Good Food Good Health - Energy Drinks Can Damage Your Health and Heart

Many of us today with our fast paced lives grab an energy drink to pep us up or to help maintain awareness at the end of the working day, never thinking twice that it could be a health risk.

Nowadays we buy more energy drinks - especially the reduced or sugar free - readily believing it to be a healthier option to drinking a cup of coffee.

But after a study recently carried out found that just by drinking one 250ml can of Red Bull could raise the risk of stroke or heart attack, we should all look for a natural 'pick-me-up'.

Our motto 'good food good health' is self explanatory and that by drinking and eating good food helps to enable your body to achieve and maintain good health.

There are many natural good foods that can give you that extra burst of energy of which bananas are a really good example.

Most types of fruit will give your body a 'sugar rush' that stimulates your brain and enables you to think and act quicker.

A fruit smoothie is a good way to get that natural extra energy boost and achieve one of your five-a-day too, and if you make it yourself with seasonal fruit can be very inexpensive when compared to purchasing energy drinks.

Cereal is another good food for energy, not just for first thing in the morning but any time, the best are whole-grain and are a good health food. Be careful when buying energy or cereal bars as some of these are high in fat, sugar and preservatives.

Many shops nowadays have taken it upon themselves to only sell some energy drinks to over eighteens, including Red Bull.

Worryingly, it is known that many young people are using these energy drinks to sober and liven themselves up after a night out drinking and partying, and are often consuming more than one can to do this wrongly thinking they are helping themselves.

After consuming one can - 250ml of the sugar free version of the energy drink, the 'stickiness' of the blood was found to increase raising the life threatening risk of clots.

The research was carried out on university students by Dr Scott Willoughby who said the study found their blood systems were no longer normal one hour after they had drank the red bull.

Their systems were 'abnormal' like you would expect to see in a person with cardiovascular disease, with an increase in stickiness and a decrease in the ability of the blood vessels to stop its stickiness that can add up to a bad situation.

If other risk factors for cardiovascular disease are added to this - high blood pressure and stress, potentially this could be fatal.

It is thought that two of the ingredients in the energy drink, the amino acid taurine and caffeine may be the cause of the problem, although individually both of these point toward benefits but it looks like the combination together has an odd effect and that this is causing the reaction.

Dr Willoughby said people with underlying circulatory or heart problems therefore should think twice about drinking the caffeine-loaded drink.

A can of the Red Bull has 80mg of caffeine equivalent to two instant cups of coffee or about the same as a cup of filter coffee. Cans do carry health warnings advising not to drink more than two a day.

The test results were concluded only from the sugar free version and it is unclear if these would be repeated with the regular energy drink, but there was alarm at the findings.

Even the students taking part were shocked as some has been known to drink several cans to stay awake at night to study.

Norway, Denmark and Uruguay have banned Red Bull because of health fears, but the company last year sold 3.5 billion bottles and cans in 143 countries.

In Britain, Red Bull is a popular energy drink mixed with vodka and other spirits in bars and clubs with last year sales reaching £271 million.

A Red Bull spokesman said 'the study does not show effects which would go beyond drinking a normal cup of coffee' but Dr Willoughby said 'If you have a preposition to cardiovascular disease I'd think twice before drinking it'

Try and be prepared for that part of the day when you need a little 'lift', and have at hand a piece of fruit, handful of cereal or smoothie drink to get that 'on the go' good natural raw energy boost.

So remember 'good food good health' is the best way to keep your body working like clockwork, and a diet made up of a variety of good nutritional food will give you all the vitamins and minerals you should need to keep you feeling in tip top condition, being energised and alert without the use of energy drinks.