This is What Happens to Your Body After an Energy Drink

Published November 25, 2015

If you're an energy drink fan, you may want to listen up. A new study published in JAMA reports even one energy drink can make your body react in a way you may least expect.

How Your Body Reacts to Energy Drinks

The study looked at the effect consuming just one 16-ounce can of a leading energy drink had on basic, vital functions. ^[1] The findings? Blood pressure jumped an average of 6.6 points within thirty minutes of consuming the beverage, and norepinephrine–a stress hormone–increased by 75%! That’s interesting because norepinephrine increases the production of cortisol, a fat-storing hormone. Who drinks an energy drink hoping it’ll make their body store more fat?

Natural Ways to Support Energy

There is a huge marketing effort at work that’s trying to convince you that energy drinks will make you feel sharper and more focused and that your daily performance will be enhanced. This is totally bogus. Most energy drinks are just an overpriced sugar bomb with an obnoxious label contrived by an investment group who heard “energy drinks” were a hot market. Don’t fall for it.

If you need more energy, or you’re trying to overcome being tired, energy drinks are not the smart approach. First, are you getting enough sleep? If you’re operating on a sleep deficit, an entire pallet of energy drink isn’t going to do anything but amplify your misery. The stimulation is short lived and followed by a crash — forget it. Second, what’s your diet like? A living, raw food diet that is high in nourishing fats, protein, and complex carbohydrates is important for providing true energy to your cells. Lastly, are you drinking enough water? Many people who lack energy are simply dehydrated, so you may want to reach for a water instead of an energy drink.

Beyond that, if you need a little extra help, you can take a close look at your B-12 intake and consider supplementing with a high quality B-12 supplement if you’re coming up short. Not getting enough of this crucial vitamin is a prime contributor to poor energy levels.

Do you drink energy drinks? Why? Let us know your thoughts about this research in the comments!