Over time, the consumption of added sugars has been associated with health problems. It should be noted that excessive consumption of sugary foods or drinks can cause heart disease and even diabetes.
Sports drinks are specially designed to hydrate and provide energy to athletes during intense effort, in order to improve their sports performance. However, if you are an athlete and want to improve your health, experts recommend drinking sugar-free drinks, in this way you can hydrate in a healthier way. In fact, energy drinks could increase the risk of premature death .
Can energy drinks cause premature death?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends consuming no more than 10% of your daily calories from sugar (about 12 teaspoon of added sugar). Keep in mind that a can of soda has about 8 teaspoons of sugar.
A Harvard study showed that drinking two or more drinks containing added sugar increases the risk of premature death by 21%. Therefore, when it comes to sports, it is advisable to hydrate with low-carbohydrate drinks (between 60 and 80 calories), which can help you keep your sugar level under control (Malik et al., 2019).
At the same time, researchers note that sugary drinks like sodas, juices, and even sports drinks increase the risk of premature death, especially from heart disease.
Research on energy drinks
In a study, Different experts analyzed data obtained from 80,647 women, who participated in this study between 1980 and 2014. They also analyzed data from 37,716 men during 1986 and 2014. Both studies consisted of participants answering questionnaires on diet, life and health status during every two years (Malik et al., 2019). The researchers concluded that the results obtained promoted premature death.
These chances increase as more sugary drinks are drunk. Drinking between 1 and 4 sugary drinks per month is related to a 1% higher risk of premature death, between 2 to 6 per week increased the risk by 6%; while drinking 1-2 sugary drinks daily increased the risk by 14%. On the other hand, drinking 2 or more sugary drinks daily increased the probability by 21%, with these results being more pronounced in women than in men.
Why are energy drinks unhealthy?
Sugary drinks are normally bad for your heart health. In one study, adults who drank two or more drinks with added sugar had a 31% higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who drank these drinks once a month. Each additional drink consumed per day increased the risk of death related to diseases that affect the heart by 10%.
On the other hand, a relationship was also found between the consumption of sugary drinks and the risk of premature death from cancer. Experts recommend hydrating with drinks free of added sugars, the best alternative is water, this helps improve health and longevity in general.
What's the problem with drinking energy drinks?
Energy drinks are very problematic due to the amount of sugar they contain. The guidelines provided by the WHO and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommend that people consume no more than 10% of their daily calories from sugars.
To clarify them further, an example might be the consumption of a 350 milliliter soda, which contains between 140 and 150 calories and around 35 to 37 grams of sugar. For a person who eats around 2,000 calories a day, having a soda brings him closer to 10% sugar consumption (recommended limit measure).
For athletes to put aside the consumption of soft drinks is not really problematic, the problem is to stop drinking sports drinks before and after a training or event.
Clarifications about the use of energy drinks
Observational studies only show a relationship between sugary drinks and premature death , but do not show the cause or effect of sugary drinks ; therefore, the conclusions are based on questionnaires, which are not always accurate, and populations that can be very different from those that are more active to those that are less.
On the other hand, it is not yet clear if the effects would be different when it comes to sugar-sweetened energy drinks that are used for hydration purposes or for nutrient replenishment, this is one reason why athletes like cyclists drink these drinks.
It should be noted that drinks that have a combination of a little sugar and sodium help speed up hydration , because the sugars bind to sodium and water and bring water and nutrients to the muscles more quickly.
Ultimately, it is recommended that you take into account the consumption of sports drinks that you make as part of your daily sugar consumption, in this way you will avoid consuming more than the recommended daily amount.
conclusion
The excessive consumption of sugar is a common problem, for which a conscious consumption of it is recommended. In this sense, energy drinks contain amounts of added sugars, but in certain cases sugar is used to facilitate the hydration of the athlete, along with the combination of other compounds.
The results obtained by the research are not entirely clear, but it is recommended to follow the advice given above so that in this way people do not exceed the consumption of sugar and therefore put their health at risk.
References
- Malik, V., Li, Y., Koning, L., Schernhammer, E., Willet, W. and Hu, F. (2019). Long-Term Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Mortality in US Adults. Circulation doi: 10.1161 / CIRCULATIONAHA.118.037401
- Selene, Y. Study Links Sugary Drinks to Early Death. What Does That Mean for Endurance Athletes? For Bicycling [Revised August 2019].
