Energy Drinks

Hey, this may be a stupid question but how bad are energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster? I believe the 'full fat' versions are loaded with sugar but the 'lite' versions can have 50 calories or less. Should such drinks be avoided at all costs? Or do they have their place on helping boost energy?

I drank an energy drink one day called Red Line...I was warned to only drink half...I drank the full thing and had to go home for the day. I was shaking like crazy. I tried to use the bathroom and I pissed all over the stall. It was awful.

Ive had that one before, I drank the whole thing but half in the morning and half after lunch...i liked it but I fully understand the shaking part, i was almost there but not quite because they were spaced out enough

Red Bull Lite, and many "diet" beverages contain Aspartame and/or Acesulfame K; artificial sweeteners that allow manufacturers to make drinks "that taste good and are good for you." Here are two segments from articles about both artificial sweeteners.

Aspartame - One of the criticisms of using aspartame-sweetened foods for weight loss is that the sweet taste still tricks the brain into thinking it's hungry. This hypothesis would lead to a triggered effect in the body that would release digestive enzymes and insulin, actually increasing hunger cues and potentially causing a person to eat more. But consistently, past research did not draw this conclusion. Scientists studying this issue saw that consuming aspartame did not increase insulin, increase appetite, or increase eating and drinking more calories overall.

Despite this previous evidence, two new research studies from the Texas Health Science Center paint a different picture. They showed that the waistlines of people who drank diet soft drinks increased 70 percent more than people who didn't drink diet soda. They saw that people who drank diet drinks had a greater likelihood to be overweight. The blame is placed on the brain triggers instigated by the sweet, calorie-less taste experience. Two other recent brain studies demonstrated this effect, showing that the body does seek out calories after eating no-calorie sweeteners such as aspartame.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/493966-aspartame-and-weight-loss/#ixzz1wyP5e69N

Acesulfame K - The Center for Science and Public Interest rates acesulfame potassium as one food additive you should avoid, raising concerns about safety tests on the sweetener prior to FDA approval that were of "mediocre quality." The CSPI notes that tests conducted on rats and mice were very short; two suggested that acesulfame potassium could potentially be carcinogenic. An article published in the "International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health" in 2010 by a Drexel University researcher echoed the CSPI's concerns and recommended that the sweetener undergo more rigorous and lengthy testing in the National Toxicology Program's bioassay program.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/481968-is-acesulfame-potassium-a-harmful-sweetener/#ixzz1wyQR2jtr