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Energy Drinks Elevate Blood Pressure
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Energy
drinks are composed of of various ingredients
that supposedly provide the drinker with lot of energy. These drinks are made and marketed by big
companies and sold with fancy trade names and labels that sound really enticing and make you want
to pick up a bottle and gulp it down or mix it with a drink to make an invigorating
cocktail.
These drinks contain
ingredients such as sugar in the form of sucrose fructose or glucose, caffeine, amino acids,
B-Vitamins and herbs like ginseng or Gingko biloba. These ingredients supposedly combine to
provide an energy boost. There is not much scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of
the herbs found in energy drinks. Whatever the truth behind these energy drinks, one thing is
becoming increasingly clear. These drinks are focused at the younger boys and girls and contain
substances that may be dangerous to health.
A little bit of caffeine
consumption is quite ok. Caffeine helps us to focus and to stay alert. Remember that caffeine is
an addictive substance. It has basically sympathomimetic effect on heart, i.e it increases heart
rate. Energy drinks are simply loaded with caffeine. An excess of caffeine results in a number
of side effects. Excess caffeine causes nervousness, accelerated heart beat and an increased
rate of metabolism. Caffeine is a stimulant, which also can temporarily perk you up. But too
much caffeine can cause adverse side effects, such as nervousness, irritability, increased blood
pressure and insomnia. Caffeine can also make your heart beat faster and trigger abnormal heart
rhythms, which is especially dangerous if you have any type of heart disease.
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The caffeine in energy dinks also causes a sudden
increase in the blood pressure.
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This has been supported by
research carried out by Wayne State University in the year 2007 and presented at the American
Heart Association’s (AHA) scientific session in Orlando Florida in the year 2007.Although the
various sugars used to sweeten energy drinks can briefly increase energy, consuming large
quantities of sugar is likely to cause weight gain.
The issue that worries the
medical community is that both the herbal stimulants and caffeine combine to increase the blood
pressure immediately after an energy drink is consumed.
Amino acids such as taurine,
normally found in fish and meat also have an important role in elevating blood pressure. Who
needs amino acids in energy drinks, anyway? There is enough protein that is already available in
the foods that we eat.
If you have high blood
pressure, you might want to avoid drinking energy drinks, like Red Bull, according to a new
study conducted by Wayne State University researchers.The researchers found drinking two cans a
day of a popular energy drink increased blood pressure and heart rate in 15 healthy adults with
an average age of 26
It is time that we stopped
drinking beverages that provide us instant energy. Regular exercise, a healthy diet and a
healthy lifestyle will not only provide us with lot of energy, but also help to keep our blood
pressure in normal range.
If you're consuming energy
drinks because you're frequently feeling tired, consider a better and healthier way to boost
your energy. Get plenty of sleep, regular excercise and eat a healthy diet. These strategies not
only will increase your energy in the short run, but also will help you maintain your overall
physical and mental fitness in the long run.
It is good to know about the
side effects of an energy drink when you decide to drink it, especially on a regular basis. If
you know about the ingredients and their side effects, it is easier for you to decide whether
the drink is good for you and if it can provide the help you seek. The considerations for your
health are important, so drink this only if you think that it is good for you. Love your life,
it is precious.
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