Energy Drinks Might Be Changing Your Heart

The $61 billion energy drink business may be having unintended side effects on your heart. If you're downing Red Bulls like their water or binging on Monster Energy Drinks to get you through the workday, your heart could be changing. That's the initial findings in a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

An Electrical Crisis

Researchers claim that electrical activity in the heart is possibly changed when customers consume too many energy drinks on a regular basis. Those changes, in response, may cause changes in the way the heart squeezes and relaxes its chambers.

Before you throw all of your energy drinks in the garbage, which some dieticians and doctors recommend, keep in mind that researcher Sachin Shah says the changes are "generally considered mild."

Shah tells CNN that while most people will likely not be greatly affected, individuals with heart conditions could be at an increased risk of arrhythmia which could lead to death.

The World Health Organization has gone on the record to say energy drinks "may pose danger to public health."

Too Much?

We know that many energy drinks contain high levels of certain substances, many that are found naturally such as guarana, B vitamins, taurine (an amino acid found in meat and fish) and L-carnitine which converts fat into energy. Researchers worry that those ingredients are often used in high concentrations in energy drinks which might cause problems. When combined with caffeine, those ingredients could have yet to be discovered side effects.

The energy drink market is still so new that long-term research hasn't had time to fully explain how energy drinks are affecting us.

Our advice

Stick to healthy drinks and a healthy diet and throw in some regular exercise. Treating your body right can help you feel more energetic and potentially live a longer life.