The sky-rocketing popularity of energy drinks has raised a number of questions and concerns about health among other things. The energy drinks industry is gaining both positive and negative reviews because with every benefit, there’s a price that you have to pay.
Energy drinks can induce a number of negative effects, but contrary to what some people believe, energy drinks can’t make you fail a drug test.
In 2019, a meme went viral on the Internet which raised awareness of the debate associating energy drinks with failing drug tests. However, the validity of the meme has been refuted by Snopes which is a fact-checking website that sorts out myths and rumors on the Internet.
Let me assure you that energy drinks play no role in the failure of your drug test. In addition, energy drinks include ingredients that aren’t remotely linked to any include illicit drugs that may affect your drug tests.
Keep on reading to find out fun facts about energy drinks!
Contents
Can Caffeine Make You Fail A Drug Test?
Caffeine is a stimulant and stimulants can’t make you fail a drug test, but they can cause a false positive drug test.
Nevertheless, Methylphenidate is a stimulant as well, which is used to treat ADHD and some sources suggest that it could cause false positive drug tests, but scientific research says this isn’t true.
Furthermore, caffeine in fact can help you get rid of any drug that may affect your drug test as it has diuretic properties which will make you urinate more frequently and wash out your bladder of any drug metabolites.
Caffeine may not be an illegal drug and wouldn’t affect your drug tests, nevertheless, excessive dose of caffeine has been associated with a number of side effects.
Here are some side effects that are linked with excessive caffeine intake:
- Restlessness.
- Shakiness.
- Insomnia.
- Headaches.
- Dizziness.
- Fast heart rate.
- Dehydration.
- Anxiety.
- Dependency.
In accordance with the FDA, people must limit their daily caffeine consumption to 400 mg in order to reduce their chances of getting any of those side effects.
Nonetheless, 400 mg may be too much for people with caffeine sensitivity, in fact, they can’t even process a small dose of caffeine, so I doubt they can process 400 mg of caffeine without risking side effects.
There are different side effects associated with caffeine sensitivity:
- Rapid heartbeat.
- Headache.
- Jitters.
- Nervousness.
- Anxiousness.
- Restlessness.
- Insomnia.
Caffeine may not be an illicit drug, but it needs to be consumed in moderation, people have faced far worse than these side effects. Thus, I urge you to consume caffeine as much as you’ll stomach can handle.
How Long Does Red Bull Stay In Your Body?
Red Bull is the most known and consumed energy drink all over the world, it holds the highest market share. People often without realizing the side effects consume more than 1 serving in one sitting, which can lead to side effects.
Red Bull includes 80 mg of caffeine and according to the research, it takes about 12 hours for your body to get rid of caffeine from the bloodstream. That said, it also depends on individual factors, like pregnancy, liver damage, and several other drugs that may slow the rate at which the caffeine is removed from your body.
Check out this video to see if Red Bull passes the drug test or not:
While the caffeine content of Red Bull is quite moderate for an energy drink, it includes more than a generous dose of sugar and according to the AHA, women, and men should have an intake of 25 g and 36 g of sugar per day.
One serving of Red Bull includes 27 g of sugar which is 2 g more than the recommended dose for women, and as people often consume more than one serving in one sitting, they’re likely to experience side effects associated with excessive sugar intake which include:
- Headaches.
- Irritability.
- Fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
- Feeling jittery or anxious.
- Feeling shaky or dizzy.
- Hunger.
- Bloating.
Whereas in severe cases, sugar can cause:
- Higher blood pressure.
- Inflammation.
- Weight gain.
- Diabetes.
- Fatty liver disease.
- Increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
To top it off, research has associated a number of health complications linked with chronic intake of Red Bull which include:
- May cause a significant increase in your blood pressure levels and heart rate.
- May increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Can have damaging effects on your teeth.
- Can induce negative effects on your kidney health.
- This may give rise to high-risk behavior, especially among teenagers.
- Can even lead to possible caffeine overdose and possible toxicity.
In my opinion, energy drinks are in an immense industry, there’re thousands of energy drinks that can provide a boost of energy just as good as Red Bull, while still keeping you healthy.
Here’s a list of energy drinks that may not cause side effects:
| Energy Drinks | Sugar Content | Calorie Content | Caffeine Content |
| Monster Energy Zero Ultra, a Sugar-Free Energy Drink | 0 g | 10 | 140 mg |
| G Fuel Energy Drink | 0 g | 0 | 300 mg |
| Marquis Sugar-Free | 0 g | 0 | 100 mg |
| Rockstar Energy Drink | 0 g | 25 | 161 mg |
| XYIENCE Energy Cherry Lime Drink | 0 g | 20 | 160 mg |
| Hiball Energy Vanilla Seltzer Drink | 0 g | 0 | 160 mg |
| Zevia Zero Calorie Energy Drink | 0 g | 0 | 120 mg |
| Aspire Healthy Energy Drink, Mango Lemonade | 0 g | 0 | 80 mg |
| Bang Star Blast Energy Drink | 0 g | 0 | 300 ml |
What Can Cause A False Positive Drug Test?
While any ingredient included in energy drinks may not make you fail a drug test, however, they can cause a false positive. So if you’re going for a drug test, I suggest you steer clear of any energy drink.
Furthermore, there are several other substances that you may be consuming in your daily diet that can cause a false positive drug test.
Here’s a list of things that you should avoid if you’re going for a drug test:
- Secondhand Marijuana Smoke.
- Weight Loss Pills.
- Poppy Seeds.
- Mouthwash.
- Antidepressants.
- Antibiotics.
- CBD Oil.
- Antihistamines.
- HIV Medication.
- Coca Tea.
- Antipsychotic Drugs.
Do Energy Drinks Contain Alcohol?
Energy drinks use stimulants that increase mental and physical performance, alcohol, on the other hand, is a depressant that affects you completely opposite, so in a few words, energy drinks don’t contain alcohol.
However, there’re a number of energy drinks that include alcohol like Sparks, Tilt, Budweiser Energy Drink, and Hyphy Joose.
To conclude, the number of energy drinks with alcohol is quite small as compared to the energy drinks with no alcohol.
Worry not as your regular go-to energy drinks aren’t alcoholic for instance Monster, Celsius, Red Bull, G Fuel, Ghost Gamer, Hi Ball, and Rockstar.
Alternatives To Energy Drinks
Energy drinks can give you wings by increasing your mental and physical power, however, I wouldn’t recommend them if you’re going for a drug test as energy drinks can cause a false positive drug test.
Thus, instead of energy drinks, I say you drink up these listed drinks:
- Green Juice.
- Fruit Juice.
- Fruit-flavored water.
- Kombucha.
- Green and Fruit Smoothies.
- Herbal Teas.
- Green Tea.
Conclusion
- Energy drinks include ingredients that can boost your physical and mental performance, however, these ingredients may cause a false positive drug test.
- Energy drinks are mostly dependent on caffeine which is why they include large doses of caffeine.
- Caffeine may take up to 12 hours to completely wash out of your bloodstream.
- In my opinion, Red Bull isn’t the healthiest energy drink, in fact, research has linked many side effects with its chronic intake.
- While energy drinks can cause a false positive drug test, they can’t make you fail one because caffeine isn’t an illicit drug, it’s a stimulant.
- There’re a number of things that can cause a false positive drug test, in fact, the muffin you consume may have poppy seeds which can cause a false positive drug test.
- If you’re going for a drug test, I say you consume only fruits and vegetable-based foods and of course water.