You probably get all the vitamin B you need from your diet. A variety of foods, including cereal, milk, eggs, green vegetables, chicken, meat, fish and nuts contain B vitamins. Older adults, vegans, persons who abuse alcohol and women who take birth control pills may develop deficiencies in one or more B vitamins. But if you take more vitamin B than you need -- from supplements or energy drinks -- you may end up with a potentially dangerous overdose.
Energy Drink Labels
Read the product labels before you purchase energy drinks. The amount and type of B vitamins they contain vary considerably. Some energy drinks contain less than the recommended daily allowance -- RDA -- for B vitamins, but at least one contains 2,000 percent of the RDA for vitamin B-6. An overdose of vitamin B-6 puts you at risk for serious problems, including nerve and brain disorders. Add up the number of energy drinks you take in a day. A single serving of some energy drinks may not cause an overdose, but drinking several might.
Overdose
You can take some of the B vitamins in high amounts with little risk of overdose and toxic side effects. Riboflavin -- vitamin B-2 -- may turn your urine orange and give you diarrhea, but will not likely cause serious health problems. Pantothenic acid -- vitamin B-5 -- also proves likely safe in high doses. But vitamin B-3, like vitamin B-6, can be harmful when taken in high doses. The RDA for B-3, also called niacin, ranges from 14 mg to 16 mg. Side effects such as diarrhea, nausea and skin flushes may occur if you take more than 100 mg daily. If you take 500 mg to 3,000 mg, you increase your risk for side effects such as stomach ulcers, gout, liver damage and vision loss. Though rare, you may suffer an allergic reaction if you take an overdose of vitamin B-1 -- thiamine.
Imbalance
No evidence proves that taking extra vitamin B in energy drinks -- or from any other source -- will boost your energy levels. Some B vitamin deficiencies -- vitamin B-12, for instance -- may lead to fatigue. Relieving the deficiency would boost your energy levels. But if you already get enough B-12 in your diet, taking extra, including an overdose, won't help. If an energy drink contains higher than normal amounts of one or two B vitamins but none of the others, this might cause a vitamin imbalance. Your B vitamins are meant to work in harmony, at certain levels, to help you metabolize carbohydrate, fat and protein and help your liver and nervous system function properly. If you increase your intake of one B vitamin, you may need to take more of others to maintain the proper balance.
Considerations
Some energy drinks contain a lot of sugar. Consuming too much sugar puts you at risk for weight gain and elevated triglycerides, a type of fat that can clog your arteries and put you at risk for cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends limiting calories from added sugar to 100 to 200 a day, based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. Although some energy drinks contain no sugar, others contain more than 100 calories' worth of sugar in a single serving.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin B3 (Niacin); June 2009
- MedlinePlus: Niacin and Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)
- MedlinePlus; Thiamine (Vitamin B1); May 2011
- MedlinePlus; Riboflavin (Vitamin B2); November 2010
- MedlinePlus; Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5); November 2010
- Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health: Vitamin B6
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