Doctors have warned of the risks of energy drinks, after a man in his fifties who drank eight cans a day had a stroke.
The NHS patient’s case was detailed in a medical journal, with doctors linking his illness to his choice of beverage.
They said that he was discharged from hospital, but still had stubbornly high blood pressure despite being on a cocktail of medication.
After asking more about his lifestyle, they eventually uncovered his energy drink habit, and wondered if this could be the reason for his hypertension.
After he quit the drinks cold turkey, his blood pressure returned to normal and he was able to come off all medication and return to work fulltime.
The man said: ‘I obviously wasn’t aware of the dangers drinking energy drinks were causing to myself.
‘I have been left with numbness (in my) left hand side, hand and fingers, foot and toes even after eight years.’
Nottingham-based doctors writing in BMJ Case Reports said what happened here ‘closely mirrored’ the case of a 16-year-old boy, whose high blood pressure normalised within two weeks of giving up energy drinks.
‘Hidden caffeine’
The strong energy drinks the man favoured had 160mg caffeine per 455ml serving.
After consuming eight of them, this meant that he was drinking 1200 to 1300mg of caffeine per day, compared to a maximum daily allowance of 400mg.
Researchers warned that while this was the ‘pure caffeine’ listed on the label, in reality there could be more.
Other ingredients in the drinks can also contain caffeine, such as the popular addition of guarana, which is thought to contain caffeine at twice the concentration of a coffee bean.
Meanwhile, chemicals such as taurine, guarana, ginseng and glucuronolactone could increase the effects of caffeine, which researchers theoriesed could boost the risk of stroke.
What are energy drinks?
Energy drinks, such as Red Bull, Monster and Prime, are defined as non-alcoholic drinks which contain over 150mg of caffeine per litre.
The average 250ml can is said to contain around 80mg of caffeine, compared to 30mg in tea and 90mg in coffee. Some can contain up to 500mg in a single serving, however.
They often also have a very high sugar content. A study in 2017 found that energy drinks had 38.5g of sugar per 100ml on average, meaning just one can would push you above the recommended daily limit.
Stricter rules needed?
In 2018, UK supermarkets voluntarily banned sales of these drinks to children under 16 due to concerns over obesity, diabtes and tooth decay.
The study authors said: ‘Less explored are the possible increased risks for cardiovascular disease, including ischaemic [restricted blood supply or blood clot] and haemorrhagic [bleed in the brain] strokes, particularly in younger demographics otherwise expected to have lower stroke risk.’
They said that while the current evidence is still not conclusive, ‘we propose that increased regulation of [energy drink] sales and advertising campaigns (which are often targeted at younger ages) could be beneficial to the future cerebrovascular and cardiovascular health of our society.’
In September, the government said it intended to ban the sale of energy drinks to children under 16 completely, having conducted a consultation.
Although they are not avaiable in big supmarekts, they can still be bought by children at some convenience stores and newsagents.
Wes Streeting warned the drinks are the same as ‘necking four cans of coke’ and are fuelling anxiety and depression in children.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
