Q: I moved from drinking water and Gatorade for my workouts to those new energy drinks, and my friends all say there's nothing to them. But I definitely feel more energetic after drinking them. Are they bad for you?
A: Energy—whether it's for your house, your body, or the bedroom—is a good thing. But with energy drinks, you're not getting the boost from the vitamins they may be touting, but rather from the caffeine and a temporary high from too much sugar. So in essence, you're using a drug to get high, and drinking these drinks could be dangerous to the heart because of the amount of caffeine in them. If you were to drink multiple glasses of this mixture, we think there would be a potential for significant danger—in the form of a racing heart beat, elevation of blood pressure and even potentially a heart attack. And too much sugar can make your arteries age, sapping your energy in the long run. One eight-ounce bottle after a long workout is great, but more is not better. |
