It is to be believed that what food you eat not only impacts your physical health but also brain health. As per Research, 20% of your caloric intake goes to your brain. Your daily nutrition intake plays a significant role in increasing or decreasing the risk of cognitive health problems.
Since depression and anger are interlinked, in some situations, it might be the depression that causes irritability. There might be a connection between your anger problems and energy drink consumption. Are you wondering whether energy beverages cause anger or not? Here’s a short answer to your query:
A 2009 study shows a direct link between depression and sugar-containing drinks. If you want to know how other ingredients in energy drinks impact your mood, you should stick around.
This article intends to examine the relationship between depression and anger. I’ll also let you know which components of energy beverages might cause anger.
So, let’s dive into it….
Contents
Why Do People Get Angry?
There might be numerous reasons one might get angry. Most individuals are emotionally unstable and react negatively when someone disrespects, neglects, or threatens them.
Anger further goes along with headaches and muscle tension. Sometimes, anger leads to external expressions such as yelling, hitting, or throwing objects.
Anger indicates that a person is psychologically distressed. To put that into the context, those with a mood disorder like depressive or manic will experience anger more frequently than those without it.
There are different names to define anger such as hostility and irritability. A person with depression does not necessarily feel angry.
Is There Any Connection Between Anger And Depression?
You’re probably wondering if anger and depression have any kind of association.
Let me tell you that both the conditions are somewhat interlinked. A 2002 study demonstrates that patients with depression have more anger control problems.
Upon testing the anger levels in both depressive disorder and anxiety disorder groups, the anger levels were significantly higher in depressive people. It’s evident that depression promotes anger. Now the question arises: are energy drinks the cause of depression?
Well, in addition to causing depression, sugary drinks might also lead to anger in some people.
What Are Energy Drinks and What Do They Do?
Any carbonated or non-carbonated drink containing caffeine or other nootropics can be considered an energy drink. They come with both sugar and no-sugar options.
If you see the global sales of energy beverages, this industry made $57.4 billion in 2020. The reason behind the instant growth of the energy drink industry is that people are switching from the traditional energy source, coffee, to something more convenient that they can grab and drink on the go.
The purpose of energy drinks is to keep you focused and alert during gym sessions and night shifts.
While these drinks help some people get through the day, some individuals experience negative effects with energy beverages such as headaches, anxiety, and nervousness. This happens because of caffeine, sugar, or other components.
Energy Drinks Key Ingredients
The most common ingredient of energy drinks is caffeine which comes with both positive and negative profiles. Another ingredient that isn’t essential but present in power drinks is sugar. In some cases, you may find large quantities of sugar added, while in other cases, the sugar may be very low or not present at all.
All the ingredients have either a positive or negative impact on how your body and brain function. Those who’re used to energy beverages will experience no or fewer side effects in comparison to those who have just started taking them.
Here are a few other ingredients of energy drinks;
- Taurine
- Ginseng root
- Guarana seed extract
- Sugar
- Carbohydrates
- Caffeine
- B group vitamins
- Amino acids
Let’s examine the effects of the most common ingredients on anger and depression. It’ll help you know what’s the real cause of anger.
Caffeine and Consequences
Caffeine is the most common nootropic in coffee and energy drinks that provides you with stimulation. This ingredient will not cause any negative effects as long as you’re not going overboard with it.
As per FDA recommendations, you should never go beyond 400 milligrams of caffeine in a day. Or you might face the following symptoms;
- Headache
- Anxiety
- Hypertension
- Dependence
- Nervousness
- Crash
- Jitters
- Sleeplessness
The real question is: if caffeine leads to anger.
According to research, the subjects for the survey taken were both boys and girls. Even though boys took more caffeine than girls, there was more sleeplessness and anger reported in girls. You can say that taking caffeinated beverages daily has an association with anger problems. But I think that lack of sleep was the main factor behind anger which obviously resulted from the consumption of caffeine.
Does Sugar Cause Anger Problems?
You’ll find very few energy beverages that come without added sugar. If there are any, they’ll contain higher doses of carbs that work similarly to sugar.
Facts show that Americans consume way more sugar than the recommended daily intake. The American Heart Association regulates a dose of 36 grams for men and 24 grams for women.
You will experience anxiety and depression if you consume sugary foods and beverages, which will further trigger anger. If you experience anger problems by taking sugar-containing energy beverages, I would recommend going for ones that come with zero sugar.
How Do Carbohydrates Affect Mood?
If discontinuing sugar-free drinks is not solving the anger issues, carbs might be the problem. To your surprise, sugar-free drinks contain a high level of carbohydrates.
A growing body of research has shown that carbohydrates have a significant impact on brain health. According to research, when a group of people was given a diet consisting of proteins and carbs, the results show a higher anger rate in the morning.
However, no research could tell how carbs alone would affect your mood. There are still chances that energy beverages containing carbs would cause you anger.
Do B Vitamins Have a Positive Impact On Your Mood?
B vitamins are essential ingredients of most energy drinks due to their positive impact on your mood. If you’re deficient in these vitamins, there are high chances that you’ll be depressed.
There are five B vitamins, B1, B3, B6, B9, and B12, that play a primary role in your brain functions. If you’re not supplementing them in the right doses, you might face the symptoms of depression.
You can take energy drinks containing any of these vitamins. It might help you deal with anger problems. However, supplementing these vitamins won’t substitute to consulting a specialist. So, when vitamins are considered energy drinks are actually helping in lowering anger levels.
Do Energy Drinks Make You Angry?
Energy drinks themselves might not cause you anger issues but the presence of caffeine, sugar, and carbs; the ingredients in energy drinks might leave a huge impact on how your brain functions.
Often, depression is the first sign of poor nutrition when it comes to the brain and food connection. This topic has always been controversial and you might not find anger under the list of depression symptoms. However, in rare cases depression causes anger.
So, it’s better to test out energy drinks with low levels of caffeine and zero sugar. If you still feel angry, there might be other reasons.
Energy Drinks With Low Levels Of Caffeine and Sugars
| Energy Drinks | Caffeine Levels | Sugar |
| Aspire (12 fl. oz.) | 80 mg | Zero |
| Coffee (8 fl. oz. Cup) | 95 mg | Zero |
| Red Bull Zero (8 fl. oz.) | 80 mg | Zero |
| Green Tea (8 fl. oz. Cup) | 35 mg | Zero |
Final Thoughts
Your eating patterns and diet leave a huge impact on how your brain functions. Therefore, you must make sure you’re not consuming anything that might negatively affect you.
If you’re someone who believes to become angry after taking energy drinks, you should look at a few aspects. First of all, you need to keep your caffeine intake as low as possible. Secondly, you should never go for high sugary beverages.
You can also consider natural energy sources like green tea. You only get 35 mg of caffeine in an 8 fl. oz. cup of green tea.