The studies follow one another and all confirm that the consumption of energy drinks would increase the blood pressure and the level of norepinephrine (hormone that causes vasoconstriction).
Researchers from the cardiovascular disease division of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota (United States) conducted a study with 25 volunteers (14 men and 11 women) aged 29 and all in good health. They had to drink 1 can of energy drink marketed under the name Rockstar, or 0.47 liters, as well as a placebo drink immediately before or after (the order was random), all over 2 days. Then, the scientists measured the blood pressure and norepinephrine level of the participants to analyze the impact of this type of drink.
The conclusions of this experiment showed that the average blood pressure of the participants increased by 6.4%. However, the increase observed after drinking the placebo drink was only 1%. In addition, the level of norepinephrine was increased by 73.6% with the consumption of energy drinks against 30.9% for the placebo.
Supervised drinks
In France, the issue of the safety of so-called “energy” drinks (BDE) has been monitored by the National Food Safety Agency (ANSES) for several years. In 2013, she submitted a report and sounded the alarm about the dangers of consuming these types of drinks. “The main symptoms noted following the consumption of so-called energy drinks are essentially cardiovascular(95 cases), followed by psycho-behavioral (74 cases) and neurological (57 cases) effects. Digestive, respiratory, allergic or muscular disorders are also reported but with a lower incidence, ”recalls the Agency.
Read also:
Alcohol and energy drinks: a cocktail that makes you drink more
Energy drinks are toxic to children
Hyperactivity: energy drinks increase the risk