Energy Drinks and Health Risks. Social Sciences Research Paper

Energy Drinks and Health Risks
Name
Institution
Energy Drinks and Health Risks
Energy drinks are seen to overcome tiredness by improving the energy levels in the body. The drinks contain large quantities of sugar, caffeine, vitamins, taurine or other ingredients considered stimulants. However, most people and studies claim that the use of the drinks may pose serious health problems on their users which have called policies that regulate their labeling, sale, and distribution. Similarly, I support that the drinks pose health risk factors on individuals which outweighs their benefits.
First, the drinks improve the likelihood of the occurrence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. The diseases are caused by improved levels of sugar in the body (Chow, 2017). Nonetheless, energy drinks have high sugar content which is one of the key reasons they are produced. The high sugar content provides artificial energy to the body as sugar is known to contain a lot of energy. Unluckily, sugar contributes to various adverse effects in the body apart from improving the risk of chronic diseases as described above. Further, the other effects include improved levels of dehydration, tooth decay or other dental problems, suppress the immune system, and increase inflammation. The effects will interfere with the normal life of a person which in turn affects their social life and how they conduct their daily activities. Hence, since energy drinks contain high sugar content and large quantities of sugar are risky to peoples’ health then they should be avoided.
Additionally, the drinks improve the risk of addiction which is harmful to the body. The addiction may be caused by the presence of caffeine in the drinks. Most, people prefer taking the drinks when going to bed and this act may become routine to an individual because of addiction caused by the caffeine content. Therefore, a person may lack sleep if they do not take the drinks before going to sleep. Moreover, the drinks are expensive and their addiction may affect a person financially. Also, caffeine decreases serotonin levels in the body which contributes to depression, anxiety, and low mood. The contributions of the drinks may change a person’s behavior, thereby, affecting the people who live around them or interact with them. Therefore, the combination of the addiction to the drinks and the negative impacts of caffeine will adversely affect a person’s life. Therefore, people should consider getting energy in safe ways such as exercising, from water and healthy snacks, and other natural ways.
Further, the use of the drinks leads to negative side effects to the body including insomnia, restlessness, migraines, inability to control urine, muscle tremors, irritability, stomach upset, and heart diseases (Del-Coso et al., 2016). The complications arise because of the toxic substances contains in the drinks. Moreover, the drinks contribute more serious problems to the body when they are mixed with alcohol. The habit is more common among young individuals who love partying and raving kind of lifestyle. Ideally, the high levels of caffeine in the drinks lead to drowsiness without reducing the impacts of alcohol. Therefore, a person may wake up drunk because of the loss of inhibition. As a result, it will prolong the dangerous and risky behaviors which are contributed by consuming alcohol such as having unprotected sex and engaging in violence. Hence, the consumption of the drinks should be avoided or minimized to...