Energy drinks are the so-called energy drinks, which are very popular. Students who cram for exams all night, young people who have fun in nightclubs, truck drivers, security guards, cleaning ladies, shift workers, people who go to the gym after work – this is not a complete list of their consumers. Despite the fact that the media often scare with stories about the harmful effects of energy drinks on the body, they remain leaders in sales. So what is more in their composition – benefit or harm?
## General information
Energy drinks have an obvious tonic, antidepressant effect, as they contain natural psychostimulants. They are recommended to accelerate recovery, eliminate fatigue and drowsiness. Basically, they are used by those who need not to fall asleep or double their energy potential for several hours.
Many people think that this is an invention of the 21st century, but this is not so. Their predecessors can be found in the works of ancient doctors who practiced herbal medicine. In particular, one of the books of the famous German abbess Hildegard von Bingen (XII century) contains a recipe for an elixir that gives vivacity.
They acquired a form familiar to us about a century ago. In 1927, Lucozade was developed in Great Britain to accelerate the recovery of patients. Its composition was typical of modern energy drinks: carbon dioxide, glucose syrup, citric and lactic acids, caffeine, sodium benzoate and bisulfate, vitamin B9.
In 1962, a new drink, Lipovitan, was developed in Japan on its basis. It was no longer positioned as a medicine for accelerated recovery, but as an energy drink that helps to stay awake for several hours, giving a surge of strength and energy. Since that time, the production of energy drinks began in the East.
In Europe, the initiator of this was the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz, who borrowed the recipe on vacation in Hong Kong. Adding a number of modern, more perfect components to it, he created a fundamentally new product – Red Bull – which eventually made him one of the richest people on the planet. This brand has a scandalous reputation, but at the same time it is incredibly popular all over the world.
In 1985, energy drinks conquered America thanks to Jolt Cola, which was recommended to students and people of professions associated with great mental and physical stress. In 1995, it was replaced by Josta from PepsiCo, and since 1999 – Adrenaline Rush.
In New Zealand and Australia, sales leaders are drinks produced by Frucor Beverages.
Today, their turnover exceeds $ 50 billion.
Many are interested in the question: from what age is it allowed to sell energy drinks? Given that they do not contain alcohol, in the Russian Federation they are sold freely to people of any age, including children and adolescents. The law does not prohibit this. The only exception is the Moscow region, where since May 1, 2015, it has been forbidden to sell such drinks to minors.
## Effects on the body
Since the moment of launching energy drinks into mass production, there have been ongoing disputes about the effects they have on human health. To understand what is more in their composition – benefit or harm – you need to know which systems and organs and how they affect.
Impact:
- In a tonic manner – increasing vitality, ensuring a long state of excitation of the nervous and muscular systems without fatigue;
- Stimulate the central nervous system – increase its activity, accelerate work;
- They have an antidepressant effect – invigorate, relieve drowsiness and apathy, prevent falling asleep.
As a result of such exposure, within 2-4 hours after drinking (the duration of the effect depends on the individual characteristics of the organism):
- Mood improves significantly, even to a state of euphoria;
- there is a surge of strength, vigor, energy;
- there is no desire to sleep;
- activity increases;
- strength and endurance increase;
- cognitive activity improves;
- motor activity improves.
A person feels all this within 5-10 minutes after drinking.
However, there is also a downside, which is not so obvious.
It seems to everyone that energy drinks are a source of energy. This is not true. The active substances contained in them are stimulants that work according to a simple mechanism: they quickly enter the bloodstream, excite the nervous system, forcing the body to spend its own energy in a double dose, and then distribute it to the cells. That is, they do not supply it, but take it from the person’s own reserves in large quantities.
An example for clarity and comparison. The loader needs to unload 4 cars during an 8-hour working day. He can do this by distributing the load evenly – 1 car in 2 hours. In this case, by the end of the working day he will only be slightly tired, having taken breaks for rest. However, he can do it differently: unload all 4 cars in 2 hours, working in an intensive mode, without rest. As a result, by the end of the second hour he will have completely exhausted the body’s reserves and will feel bad.
The same thing happens with the body, which normally distributes its current energy evenly. Energy drinks force him to use up all this energy in a short time. It is not difficult to guess what will happen when the effect ends: fatigue, loss of strength, poor health – and this is not a complete list of those sensations that will be experienced after euphoria.
Thus, the effect of energy drinks on the human body is a vivid example of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there is a surge of strength, an incredible surge of energy, when it seems that you can move mountains. But on the other hand, after a few hours, complete exhaustion of the body and nervous system sets in.
## Composition
The effect of energy drinks on the body is determined by the active substances contained in their composition. The basis for most brands is the same, with minor variations.
Basic active components:
- Glucose – the main “extractor” of energy from the body;
- Taurine – an amino acid that accelerates energy processes in the body;
- Caffeine – an alkaloid psychostimulant that invigorates the central nervous system and the heart, increases heart rate, causes vasodilation, improves intellectual and physical activity, relieves drowsiness;
- Guarana – a plant, the extract of which contains a large amount of caffeine that improves mood and invigorates;
- Ginseng – a natural psychostimulant;
- Niacin (vitamin B3) stabilizes the nervous system;
- Pantothenic acid (B5) is involved in the restoration of nerve tissue;
- Pyridoxine (B6) has a regulatory effect on the nervous system;
- Folic acid (B9) increases the production of serotonin and norepinephrine in the body, which improves mood;
- Ascorbic acid (C) ensures the delivery of glucose to its destination, participates in the production of serotonin.
And that’s not counting preservatives, dyes and carbonic acid, which make them sparkling. Caffeine and glucose are essential components. Taurine is found in 75% of drinks.
At first glance, the composition may seem balanced: some substances invigorate the nervous system, while others calm and stabilize it. However, the number of the former is several times greater than the latter. Yes, and manufacturers use only 1-2 vitamins, and in minimal quantities.
## Harm
Why does the media constantly talk about the dangers of energy drinks? At one time (2009-2010) Red Bull was banned in several countries because cocaine particles were allegedly found in its composition. Later, the examination refuted this fact, but a wave of indignation and protests arose.
There were also many reports of deaths in various countries of the world, after energy
