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Energizers improve heart function
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
Every day, so-called energy drinks are becoming more and more popular among the population. Energy drinks are especially popular among young people.
Compared to 2010, in 2011 global consumption of these drinks increased by 14% and rose to 4.8 billion liters, and brought in $37 billion in profits for their producers.
What makes people drink energy drinks if most researchers point to the harm that “life-giving” cocktails cause to the human body?
Perhaps it is because of the frantic pace of life of modern people, which they cannot keep up with and they strive to find additional sources of energy to maintain their strength?
Of course, you can drink coffee to feel a surge of new energy and increase your mental and physical activity, but energy drinks are literally stepping on the heels of traditional energy sources. The manufacturers of such cocktails claim that after drinking them, a person will perk up and “grow wings” (surely many remember the slogan from a well-known advertisement for one of these drinks). One can of energy contains from 150 to 400 mg of caffeine and each one has a warning about the recommended dose – no more than one can per day, but many ignore these warnings.
So where is the truth? Do energy drinks really cause irreparable harm to a person or are there any benefits to them?
This is what Dr. Matteo Camelli, a cardiologist at the University of Cardiology in Siena and the author of one of the few studies on the benefits of energy drinks, tried to find out.
The main component of energy drinks is caffeine, a powerful stimulant that has an exciting effect on the nervous system, which is why a person feels “inspired”.
According to Dr. Cameli, energy drinks have a tonic and stimulating effect on the nervous system, thereby causing stomach problems, disrupting normal sleep, causing a sharp decline in strength after their effect wears off and harming the cardiovascular system.
However, quite recently, a component such as taurine has begun to be added to the composition of drinks, thanks to which cardiac activity can actually improve.
During her research, Dr. Cameli discovered that the new component stimulates the release of calcium, which has an inotropic effect on myocardial function.
The scientists recorded the state of heart contractions at the beginning of the test and after the subjects consumed energy drinks with various dominant components.
As it turned out, energy drinks caused only a small increase in systolic blood pressure (the first number that appears when measuring blood pressure), while diastolic blood pressure increased by 6%.
Thus, experts came to the conclusion that drinks containing taurine can lead to positive results in terms of heart performance.
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