At school, I can see my peers drinking energy drinks in almost every classroom. However, energy drinks are addictive, artificial and can cause many health problems.
I remember the first time I made coffee; I was surprised how the bitter coffee beans turned into a tasty caffeinated beverage. Unlike coffee, energy drinks have no key natural ingredient. We can not make energy drinks at home; we just buy them from a store, while they are produced in factories. On the other hand, coffee is made from coffee beans, a natural ingredient. This is one reason why I do not like drinking energy drinks: because I have no clue what is inside them.
A few years ago, a friend of mine tried Celsius for the first time. Over the course of a month, she slowly transitioned from one energy drink to drinking over four energy drinks per week.
Energy drinks, on average, contain 100-200 mg of caffeine, while an average 8-ounce coffee only has around 60 milligrams of caffeine. A study done by the National Library of Medicine found that caffeine in high concentrations can lead to many health problems, especially if consumed regularly, like increased heart rate, strokes, headaches and an increased risk of heart attacks and kidney failure.
Caffeine is only classified as moderately addictive; however, many popular energy drinks, such as Celsius and Alani Nu, have levels of caffeine so high that they become extremely addictive. I feel energy drink addictions are similar to those of a drug addiction.
My encounters with energy drinks are not limited to just school. At rowing practice, my coach banned energy drinks because athletes were consuming them in hopes of better speed, but it caused them to have concerningly high heart rates.
Energy drinks market themselves towards teenagers and young adults by claiming that they can increase athletic performance and attentiveness. This is true to some extent, but energy drinks can cause irreparable damage to teenagers’ hearts, which are still developing. Later in life, this will increase the likelihood of heart attacks.
Energy drinks are bad for your health because they are addictive, can cause health problems and use artificial ingredients. If you want some caffeine, reaching for a coffee is a much safer option than an energy drink.