21 January, 2016

Energy drinks may increase blood pressure: Study

WASHINGTON:Consumption of energy drinks may lead to increase in blood pressure, which can cause risk of serious cardiovascular events, a new study has claimed.

Anna Svatikova, of the Mayo Clinic in US and colleagues randomly assigned 25 healthy volunteers of age 18 years or older to consume a can (about 480 millilitre) of a commercially available energy drink and placebo drink within 5 minutes, in random order on 2 separate days, maximum 2 weeks apart.

The placebo drink, selected to match the nutritional constituents of the energy drink, was similar in taste, texture, and colour but lacked caffeine and other stimulants of the energy drink (240mg of caffeine, 2,000mg of taurine, and extracts of guarana seed, ginseng root, and milk thistle).

Energy drink consumption has been associated with serious cardiovascular events, possibly related to caffeine and other stimulants, researchers said.

The researchers examined the effect of energy drink consumption on hemodynamic changes, such as blood pressure and heart rate.

Participants were fasting and abstained from caffeine and alcohol 24 hours prior to each study day.

Serum levels of caffeine, plasma glucose, and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) were measured and blood pressure and heart rate were obtained at baseline and 30 minutes after drink ingestion.

Caffeine levels remained unchanged after the placebo drink, but increased significantly after energy drink consumption.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

21.01.2016

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