The material is updated ↓

There is an opinion that the use of power engineers negatively affects the human body, and also causes addiction. We decided to check how substantiated such fears are.

In January 2023, the State Duma of the Russian Federation was introduced bill On the ban on the sale of non -alcoholic energy drinks to children and adolescents, the deputies also proposed to ban their implementation in a number of organizations (for example, in hospitals and cinemas). Later, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade criticized The draft law was sent for revision, saying that it was not based on facts, but on an emotional assessment. In turn, the Ministry of Health also pointed out inaccurate formulations, but in general expressed their readiness to support the initiative (however, at the time of writing this analysis, it I have not reached Even before consideration at the plenary meeting of the State Duma in the first reading). Many media wrote about the dangers of human health, for example, "News" Lenta.ru And "Gazeta.ru". Articles You can also find on this subject on sites medical organizations, portals about A healthy lifestyle And nutrition. Users also write about this social networks. Warns against excessive use of power engineers and Rospotrebnadzor.

To figure out how energy drinks affect the human body, we pay attention to their composition. Of course, different manufacturers and even different products of the same line will differ slightly, but if you look at the composition of the three power engineers popular in Russia (Red Bull, Adrenaline rush And Burn), it can be noted that their main ingredients are water, caffeine, taurine, sugar (or other sweeteners) and group B vitamins can also contain different preservatives, acidity regulators, flavors, taste supplements, some other components - this depends on a particular product.

The main tonic effect of such drinks is achieved at the expense of caffeine - at least scientists from Canada and the USA, having conducted a study of existing scientific papers, Not found Confirmation that any other popular components of power engineers increase cognitive or physical performance. WHO Related caffeine to stimulants of the central nervous system. The very effect of vigor is due to the fact that, falling into the body, this substance Blocks Neurotransmitter receptors adenosinereducing the activity of the central nervous system and causes the need for dream. The bank of the energy drink with a volume of 250 ml contains about 70–80 mg of caffeine. For Comparisons, in a cup of coffee of the same volume-96 mg, black and green tea-47 and 28 mg, respectively, in Coca-Cole-22 mg. Rospotrebnadzor He believes that the use of up to 150 mg of caffeine per day does not harm health, Control For sanitary supervision of the quality of food and medicines, the United States allows us to use up to 400 mg per day. Both departments emphasize that this is a maximum safe dose for an adult healthy person. Children and adolescents are recommended either to completely abandon caffeine, or, if this cannot be avoided, use it in significantly smaller quantities - No more than 100 mg per day. People with renal and liver failure, cardiovascular diseases, anxiety and some other health problems, as well as during pregnancy Recommended Turn this substance in the diet with caution.

Excessive use of caffeine threatens with increasing pressure and heart rhythm, headaches, nausea, stomach disorder and other negative effects. Moreover, it is not just about poor health or potential health problems in the long run - an overdose can lead to death. For example, in 2013, the doctors barely had time Save 26-year-old American who entered the hospital with a heart attack. In the history of the man, the man had smoking and regular excessive use of energy drinks (more than ten cans per day), the doctors associated the attack with an overdose of caffeine. In 2017, a 16-year-old teenager in South Carolina died From a heart attack caused by a large dose of this substance: for two hours he drank Latte coffee, a large portion of sweet soda and an energy drink.

In addition, "verified" already It wrote The fact that caffeine, especially used in large doses, can cause addiction, and the abandonment of it can be accompanied by withdrawal syndrome. Nevertheless, this is still not about the dependence of the drug or alcohol, and gradually abandoning caffeine is quite real. Based on the recommendations of experts on the use of this substance, relatively safe for an adult can be considered from two to four cans of energy, provided that there are no caffeine into the body from any other sources (for example, coffee or tea).

However, in energy drinks there is another potentially dangerous component - sugar. The Bank of Energy with a volume of 250 ml contains 25-30 g. WHO Recommends An adult is consumed a day of no more than 50 g of sugar, that is, one energy bank contains about half of the maximum daily dose. At the same time, the same acceptable 50 g includes not only pure sugar or sweets like cakes and sweets - in one form or another, it is contained in many foods: fruits, ready -made sauces, etc. So even two drunk energy banks with a high probability will lead to an exceeding the daily sugar consumption, which, in turn, can cause many health problems, such as such as such as such as Cardiovascular diseases, obesity, deterioration memory, depression And even Cancer. In addition, scientists have some grounds To believe that sugar consumption can cause addiction, although there are no unequivocal conclusions in this science in the scientific community yet. There are products that do not contain sugar, however, as previously, in the line of popular grades It wrote “Tested”, soda soda -replacement is no more useful alternative to ordinary, it carries the same health risks. A similar conclusion is fair in terms of energy drinks.

Taurin, also contained in many power engineers, is an indispensable amino acid that plays an important role in the work of the cardiovascular, digestive, muscle and nervous systems of the body. Normally, a person receives it from protein foods - meat, seafood, milk, etc. Raises Endurance in training, which can probably also be considered as the desired effect of the use of power engineers. However research, conducted by scientists from different countries, today have not given a definite answer, whether Taurin affects endurance, some experiments have not shown any effect. At the same time content Taurin, as well as other potentially useful ingredients (for example, ginseng) in the power engineers too little to have any positive or negative effect, therefore, it is probably not worth being afraid of this substance in such drinks.

B vitamins are usually positioned by manufacturers as useful additives, which should positively affect health. Usually, the consumer does not think that vitamins in a particular product can be something dangerous, and often this is true. For example, Vitamin B12 It does not accumulate in the body, so it is impossible to overdo it. But excess B6 It can lead to dermatological problems, nausea and heartburn. And s vitamin B3 (niacin) and it is worth being very accurate - its use in too high doses can lead to rash on the skin, nausea, visual impairment and liver problems. For example, specialists from Florida in 2016 described happeningWhen, due to the excessive regular use of energy drinks (four to five cans daily), a 50-year-old man developed non-aurous hepatitis. In the power engineers that he drank, there was a high content of niacin. In 2011, similar happening It occurred in Steeten Island (USA)-a woman also developed acute hepatitis due to excessive use of power engineers (about ten cans per day), and then the doctors also blamed Niacin. Of course, in this case we are talking about extremely high doses of power engineers, it is extremely difficult to obtain an overdose of group B vitamins from one can per day.

A separate danger is the use of power engineers with alcohol. US Disease Control Centers (CDC) warn From such practice, since caffeine masks the symptoms of intoxication - it seems to a person that he is more sober than in fact. However, this is only an illusion: caffeine does not reduce the toxic effects of alcohol and does not cut off. As a result, a person can drink too much and get strong poisoning or, considering himself quite sober, decide on actions that should not be intoxicated, for example, for driving a car. Therefore, a popular cocktail of vodka with Red Bull is not the most successful option when choosing an alcoholic drink in a bar or club.

Thus, there is reason to believe that the use of one can energy with a volume of 250 ml per day does not bear the negative consequences for the body of an adult healthy person. At the same time, in order not to increase the risk, it is advisable to adjust the rest of the diet, reducing the amount of sugar and caffein-containing products. Pediatricians recommend that children and adolescents avoid caffeine generally, so it is better for them to completely abandon the power engineers. You should not abuse such drinks and those who have some diseases, for example cardiovascular, associated with renal and liver failure, etc. In addition, scientists consider it likely that two key components of power engineers-caffeines and sugar-can cause addiction, which means that dependence may develop, are not meaningless.

Correction from 10/30/2023: In a fragment of the text with a description of the clinical case of hepatitis development against the background of excessive use of energy drinks, the type of hepatitis was corrected: hepatitis C, the researchers suggest, was adopted by the patient asymptomatic, while the energy provoked the appearance of acute non -infectious hepatitis against this background. The version of the analysis before making changes can be found by link.

Photo on the cover: Pixabay.com