Today more than ever people are way busier than they have time for. The stress of kids, careers and trying to have a personal life take up all of our time. Staying alert for it isn’t a new idea, though. People all over the world have been getting a jolt of energy with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning for hundreds of years. Getting that jolt in a little can seems to make sense, right?
Because the speed of marketing always runs rings around science, people looking for a super powerful energy drink to get them through their day sometimes fall prey to some misinformation.
When it comes to energy drinks, there are plenty of myths and fallacies. Here’s three of them:
Fallacy #1. Energy drinks speed up your metabolism.
Sorry, just the opposite happens. The common denominators of most energy drinks are calories, carbohydrates and sugar. You might think that because your heart is pounding so hard from all that caffeine you must be losing weight. Unfortunately, you also took in way more calories than you’re burning.
Fallacy #2. You can sober up faster by drinking energy drinks.
Mixing energy drinks with alcohol is never recommended because the heightened alertness can disguise the effects of the alcohol and give you a false sense of sobriety. Energy drinks actually stall how fast you sober up because caffeine slows down your ability to metabolize the alcohol.
Fallacy #3. Workouts go better with energy drinks.
Drinking an energy drink to enhance a workout actually sets you back. You get an initial charge of energy from the caffeine but you also get a crash a little while later from all the sugar. What your body really needs is fluid, specifically water. You’re actually doing more harm than good because all those calories you drank more than offsets the calories that you burned.
So, what’s the truth about energy drinks? Chugging an occasional energy drink isn’t going to do you any harm. Even though it doesn’t last long you’ll get a rush of energy. The “M” word – moderation – is the key. But maybe you should consider a cheaper and healthier alternative. Just eat an apple. You won’t get the energy all at once but you will get vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. The energy will get there slower because the fiber keeps the sugar from dumping into your bloodstream all at once. You’ll get a longer lasting and healthier rush of the energy you need.
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