks, bacteria in the mouth can ferment sugar and food residue to form plaque.

03

Prone to obesity

Excessive sugar intake increases the risk of overweight and obesity. High sugar diet is a direct risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

04

Headaches, anxiety, insomnia, lifestyle "disorder"

It is true that drinking energy drinks can bring benefits to the drinker in a short time, such as boosting energy and dissipating fatigue. But this short-term "beating chicken blood" effect may disrupt the whole circadian rhythm and rhythm of life of the drinker.

05

Addictive

Some functional drinks contain caffeine and other stimulants to the central nervous system which causes them be easily addictive.

06

Mixed with alcohol is more dangerous

Mixing energy drinks with alcohol a common especially among young people, but it is more harmful to the body. A 2012 study found that increasing energy drinks when drinking alcohol was nearly six times more likely to develop heart palpitations than when drinking alcohol alone.

01

Children, teenagers had better not drink;

Studies show that children who drink too much caffeinated beverages can experience chest pain, headaches and hyperactivity. "Energy drinks can also encourage some students to commit bad behavior, making it harder for teachers to discipline them" British media reported Tuesday.

British experts said:" More and more people are addicted to caffeine because of the popularity of energy drinks among teenagers." Some drug charities have warned school doctors to watch out for caffeine addiction in teenagers.

Bob Tate, of Drug Education UK, said the cheap and easy availability of these products had led to an increase in caffeine addiction and related health problems.

02

People with gastrointestinal ulcer should not drink, for the risk of increasing gastric acid secretion, aggravating the disease;

03

People who are taking drugs should not drink to avoid affecting the efficacy;

04

Women should not drink during menstrual period;

05

People who are drinking should not drink, and the superposition of drinking aggravates physical injury;

06

Some special people can drink it, but normal people don't need to drink it regularly.

The harm of energy drinks to the body is more serious than we think. Although each energy drink is slightly different in composition, most contain sugar, caffeine, vitamins, taurine, etc. Some also contain guarana (the main ingredient is guaranine, which is chemically similar to caffeine). So maybe we should avoid drinking too much energy drinks unless we have to.