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Health Energy drinks are far more dangerous than caffeine drinks
Energy drinks may have a greater effect on blood pressure than caffeine-only drinks, according to a double-blind study published in the spring of 2017 by pharmacologists at the California University of the Pacific. The study involved 18 young and healthy men and women. They were divided into two groups: The experimental group drank a good liter of a commercial energy drink in 45 minutes.
The caffeine content of this drink was 320 mg, the sugar content about 110 g. The control group received a drink consisting of 320 mg caffeine, 40 milliliters of lemon juice and 140 milliliters of cherry syrup in carbonated water. After a week was changed. The scientists then examined the blood pressure and the QT interval of the heart. This is the time it takes the heart to regenerate from the electrical impulse that triggered the heartbeat (arousal regression).
(Image: eyetronic / fotolia.com) The blood pressure of the control group had returned to normal after six hours. By contrast, the group of energy drink consumers still had slightly elevated blood pressure even after six hours. The energy drinks also had a stronger effect on the QT interval. Two hours after consuming the energy drink, the atrial regression in the experimental group lasted 10 milliseconds longer than in the control group. "Drugs that prolong QT time by 6 milliseconds must already have warnings," explains Emily Fletcher, principal author of the study, in a press release from the university. An extension of 60 milliseconds is a risk for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias.
These effects can not be attributed to caffeine alone, the scientists suspect. They assume that other ingredients of the energy drinks such as taurine, carnitine and ginseng contribute to these results, because they develop opposing effects in the body. Scientists still do not consider the extension of QT time to be dangerous because it is only temporary. For certain groups of people, however, such effects could be risky, for example, in people who take heart medication or who have a potassium or magnesium deficiency.
The team headed by Emily Fletcher and Sachin Shah of Travis Air Force Base had previously dealt with the health effects of energy drinks. Because 75 percent of the army members drink energy drinks, 15% even three doses a day. "That's more than what we used in our experiment," says Fletcher.
The results are to be treated with caution, they write in their publication. To secure them, you would have to conduct larger clinical trials. It should not only examine the effects of caffeine, but also the other ingredients. People with high blood pressure or other health problems should better keep their fingers off energy drinks, so their recommendation. Gesa Mashkovsky, bzfe