Energy drinks typically contain many ingredients that raise not only your diastolic blood pressure but your systolic pressure as well. For that reason, limit your consumption of the drinks, especially if you have hypertension, or high blood pressure. When your blood pressure is measured, you are given two numbers, one number above the other. The first number given, the top number, is your systolic pressure. The second number, the bottom number, is your diastolic pressure.
Energy Drinks and Blood Pressure
Your blood pressure can continue rising for hours after you consume an energy drink. In the April 2009 issue of "The Annals of Pharmacotherapy," Leah Steinke and other researchers from Wayne State University published the results of a study of 15 healthy people. The study participants consumed two energy drinks, a total of 500 mL, every day for seven days. Each day, the subjects' diastolic pressure increased by up to 7.8 percent within two hours of consuming the drinks. It took up to four hours for their systolic pressure to peak, increasing up to 9.6 percent.
Caffeine
According to a 2011 Reuters news article, energy drinks contain 75 to 400mg of caffeine per can. Consuming two or more cans of energy drinks can easily add up to a daily caffeine intake of 1,000mg or more. The Mayo Clinic advises that you limit your daily intake of caffeine to 200mg or less, the amount in two 12-oz. cups of coffee. Consuming more than that can raise your diastolic pressure by 4 to 13 mm Hg or your systolic pressure by 3 to 14 mm Hg.
Sugar
Energy drinks usually contain large amounts of sugar. Consuming too much sugar can raise your blood pressure and increase your risk of developing hypertension by as much as 77 percent, according to a study performed at the University of Colorado. Over a four-year period, Dr. Diana I. Jalal and colleagues studied the sugar consumption and blood pressure of 4,528 healthy adults. Their average daily sugar intake was 74g. Those who consumed more than the average had a higher incidence of hypertension than those who consumed less.
Additional Ingredients
Energy drinks often contain ingredients like carnitine and taurine, amino acids; ginseng, an herb; and guarana, a seed. Guarana contains caffeine and acts as a stimulant. Like caffeine, it can also increase your blood pressure, according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Ginseng has a more complex relationship with your blood pressure. According the University of Maryland Medical Center, normal doses of ginseng, about 200mg, may increase your blood pressure but higher doses may actually lower it.
Recommendations
Limit your energy drink consumption to no more than one or two a day. If you have high blood pressure or your blood pressure is often high, do not drink energy drinks without first consulting your physician. Young children and teenagers should not drink energy drinks at all, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The ingredients in energy drinks may interact with certain medications, including ephedra, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin enoxacin and theophylline. Choose sugar-free versions of energy drinks if they are available.
References
- MedlinePlus; Pediatricians Group Raps Energy and Sports Drinks for Kids; May 2011
- "The Annals of Pharmacotherapy"; Effect of "Energy Drink" Consumption on Hemodynamic and Electrocardiographic Parameters in Healthy Young Adults; Leah Steinke, et al.; April 2009
- Reuters: As Sales Soar, Experts Warn About Energy Drinks; Frederik Joelving; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Caffeine: How does it affect blood pressure?; Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.; November 2009
- "Journal of the American Society of Nephrology"; Increased Fructose Associates with Elevated Blood Pressure; Diana I. Jalal, M.D., et al.; July 2010
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Guarana
