Unlike sports drinks, which are regulated and potentially suited to athletes, energy drinks serve only a commercial purpose.
Following many frequent questions that keep coming up from some patients, I decided to devote an article to energy drinks, in order to set everyone straight about this product so much in vogue on the market.
1. Are energy drinks recommended? If not, why?
Energy drinks are not recommended, because they have no nutritional value. They are "empty calories".
They carry health risks: poor hydration, mineral loss, heart rhythm disorders, cardiovascular effects…
They are unsuited to the body's needs during exertion: energy drinks should not be consumed before, during, or after physical effort, at the risk of harming genuine performance.
The manufacturer's recommendations, which advise a can of energy drink with water during exertion, are not sufficient, neither to hydrate properly, nor to reduce the side effects and the potential toxicity of certain components.
2. What are the consequences of energy drinks?
The consequences of energy drinks on health are multiple:
Risks of cardiovascular problems: increased blood pressure and peripheral vasoconstriction, tachycardia, heart rhythm disorders, or even sudden death.
Dehydration: good hydration makes it possible to increase physical and intellectual performance. However, during exertion, this dehydration linked to energy drinks can lead to more risks of injury, as well as risks of harming recovery capacities.
Electrolyte disorders: increased elimination of calcium by caffeine, but also increased elimination of magnesium, chlorine, sodium, all the more so as caffeine is present at a high level. Devoid of sodium, dehydration and metabolic disorders can lead to hyponatremia during prolonged efforts in a hot climatic environment. This hyponatremia manifests through cardiovascular and neurological disorders that can lead to an alteration of vigilance and concentration, going as far as coma with no diagnosis.
3. Is consuming energy drinks dangerous?
As a dietitian, I do not think that drinking a can could kill anyone.
On the other hand, what can potentially be bad for health is the overconsumption, occasional or chronic, of these drinks. And that is what the advertising built around this drink encourages.
You must therefore drink safely, be attentive to quantities, and limit yourself to the recommended doses. The manufacturer recommends a maximum dose of two cans per day. Whereas the Ministry of Health recommends 1/2 can per day. A compromise between the two seems acceptable, but it is better not to establish a daily consumption.
Likewise, other pieces of advice are to be taken into account, to prevent any harmful health risk:
- Avoid consuming these drinks, but if you do, consume at most half a can per day
- Do not combine energy drinks with alcohol: Red Bull delays the sensation of drunkenness. You risk drinking more than is reasonable and not noticing it in time.
- Also do not combine energy drinks with medications that act on the central nervous system or have neurological effects.
- Drink more water: to counter the diuretic effect and avoid dehydration.
- Do not consume this drink a few hours before going to bed.
Orly FREOUA-AZRIA — Micronutrition dietitian
