Do Energy Drinks Cause Life-Threatening Effects On Adults?

Energy drinks have become a treat from time to time for some people, but for others they have become a daily drink. The use of energy drinks has become more normalized throughout the years and has affected younger generations. Some have argued that energy drinks have become a convenient energy booster that is infused with vitamins which can be beneficial for people. However, some have also argued that energy drinks have become a life-threatening problem which has gone as far as to cause deaths and irreparable damage to people’s hearts. There is a huge divide in how people perceive energy drinks and it is important to be aware of whether energy drinks are actually worth drinking or even safe to drink. The root of the effects from energy drinks are caused by people drinking multiple energy drinks in one day because they are high in caffeine and without drinking water it can cause heart failure. On the other hand, there are other people who only drink energy drinks on occasion, usually before a workout. In this case energy drinks can be seen as a great tool that can give that boost people need to get through the day while also offering high amounts of vitamins. Though energy drinks can be beneficial it is important to become informed about how energy drinks can be beneficial for the body but also how energy drinks can be harmful. Adults should start examining their daily intake of energy drinks, reflect on whether they are doing more harm than good to their body and change their lifestyle to what is best for them.

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Perspective #1: Energy Drinks are a Great Source of Nutrients

There is a side to the argument that believes that energy drinks can actually be a great source of nutrients for their body. In their article, “International Society Of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Energy Drinks and Energy Shots”, Andrew R. Jagim et al. argue that energy drinks and energy shots can be very beneficial to an adult’s performance physically and explain the contents of an energy drink and energy shots as well as when is the best time to drink energy drinks for the best benefits. According to Jagim et al., “Consuming ED and ES 10-60 minutes before exercise can improve mental focus, alertness, anaerobic performance, and sport-specific tasks in the context of team sports”(1). When an adult drinks an energy drink it can be argued that it can enhance their skills and can improve mental performance as well as physical performance. There are many vitamins in energy drinks as well as sugars and electrolytes ( Jagim et al. 1). It is what builds the benefits in the drink or shot and what affects an adult’s body the most by being an easy source of nutrients. Energy drinks can be key elements to an adult’s body because of what it contains as well as the caffeine. Caffeine is a common shortcut for adults when having a late night or just needing an extra boost and energy drinks have high levels of caffeine. Jagim et al. argues, “Consuming ED and ES containing at least 3 mg∙kg BW-1 caffeine is most likely to benefit maximal lower-body power production”(1). Energy shots and energy drinks are used because of the energy they provide which stems from the levels of caffeine they have and also benefits adults with providing an improvement to their abilities. Energy drinks can be a great source of sustenance for adults and provide them with aid in their health.

Perspective #2: Energy Drinks can Cause Negative Effects to an Adult’s Health

There is also another side of the argument who believe that energy drinks can be dangerous and can potentially kill someone. In the article, “Energy Drinks: Side Effects, Ingredients, and Alternatives” Hallie Levine goes over all types of energy drinks and what they contain and also explains long-term effects and how they can cause irreparable damage to the body. It also explains a few side effects that energy drinks can cause to an adult’s body. There are times when energy drinks can cause side effects such as insomnia, mood swings, headaches, and metabolic issues (Levine). There are many types of energy drinks and they are a very common drink but have consequences that make it so in the future a person can experience extreme health obstacles. One major target of energy drinks is a person’s heart, because of the high levels of caffeine that energy drinks contain, it can cause negative effects to the heart, which is one of the most important organs. According to Levine, “ There have been a few reports of a sudden heart attack (cardiac arrest) from energy drinks.” A consequence from an energy drink being a heart attack shows how deadly they can truly be to adults because this is a negative effect that even if someone doesn't die from it, they can still be left with many changes in their health. There are other ways to still get that caffeine boost but without the health damage that comes with an energy drink such as drinking tea or just a quick cup of coffee. According to Levine, “ ‘But it’s reasonable to assume that if you consume them frequently, there will be health effects from your heart rate and blood pressure being elevated for extended periods of time,’ says Stefanski.” There are long-term effects that come with energy drinks, especially if someone drinks them either multiple times a day or once every day because at some point your body starts to react to this high amount of caffeine and starts adjusting parts to the maximum to keep up with this lifestyle. Energy drinks of all types can have a bad effect on an adult’s body in many ways and will lead to effects that if not treated will worsen with time.

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Points of Agreement

Although these two articles have many differences, they still have a few points where they agree. They both can agree that energy drinks are not for pregnant women. When drinking energy drinks there are usual side effects but there can be an even higher risk if you are pregnant, a child, or have a medical disease (Levine). There are side effects that can be a lot more dangerous for certain individuals such as pregnant women because of the chemicals that energy drinks contain. According to Jagim et al., “Additionally, ED and ES are not recommended for children (aged 2-12), those who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or breastfeeding and those who are sensitive to caffeine”( 1). Both sides of this argument agree that energy drinks can cause extreme harm to pregnant women. The two articles also agree that energy drinks are filled with many vitamins that can bring great benefits for an Adult’s health. According to Levine, “ B vitamins. These are added to energy drinks as well. They help turn your food into energy”(.) Jagim et al. also points out that Energy drinks contain multiple vitamins such as vitamin A, C, B, and D as well as sugars and caffeine (Jagim et. al 1). There is a big agreement between them as they both mention vitamin B and agree on how beneficial this vitamin is. Although both authors have different opinions and organize their ideas differently, they can still agree that pregnant women should not consume energy drinks and that energy drinks do contain multiple vitamins that can be beneficial.

Points of Disagreement

With this topic of whether energy drinks can cause extreme harm there are many differences between the two authors' statements. One of the major debates between the two sources would be how energy drinks affect brain function in adults. According to Levine, “Some energy drinks contain high sugar and caffeine levels. Once your body digests these, the effects wear off. You’re likely to crash. It can mean your blood sugar drops and your brain activity lowers” (.) Energy drinks and energy shots contain many health benefits and nutritional ingredients which affect an adult’s mental performance (Jagim et al. 1). There is a clear disagreement because of what both authors state about brain activity Jagim et al. states that it is great and improves brain activity on the other hand Levine states that energy drinks will affect an adult’s brain activity negatively. Another topic which both authors disagree on is how caffeine affects the body and whether it causes helpful effects or negative effects. Jagim et al. states, “ This action promotes reduced fatigue sensation, increased subjective energy and alertness, and performance benefits across the exercise spectrum” (6). Levine argues, “ The caffeine can dehydrate you, too. This can also make you feel sluggish”. The authors have contradicting ideas because Levine argues that caffeine can make an adult feel tired while Jagim et al. argues that caffeine can provide energy and less fatigue. Levine uses a different approach to her argument than Jagim et al. when describing how caffeine or brain activity is affected by energy drinks. Energy drinks can be a very important part of an adult’s daily routine and the way that Levine and Jagim et al. explain whether it can be good to a person’s health or harmful, can be very different.

Strength and Weaknesses of Source #1

There are many strengths but there are also some weaknesses in many articles. Andrew Jagim et al. has a very strong argument and shows that in his writing such as the evidence he uses. He makes claims about the effects that energy drinks can cause and provides statistics to support his claim while also providing results of experiments for even more accurate results. He makes great points by analyzing all aspects of energy drinks and provides great information that can be useful for many people such as athletes. Though there are many aspects in which he succeeds there are also some weaknesses in his argument. One of the weaknesses would be that there is limited information listed about the ingredients that energy drinks contain, it is mentioned by the authors that there are still some ingredients that need further testing. This can be a great weakness because if there is a lack of information on one of the key elements the source was made to inform about, the readers can be misinformed or not informed enough about the nutrients. Another potential weakness could be that it is written in a way that only a few groups could be able to understand and enjoy reading, which means it doesn't have a bigger audience because of the higher-level scientific statements that it consists of. Some of the higher-level scientific statements it consists of are the tables used for the testing and the statistical summaries in between sentences.

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Source #2

In Levine’s writing there are areas where it is very strong but there are also areas where it is lacking. When there is strength in Levine’s article, it is when she uses evidence from health experts and doctors with evidence that is backed up by science. This shows great ethos because it makes the reader trust the information even more. Another strength is how in depth she goes about the information when writing about the side effects or when she writes about the ingredients. This is a great strength because an article that goes into detail makes it easier for the readers to understand the information without there being misinformation because a topic isn't explained well enough. Though the source has many strengths it does also have some weaknesses such as its lack of statistics. Though the evidence she uses is backed up by science there are areas where she uses more personal or claims in general than evidence. There are some areas where the source lacks the evidence to support the claims or more evaluation on these topics. There is also another weakness in the source of there being mostly claims of negative effects on energy drinks, this shows that the source is not too balanced on their claims and can become biased because of the strong opposition to energy drinks.

Compromise

At this point there has not been a point at which one argument has become more promising than the other, seeing as they both lack in some areas but also both succeed in other areas one can finalize that the solution would be in the middle. Both sides agree on how harmful energy drinks can be for pregnant women and that energy drinks have many vitamins and beneficial nutrients and how that can affect an adult. On the other hand, these very vitamins and other ingredients in energy drinks can also be harmful if consumed too much because caffeine is a part of those ingredients, which is one of the points that both sides disagree on. They both disagree on how caffeine can affect an adult because one side shows claims of caffeine being great for an energy booster and the other side shows claims that caffeine can actually cause fatigue. In my personal opinion energy drinks can be harmful, as a person who drinks energy drinks from time to time with my experience with it there have been times when I feel a bit too tired than the usual or feel so hyper I feel nervous. However, there are also times when the energy drink does help me and provides the energy I need, making me feel ready for the day or time when I feel more focused because of the energy drink. I think that whether energy drinks can cause life-threatening effects on adults depends on the adult, whether they have a medical disease or are pregnant can determine if an energy drink can be extremely harmful. There is also the factor of how much energy drinks an adult consumes in a day which can also determine whether death can be the result or just a bit of shaking. Jagim et al. states If an adult drinks more than one energy drink or different energy drinks a day it can lead to negative side effects (.)The best way to establish whether energy drinks can cause such awful harm is up to the adult and their doctor because the adult is the one who decides how much to consume and their doctor can inform them of any diseases they have and whether they can enhance the energy drinks effects.





By: Jennifer Leyva Vargas 

Works Cited

Jagim, Andrew R., et al. “International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Energy Drinks and Energy Shots.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, vol. 20, no. 1, 2 Mar. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2023.2171314.

Levine, Hallie. “Are Energy Drinks Safe?” WebMD, WebMD,www.webmd.com/diet/energy-drinks Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.