The ALL ME® Podcast
Energy Drinks: How Significant is the Risk- Dr. John Higgins
At some point in your day, have you had that feeling like you need a pick me up to get through the day. Some people start every morning with a cup of coffee. Others feel the need to grab an energy drink to get a boost to get through their diet. BUT, could that energy drink be causing more damage to your body, especially your heart, than you realize.
In 2020, the energy drink industry generated $57 million dollars in revenue and that is expected to grow by 7-9% in the next 4-5 years. We are now seeing middle school children consuming energy drinks in addition to young athletes using these prior to high intensity exercise which can pose a significant risk.
During our interview we talk about the potential risk of mixing caffeine, taurine, and other stimulants like guarana seed extract and panax ginseng. These ingredients also see an increase in utilization when combined with glucose (i.e. sugar).
In this episode, we speak with Dr. John Higgins, Sports Cardiologist, to discuss his research outcomes on the impact energy drinks have on the cardiovascular system in healthy individuals. Dr. Higgins will discuss what ingredients are in these drinks, which ones may be posing a risk, what did his research determine on cardiovascular health and would he recommend consumers drink them?
About Dr. Higgins
John Higgins, MD, MBA, MPHIL, FACC, FACP, FAHA, FACSM, FASNC, FSGC is a Professor of Medicine at the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas. He is also a Senior Cardiologist at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital and Director of Exercise Physiology at Memorial Hermann Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance. He is also a Sports Cardiologist with the Houston Rockets and Rice Athletics. He has appeared over 700 times on local TV and radio including CNN and ABC World News. He is the author of 3 books, 2 book chapters, 55 manuscripts, 308 web-based publications, and 16 abstracts.
Energy Drinks Content and Safety: https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)60094-3/fulltext
Energy Drinks: A Contemporary Issues Paper: https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2018/02000/Energy_Drinks___A_Contemporary_Issues_Paper.9.aspx
Some Popular Energy Shots and Their Ingredients: Are they safe and should they be used? A Literature Review:
Stimulant Containing Energy Drinks: What you need to know? STIMULANT-CONTAINING ENERGY DRINKS: What You Need to Know : ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal (lww.com)
Energy Drink Effects on Hemodynamics and Endothelial Function in Young Adults.
Cardiovascular Complications of Energy Drinks:
Beverages | Free Full-Text | Cardiovascular Complications of Energy Drinks (mdpi.com)
Endothelial function acutely worse after drinking energy beverage:
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