Say NO to energy drinks to maintain your blood pressure!

Are energy drinks your workout companion? If yes, ditch them because energy drinks might increase your risk of cardiac problems, says a new study. The researchers found that healthy young adults who don't consume caffeine regularly experienced a greater rise in resting blood pressure after consumption of a commercially available energy drink - compared to a placebo drink. Read about 6 things on energy drinks no one told you.

How was the study conducted?

In the study, researchers alternately gave a can of a commercially available energy drink or a placebo drink to 25 healthy young adults, age 19 to 40 and assessed changes in heart rate and blood pressure. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded before and 30 minutes after energy drink/placebo drink consumption and were also compared between caffeine-naive participants (those consuming less than 160 mg of caffeine per day) and regular caffeine users. Read about 10 ways hypertension or High BP affects your body.

What were the study results?

Participants experienced a marked rise in blood pressure after consuming the energy drink as compared to the placebo. The effect was most dramatic in people who did not typically consume much caffeine, researchers found. Overall, the blood pressure increase was more than doubled in caffeine naive adults after consuming the energy drink versus placebo, they found. Here are some natural alternatives for high blood pressure medication you can try!

Svatikova concluded that consumers should use caution when using energy drinks because they may increase the risk of cardiovascular problems, even among young people.

Source: IANS

Image Source: Getty Images

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