Before boozing oneself with an energy drink to get the day going, try reconsidering this new research from the American Heart Association. According to this new study, just one energy drink per day can cause increase both stress hormone levels and risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases among young, healthy adults.
In the study, 25 healthy volunteers aged 18 years and above randomly consumed either a can of energy drink Rockstar or a placebo drink, which still contains the same amount of sugar but has no caffeine and other stimulants, within five minutes, on two random separate days, and a maximum of two weeks apart. A can of Rockstar contains 240 mg of caffeine, 2000 mg taurine and extracts from guarana seed, ginseng root and milk thistle.
The blood pressure, the heart rate and blood levels of glucose, caffeine and norepinephrine were measured as baseline data. After letting the participants drink, the same data were obtained. Other than that, the volunteers were given some tests that increase their physical and mental stress and then blood pressure and heart rate were measured again.
Results revealed that participants who drank a can of 16-ounce (480 mL) Rockstar had higher blood pressure and norepinephrine levels. After consuming the energy drink, an average 6.6 points increase was noted in the systolic blood pressure of those taking Rockstar compared with those drinking placebo with 3.3 points average increase only. On the other hand, norepinephrine levels of those consuming energy drinks also rose 100 pg/mL compared with the 39 pg/mL increase of those having placebo.
The difference noted in the study "may predispose [people] to increased cardiovascular risk," the researchers wrote. This, however, is not the first study to associate energy drink with heart-related illness.
Nevertheless, the team admitted that further and larger research is needed to validate the claim. The journal was published in JAMA last Sunday (Nov. 8) and was presented in the meeting of AHA's Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Flo.
