7 Energy Drink Side Effects: Is One Your Gut?

Author's Bio: Marcie Vaske, MS, LN, CNS

Hi, and welcome back to our channel.

Today we're going to talk about the potential side effects of energy drinks,

How they may affect your gut,

And overall how they may be harmful for you.

But before we dig into this topic, I'm just want to introduce myself.

[Video Transcript Below Video - it is the same information]

I'm Marcie Vaske, a functional licensed nutritionist with Oswald Digestive Clinic, and at Oswald Digestive Clinic, we see a lot of clients that struggle with their gut health.

And I'm going to link our website HERE where you can make an initial appointment as well as share our free guide HERE, which is five ways to improve your gut health.

So let's get into our topic today, which is

7 energy drink side effects, and is one of those side effects affecting your gut?

We know that energy drinks have been around and become more popular day after day.

I see many clients who do still drinks energy drinks from Monsters to Red Bulls to the various ones that are out there. And as well, they are promised to improve our focus, give us more energy, we become more alert when we may drink them, but are they all that they're cracked up to be?

And while they might give you some of these feelings or improve your focus, give you more energy, there is some potential downsides to it. And one which I'm most interested in and may be you are too, is how are they affecting your gut health?

So first I think it's important to understand our gut health and its importance on our wellbeing.

We know that the gut is often referred to as a second brain, and our gut helps us absorb nutrients, digest our foods well, and give us those minerals and vitamins to help all of the systems in our body function more efficiently, including our mental health and our immune system.

But if we're intaking certain ingredients or certain toxins that might affect what our gut can actually do.

So let's break down energy drinks and talk about the:

7 ways energy drinks can really wreak havoc on our gut

And number one is going to be excessive caffeine.

Now, the amount of caffeine in an energy drink far surpasses what may be in a cup of coffee. And while it might give us a lot of energy, the downside is that we can become more anxious.

We may also feel like our heart is racing as well as give you heartburn or acid reflux, even diarrhea with this amount of caffeine.

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Now, number two on our list is artificial sweeteners.

And artificial sweeteners are commonly found in energy drinks listed under the ingredients list as aspartame or even sucralose.

And these both cause a disruption to our gut microbiome that really disrupts the delicate balance of the bacteria in our gut, which can really lead to a lot of issues.

Number three is going to be the high amounts of sugar in energy drinks.

And this amount of sugar is going to also disrupt our gut microbiome leading to maybe more imbalanced flora, which can again set your gut up for more symptoms.

And number four is the preservatives and additives that are added to energy drinks to keep them on the shelf longer.

But these preservatives and additives as well can break down our delicate microbiome, creating more harmful bacteria to set up space.

And when this happens, oftentimes this is going to lead to a breakdown of our digestive processes.

Number five on the list is dehydration.

Because energy drinks contain so much caffeine, we often can become dehydrated, especially if we're not drinking water after we've actually drank an energy drink. And when we become dehydrated, that can cause fatigue.

It can cause disruptions in the gut and such as constipation or even diarrhea if you're experiencing that because of all the caffeine.

So dehydration is definitely something to be wary of when consuming energy drinks.

Now, number six on the list is just general disruption of our gut microbiome.

Because of the combination of the high amount of caffeine and sugar and additives in these drinks, oftentimes there becomes an imbalance in our digestive system or in our flora that really can set the stage for symptoms.

Like if you have irritable bowel syndrome, it could trigger a flare, a reduction in nutrient absorption, as well as even an overgrowth of harmful bacteria.

And last on the list here is the gastrointestinal system.

So by consuming those energy drinks, you may have experienced diarrhea like I spoke about before, but also even heartburn or acid reflux.

Because of the high amount of additives and caffeine, they can certainly give you some pretty big symptoms.

And this is just a clear indication that those energy drinks really aren't serving you except for maybe giving you that minute of boosted energy.

So how do energy drinks compromise our gut microbiome?

And we've kind of shared a little bit about that, but because our gut microbiome is made up of trillions of flora to keep our gut healthy and running strong, when we drink energy drinks, oftentimes we're drinking too much caffeine or having too much sugar.

We're consuming those additives and preservatives that really start to break down the gut microbiome setting you up for significant gut issues.

Either they're constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, bloating, and those things are going to continue as long as you're drinking the energy drinks because our gut, every time you have one, will continually be compromised.

How can you keep a healthy gut if you're going to be drinking energy drinks?

And number one, obviously you can tell that I'm not recommending you drink energy drinks, but if you're really tied to them right now, what can you do?

And first of all, you want to make sure that you're eating a whole foods diet, incorporating lots of fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants and good fibers to set up that good stage for short chain fatty acid production, as well as even eating fermented foods like yogurt or keefer or sauerkraut.

Those are going to help keep that good flora healthier in your microbiome. And in addition to that, you want to make sure you're staying hydrated.

If you're drinking those energy drinks, you can very easily become dehydrated.

So you're going to have to drink just as much water or more to compensate for the amount of caffeine you may have drank with the energy drink.

So my expert opinion again is don't even bother with the energy drinks.

Yeah, they're going to give you some energy, but there's so much more to it that can really take you down.

And in the end, after drinking an energy drink, oftentimes you're even more fatigued.

So if you're struggling with energy, look further than just that immediate upper.

Think about, how am I getting sleep?

Am I not sleeping enough?

What kind of foods am I eating that might be contributing to feeling fatigued and reaching for energy drinks?

If your diet is high in carbohydrates, those things, you're going to be on a roller coaster with your blood sugar, which will make you feel after you eat the carb, you're going to feel really good, but within 30 minutes, you're either going to be reaching for another carbohydrate or maybe you're going to reach for that energy drink.

So keeping them out of your daily diet is going to give you the best outcome for your health.

And as always, make conform decisions about your gut health.

I think everyone who is listening to our channel probably knows that we talk about the gut all the time, obviously, but how important a healthy gut is for our life.

If it's compromised, we're oftentimes not feeling our best. So I hope you enjoyed this video today.

And if you have questions, please put down below in the comments as well as if you need extra help with your gut, use the link below to make an initial appointment with one of the practitioners here at our clinic because we'd love to help you out and make sure that your gut is healthy so you can feel your best.

Thanks for watching.

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If you'd like to explore any of this information further or obtain an individualized nutrition plan, you can schedule an initial appointment at our clinic. We also take insurance and some of our clients get full coverage, which is great.