Energy drinks, which are mostly consumed by young teen boys and men, can have some serious longterm side effects on your mental health.
A new study, which was led by Christine Curran and Cecile Marczinsk of Northern Kentucky University, found that over consumption of energy drinks and junk food can impact the long-term health of your brain.
The study found that the most severe impact occurs in adolescents, whose brains are still developing.
The issues lie with the high doses of caffeine and the amino acid taurine, two ingredients which are found in most energy drinks sold in stores around the world.
“Although the aged or diseased brain might benefit from taurine or caffeine supplementation, it appears that adolescents are not likely to benefit from supplementation and may, in fact, suffer ill effects from chronic ingestion of high doses,” according to Christine Curran and Cecile Marczinsk’s study.
Negative side effects include learning, and memory retention, and the risk gets even higher when energy drinks are mixed with alcohol, because alcohol also contains sugar.
According to the Chicago Tribune, from 2005 to 2011, energy drink-related emergency-room visits rose from 1,494 to 20,783 thanks to the $60 billion dollar a year industry.
So think twice before you decide to slam down too many Red Bulls and vodkas – if you can remember.
