BC Living
You’ve Gotta Try This in November 2024
Thankful For BC Farmers This Thanksgiving
Gut Healthy Recipes
5 Tips to Prevent Muscle and Joint Pain When Working a Desk Job
Skincare Products for Fall
Exploring the Benefits of Cold Therapy
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
A Relaxing Getaway to the Sunshine Coast
Exploring Vancouver’s Top Wellness Spas
Great Bear Rainforest
B.C. Adventures: Our Picks for November
Fall Movie and Book Recommendations for Cozy Nights In
Cirque Du Soleil
Shopping for Wellness: Essential Products for Relaxation
Local Finds: Cozy Fall Fashion for Your Wellness Journey
Fall Fashion Trends
Energy drinks promise increased energy but at what cost?
Energy drinks are not the healthiest way to boost your energy
People are guzzling these drinks like water, which is too bad for their health because they’d be better off actually drinking water.
Energy drinks promote special ingredients as the secret to their energy boosting powers, but in reality the energy shot in these beverages comes from two sources: caffeine and sugar.
Research suggests sugar-free variations of energy drinks don’t provide the same kick as the sugar-laden versions. But most people already overconsume sugar, so getting a pick-me-up by adding more to your diet really isn’t the best solution.
Both sugar-free and sugared versions of energy drinks may slightly improve reaction time. So if your job calls for lightening quick reflexes, such as a snake catcher, there may be a use for these drinks.
Whereas caffeine is found naturally in foods like coffee and tea, the levels in many energy drinks are excessive. A cup of coffee may contain about 100 mg of caffeine while typical energy drinks contain between 50 – 500 mg. Just thinking about that makes me jittery.
People will metabolize caffeine at different rates depending on a gene in their livers. If you happen to process caffeine quickly, then it probably won’t be detrimental to your health. However, it’s a different story if you process caffeine slowly.
In addition, real food like coffee and tea also contain phytochemicals, antioxidants and other compounds that are beneficial to your health. But unlike real food in which the ingredients work together synergistically, man-made concoctions often fall short in their attempt to blend supposedly beneficial ingredients.
Many energy drinks add amino acids, vitamins, minerals or other compounds to their proprietary blends to promote vitality. However the research is pretty clear these extra ingredients don’t provide any health benefits. Either the amounts are too small to do good or the body simply expels them. Given the cost of these drinks that means very expensive pee.
In addition, most of these drinks have artificial colours and flavours added to them. You don’t need a graduate degree in nutrition to know these aren’t the best thing for your health.
Combining energy drinks and alcohol has also risen in popularity. These drinks may mask symptoms of being drunk so this is simply a recipe for dumb and dumber.
It can also lead to an irregular heart beat and increase your stress hormones. I think doing interval training or a kick ass strength workout is a much healthier alternative to give your cardiovascular and endocrine systems a boost.
The following video really captures the hype behind energy drinks.
My advice, don’t believe the hype! If you want some caffeine, drink quality coffee or tea. You’ll get both an energy boost and a health boost, naturally.