Essay Sample about The Health Danger of Energy Drinks
How often are energy drinks associated with the emergency room? Apparently, not nearly enough. Energy drinks are beverages consumed by people of all ages. These beverages sell people on the idea that they provide them with, as the name suggests, energy. Energy drinks are consumed worldwide, to the point where most people are familiar with at least a brand or two. Widespread examples of energy drinks include Red Bull, Dr. Pepper, and Monster. Energy drinks are undeniably popular. Nevertheless, most of these beverages are unhealthy for those who consume them because of their high sugar content, their negative impact on sleep, and their excessive amount of caffeine.
First and foremost, the sugar content in most energy drinks is too high. As Keith Pearson (2017) highlighted, a 16-ounce energy drink could accommodate up to 54 teaspoons of sugar. It is not hard to see why this is a problem – this is a massive amount of sugar ingested in simply one drink. Actions have consequences, and consuming these sugar-packed energy drinks is no exception to the rule. Such large amounts of sugar could lead to significant health issues such as obesity and elevated cholesterol, notwithstanding the general stability of a person's blood sugar. These beverages are visibly harmful at large but particularly harmful to those dealing with blood sugar complications. If a person with blood sugar complications were to consume an energy drink, dire consequences are likely to follow.
Another pertinent point that people should put into consideration is how energy drinks affect sleep. Although some people consume energy drinks purely for their taste, there are still other reasons why they might choose to consume an energy drink. These reasons might include staying awake during late hours, not having slept that much, needing to work or complete an assignment, etc. They allow individuals to face a challenge with more concentration despite how many hours they had previously slept. But, ultimately, energy drinks could have a destructive effect on the sleep quality of the person consuming them. In other words, a person could use energy drinks to pull an all-nighter, but it only takes so long before human nature catches up to them. As the saying goes, quality over quantity. In the short term, energy drinks are beneficial and give an appreciable energy boost. Looking a bit deeper into the future, not so much.
Energy drinks also contain an absurd amount of caffeine, which is another reason why people should stay away from them. To illustrate, a single can of an energy drink could potentially surpass the recommended daily amount suggested by experts. Baring in mind that this is irrespective of anything else a person might have consumed throughout their day, energy drinks could make caffeine consumption easily add up. Not only could this excessive consumption of caffeine harmfully impact the brain, but it could also lead to some significant heart problems. Moreover, energy drinks is linked to over 20,000 trips to the emergency room exclusively in the United States. (Pearson, 2017). Resembling how people with diabetes and other blood sugar complications should refrain from energy drinks, people with heart conditions should refrain from energy drinks because they act as a catalyst in increasing blood pressure and heart rate. Copious amounts of energy drinks could also lead to heart complications regardless of whether or not the person in question has a history.
Some might state that energy drinks are beneficial due to their enhancing abilities on overall brain function performance. This statement is not entirely false. But what is expected of a beverage containing such abnormal amounts of sugar and potentially the recommended daily amount of caffeine? Dietary guidelines exist because abiding by them could allow a person to maintain good health, or at the very least, prevent serious health issues. Energy drinks might temporarily improve brain function, but they could also further damage it. As energy drinks affect sleep quality, which is unarguably vital when it comes to brain function, they continue to do more harm than good. Therefore, it is still the wiser decision to stay away from the consumption of energy drinks.
Unless the goal is to increase the amount of energy drink-associated trips to the emergency room, the solution to avoiding these detrimental side effects is to refrain from consuming energy drinks. Whether the problem is the excessive cholesterol elevating sugar content, the sleep quality damage, or the heart-damaging caffeine amounts, energy drinks are undoubtedly unhealthy and could lead to extreme health complications. Even if there are some short-term benefits to their consumer, the long-term drawbacks outweigh them remarkably.
