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Energy drinks elevate
blood pressure

Those fun, harmless-looking energy drinks in the colorful bottles that you see everywhere these days? Those beverages with “natural” ingredients, marketed to all of us—especially our kids—as an alternative to soda? Turns out these drinks aren’t so harmless.

Concerns about the effects of energy drinks are continuing to grow, as new research shows these drinks can cause blood pressure to rise, as well as bringing about heart palpitations and arrhythmias, anxiety, and insomnia.

Researchers in Poland conducted a small study with 18 healthy young adults ages 20-35. The young adults were asked to consume one of two energy drinks: one contained 120 mg of caffeine and the other contained 360 mg of caffeine. (A regular 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee has between 100-200 mg of caffeine.) A third group drank a placebo, which contained no caffeine or other stimulants. Researchers then took measurements of blood pressure and heart rate at 15, 30 and 90 minutes after consumption.

They found that the less caffeinated drink did not significantly affect either blood pressure or heart rate, compared with the placebo group. The more highly caffeinated drink, on the other hand, had a significant effect on both. Among those who consumed the 360 mg caffeine energy drink: