Drinking one, less than half a liter of energy drink significantly increases blood pressure and the level of the stress hormone in young, healthy adults.
This was reported during this year’s American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, which ended a few days ago in Florida.
The authors of the study are scientists from the Mayo Clinic. They examined 25 healthy people whose average age was 29 years. None of the participants suffered from cardiovascular disease or was at increased risk of developing it.
All were asked to drink one large (475 ml) can of a popular energy drink or a drink that acted as a placebo: in the “energy” can, participants were given a plain, sweet drink (with the same taste, texture, color and nutritional value, but without caffeine and other stimulants). The study was double-blind, so neither participants nor researchers knew what who drank. Participants were also asked to refrain from drinking alcohol and caffeinated products for 24 hours before and after the study.
The researchers then measured the blood pressure of all subjects and assessed their blood levels of norepinephrine before the experiment and 30 minutes after consuming the drink.
«Norepinephrine is called the ‘fight or flight hormone’. It is a chemical substance produced by our body which, in an emergency, raises blood pressure, changes the rhythm of the heartbeat, accelerates breathing – explains cardiologist Dr. Anna Svatikova, the main author of the discussed work. – We wanted to check whether drinking an energy drink, even a single one, affects the concentration of norepinephrine in the blood.
It turned out to be influencing. «First of all, blood pressure increased significantly in people who consumed less than 500 ml of such a drink. In addition, the levels of norepinephrine in their bodies more than doubled compared to participants who drank> placebo <"- says Svatikova.
According to the researcher, this proves that just one “energy”, by increasing blood pressure and stimulating the production of the stress hormone, may predispose generally healthy young adults to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
“These results suggest that we should be careful when consuming energy drinks because they can really harm our health,” concludes Dr. Svatikova. – Asking patients whether they use this type of product should become a routine element of visits to general practitioners, especially if these patients are in any way at risk of developing heart and circulatory system diseases ».
The results of the study were also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.