The Truth About Energy Drinks

The majority of B vitamins are not toxic when consumed in excess because they are water soluble and any excess is just excreted in the urine. That is except for two of them: 

• Too much vitamin B3 (niacin) can cause a flushing of the skin, stomach upset, blurred vision or liver inflammation. Some shots have 150% more than the maximum recommended dose of 35 mg daily.
• Too much B6 (a dose greater than 500mg/day) can cause nerve damage, tingling and numbness in arms and legs.

As mentioned earlier, there are commonly used herbs that are often found in energy drinks.  These include:

Guaraná

Guaraná is a small round red fruit native to the Amazon. One guaraná seed has twice the caffeine of a coffee bean, so it imparts the increased alertness with all of the potential side effects of caffeine listed earlier. To learn more about guaraná, click here.

Ginseng

Extracted from the root of the ginseng plant, ginseng has been found in studies to boost brain power – but you would need at least 200 mg to reap this benefit, which most drinks don’t contain. A word of caution: Ginseng has been shown to interact with blood-thinning drugs, potentially altering their effectiveness.

Sugar

One serving of an energy drink can contain as much as 14 teaspoons of sugar! That’s more than double the recommended daily dosage. This much sugar spikes our blood glucose levels which is what gives us that energy boost. When those levels drop, they come crashing down and we crash as well. Additionally, this temporary spike is not worth the weight gain that comes with excess sugar consumption.