In essence, energy drinks should only do that which envisages their name to give extra burst of energy. As it turned out, most of this energy comes from two main ingredients: sugar and caffeine. Typical energy drink contains about 80 mg of caffeine in a Cup of coffee contains about the same). For comparison, 340 g of soda contains from 18 to 48 mg of caffeine.

It is interesting, how do energy drinks anything else, except the content of caffeine, from soda and sports drinks? Basically, the composition of soft drink contains water, sugar, and flavorings. "Energy" should not affect the physical condition of the person, but they're supposed to have a pleasant taste. As for sports drinks, they are designed for fluid replenishment, which was lost during operation. Their composition is water, electrolytes and sugar.

The birthplace of "power" is considered to be the USA, but they first became popular in Asia. In 1962, the pharmaceutical company of Japan, released his drink "Lipovitan D". Its development was to help employees to work until late at night.

The first "power" drink in the United States of America "Jolt Cola" was not energy, and more - fake soft. Its contents featured a lot of sugar and caffeine. Introduced in the 1980's, Jolt Cola quickly became a staple on University campuses.

Contents

"What all these ingredients can do for my health?" - it has become a common issue among consumers.
Although individual ingredients such as caffeine, have been widely studied, but some still no official data. Below is a list of the most common ingredients that contain "energy", and their impact on the human body.

Ephedrine is a stimulant that affect the Central nervous system. This ingredient helps in weight loss and is antiedematous, but he problematic effect on heart function.

Taurine is an amino acid, which in itself is produced by the body. It helps regulate the heart beat, muscle contraction and maintain the energy of the organism as a whole. Many experts in the field of health are not sure what effect has taurine as an additive in the drink. In the past it was banned in some countries, but now the ban is removed.

Ginseng root, according to some, has some medicinal properties, including stress reduction, increased energy levels and increased memory.

Vitamins - a group of vitamins that convert sugar into energy and improve muscle tone.

Guarana seeds - stimulator. Amazon used them for a long time, as a medium to increase alertness and energy. Carnitine is an amino acid that is normally produced by the liver and kidneys and occupies leading place in the metabolism of fatty acids. Carnitine can act as a thermogenic product and increase weight loss and endurance during exercise. But it does have side effects, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Creatine is an organic acid which helps to supply energy for muscle contractions. Naturally this acid is produced when eating meat.

Inositol is an element of a complex of vitamins that you can send messages inside cells in the body. He once was considered a vitamin, but has since been removed from this classification, because the human body can produce it naturally, without the need for additives in food.

Consequences

Today, energy drinks focused mainly on adolescents and youth. They are readily available in grocery stores, supermarkets, and many other places. "Energy" is often positioned as a relatively harmless drinks. But in fact they can be very harmful, to use them regularly. Studies have shown that the consumption of energy drinks in for extended periods of time can lead to problems such as high blood pressure, a special level of anxiety, insomnia, and palpitations.

These issues cause additives, for example, some manufacturers add not allowable dose of caffeine (80 mg), and in 2-3 times more - 200 mg, which is stunning number by any standards. Caffeine is not only a "breathtaking", but also a diuretic. Its excessive consumption can cause severe dehydration. But the problem becomes even more serious when the "energy" are combined with alcohol (alcohol and energy drinks)that very often we can see on store shelves. In addition, energy drinks often contain excessive amounts of sugar, which, of course, initially harmful for the body.

Today the situation is worsened by the fact that the manufacturers of these drinks have no legal obligation to disclose the source of any natural supplements that can be used in the product. As a result, consumers do not have the opportunity to learn about the existence of pollution of natural additives, pesticides or their exposure. Without further research, it is difficult to say what toxins are present in the energy drinks. In addition, while natural taurine is useful for the organism, its synthetic version that is used in energy drinks is known to cause diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes.

An excessive amount of sugar in such drinks, for example, can lead to weight gain.
Energy drinks have a peculiar way of masking the effects of alcohol, which can lead anyone to the heavy dependence and greater health problems. Is it true that "energy" so dangerous to humans, scientists are still researching, but in any case, consumers should be careful and cautious in the acquisition and use of energy drinks.

Palamarchuk Irina