Energy drinks are the most popular and well-liked beverages as it increases mental and physical performance.
However, there’s a price to pay for every benefit, while the side effects of energy drinks range from mild to severe, the mild side effects include water retention.
Water retention isn’t the most common side effect, but it’s reported to be caused by energy drinks in some people.
In fact, energy drinks induce the opposite side effect most commonly. Yes, caffeine in energy drinks can cause dehydration. Moreover, people who consume too many energy drinks often forget to consume water which leads to dehydration.
Furthermore, they’re much more serious side effects of energy drinks, so keep on reading.
Contents
Side Effects Of Energy Drinks
Energy drinks are created with potent ingredients which can cause side effects if consumed in immoderation. Moreover, the most common side effects are associated with excessive sugar and caffeine intake.
While the safe dose of caffeine is different for every individual, FDA recommends limiting your daily caffeine intake to 400 mg or less to avoid side effects which include:
- Restlessness.
- Shakiness.
- Insomnia.
- Headaches.
- Dizziness.
- Fast heart rate.
- Dehydration.
- Anxiety.
- Dependency.
Moreover, energy drinks include huge doses of sugar which often exceeds the daily recommended dose, so if you consume more than one serving, you may experience some side effects linked with excessive sugar intake which may include:
- Headaches.
- Irritability.
- Fatigue.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Feeling jittery.
- Anxiousness.
- Feeling shaky.
- Dizziness.
- Hunger.
- Bloating.
While in serious cases, sugar could lead to:
- Higher blood pressure.
- Inflammation.
- Weight gain.
- Diabetes.
- Fatty liver disease.
- Increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
The AHA recommends women consume 24 g (which is 6 teaspoons) and men consume 36 g (which is 9 teaspoons) of sugar per day.
Now, one can of Monster includes 54 g of sugar, so even if you consume one serving, your chances of experiencing the above-listed side effects are great.
Do Energy Drinks Increase Swelling?
Energy drinks include almost similar ingredients but in different doses. The most common ingredients that are known to cause swelling are sugar and sodium.
As energy drinks include high contents of sugar as well as sodium, you may feel swelling after consuming them.
I have a solution to that problem, check out these energy drinks with zero to low sugar and sodium contents:
| Energy drinks | Sugar Content | Sodium Content | Caffeine Content |
| Monster Energy Zero Ultra, Sugar-Free | 0 g | 0.20 per 100 ml | 140 mg |
| Hiball Energy Vanilla Seltzer | 0 g | 0 | 160 mg |
| Aspire Healthy, Mango Lemonade | 0 g | 55 mg | 80 mg |
| Bang Star Blast | 0 g | 40 mg | 300 ml |
| Zevia Zero Calorie | 0 g | 0 | 120 mg |
| Marquis Sugar Free | 0 g | 0 | 100 mg |
Can Caffeine Make You Retain Water?
Caffeine is a crucial ingredient for every energy drink, it increases your mental and physical performance which increases your productivity.
Because of these alluring benefits of caffeine, people are consuming too many energy drinks with high contents of caffeine, which can cause side effects, but water retention isn’t necessarily one of them.
Check out this video to know what is causing water retention and how can you treat it:
Water retention isn’t a common or most experienced side effect of caffeine, but it has been known to be caused by energy drinks.
Caffeine doesn’t directly cause water retention, there’re many causes of water retention but the most common one is severe and long-term protein deficiency.
As energy drink kills your appetite, you don’t necessarily consume your daily dose of protein which with time can cause protein deficiency.
Moreover, caffeine is quite a powerful ingredient, in fact, it can make you develop a dependency on it, as a result, you would consume more and more caffeine every day.
Caffeine is good for you as long as you are consuming it with responsibility.
What Does Too Much Energy Drinks Do To Your Body?
Energy drinks are powerful potions which is why they should be consumed in moderation. While moderate consumption of energy drinks is different for every person as they have different tolerance to caffeine, I suggest you never overconsume.
As energy drinks in immoderation can lead to so many health complications that may even put you in the hospital. Mind you, Monster has been sued many times as consumers claimed to experience rapid heartbeat and even heart attacks and strokes.
Moreover, Red Bull is one of the most popular energy drinks and holds the largest market share, meaning it’s consumed at a gross rate.
While the ingredients included in Red Bull are quite simple, research has linked a number of side effects with its chronic and immoderate intake.
Here’s the list of those side effects:
- It can increase your blood pressure levels and heart rate.
- May increase your risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Can induce damage to your teeth.
- Can cause negative effects on the health of your kidney.
- It may increase high-risk behavior.
- Can easily lead to caffeine overdose and even possible toxicity.
Research has explained how these side effects can be induced, so let’s look into that.
Can Increase Your Blood Pressure Levels And Heart Rate
Blood pressure levels and heart rate are the two most crucial measures for heart health, and significantly increased levels have been linked with a greater risk of hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease.
Many studies including healthy adults have found out that if you drink one serving of a 12-ounce (355-ml) can of Red Bull, you may experience a significant rise in your blood pressure and heart rate levels.
In addition, these increases are thought to be primarily due to the caffeine content of Red Bull as a 12-ounce (355-ml) can include 108 mg of caffeine.
Moreover, research suggests that Red Bull could worsen heart health and can also be life-threatening in people who have pre-existing higher blood pressure or any heart disease.
May Increase Your Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes
Excessive consumption of sugar, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, can notably increase your risk of type 2 diabetes.
In fact, a review including 310,819 adults showed that drinking 1–2 servings of any sugar-sweetened beverage every day was linked with a 26% increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
As Red Bull is a popular sugar-sweetened energy drink, containing 27 grams of sugar in an 8.4-ounce (260-ml) serving, if you’re drinking one or more servings every day, your chances of getting type 2 diabetes can significantly increase.
Can Induce Damage To Your Teeth
Many researchers suggest that if you’re drinking acidic beverages every day, it can damage tooth enamel, which is a hard outer layer that protects your teeth from decay.
As Red Bull is an acidic energy drink, chronic and immoderate intake can harm the enamel of your teeth.
In fact, a 5-day test-tube study showed that if you expose human tooth enamel to acidic energy drinks for straight 15 minutes and 4 times a day, it could result in significant and irreversible loss of tooth enamel.
Can Cause Negative Effects To The Health Of Your Kidney
Occasional intake of Red Bull is quite unlikely to cause any serious effects on kidney health, research indicates that chronic and immoderate intake possibly could.
A 12-week study that included rats concluded that chronic consumption of Red Bull could cause a decline in kidney function.
In addition, another research shows a link between a high sugar intake and a greater risk of chronic kidney disease.
So as Red Bull includes a high content of sugar, excessively consuming regularly may increase your risk.
May Increase High-Risk Behavior
A number of research showed a link between consuming Red Bull and increased high-risk behavior, especially when energy drinks are combined with alcohol.
When energy drinks like Red Bull and alcohol are consumed together, the caffeine content of Red Bull can mask the impacts of alcohol, which may make you feel less intoxicated, but still, experience alcohol-related impairments which can have serious consequences.
A study showed that college-aged students who consumed energy drinks with alcohol were prone to drink and drive and experience life-threatening alcohol-related injuries as compared to when alcohol was consumed alone.
Moreover, even when energy drinks aren’t combined with alcohol, observational studies suggest that daily consumption of energy drinks like Red Bull is connected with an increased risk of alcohol dependence or illicit drug use.
Can Easily Lead To Caffeine Overdose And Even Possible Toxicity
Safe doses of caffeine are different for every person, but FDA suggests limiting daily caffeine intake to 400 mg per day or less.
As an 8.4-ounce (260-ml) can of Red Bull has 80 mg of caffeine, consuming more than 5 cans in a day could increase your risk of caffeine overdose.
Here’s the list of symptoms linked with caffeine overdose and toxicity:
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- Hallucinations.
- Anxiety.
- Increased heart rate.
- Dizziness.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Seizures.
Alternatives To Energy Drink
Energy drinks may be boosting your energy levels, but they’re also causing many side effects, so I suggest you introduce some healthy beverages to your diet like:
- Green Tea.
- Green and Fruit Smoothies.
- Green and Fruit Juice.
- Herbal Tea.
- Kombucha.
Conclusion
- Energy drinks have become everyone’s go-to beverage, but people fail to realize that these drinks may be causing side effects like swelling as they’re high in sugar and sodium.
- Water retention isn’t a common side effect, however, dehydration is. Caffeine is known to cause severe dehydration, so I suggest you consume your daily dose of water as well.
- Energy drinks aren’t healthy at all because they include huge doses of caffeine and sugar which are known to cause many serious side effects if consumed in immoderation.