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Slowly Poisoned by Energy Drinks
- mbrd 10y agoThe cached version is here: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:iVkhl9bp0QgJ:yiddish.ninja/the-hidden-cost-of-energy-drinks-they-poisoned-me/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:iVkhl9b...
- pcbpcb 10y agoOver 12 years old: drink only water, tea, coffee, beer, and single malt whiskey. Period.
- fokinsean 10y agoYerba Mate too :)
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- slaunchwise 10y ago+ Gin. Because gin.
- stephengillie 10y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_and_cancer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_and_cancer
- Quinner 10y agoWine?
- RogtamBar 10y agoHeretic! Wine is far superior to beer. And then there is milk. Does beer contain proteins and fats? No.
- walrus01 10y ago> and single malt whiskey Ripper: Mandrake? Mandrake: Yes, Jack? Ripper: Have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water? Mandrake: Well, I can't say I have. Ripper: Vodka, that's what they drink, isn't it? Never water? Mandrake: Well, I-I believe that's what they drink, Jack, yes. Ripper: On no account will a Commie ever drink water, and not without good reason. Mandrake: Oh, eh, yes. I, uhm, can't quite see what you're getting at, Jack. Ripper: Water, that's what I'm getting at, water. Mandrake, water is the source of all life. Seven-tenths of this earth's surface is water. Why, do you realize that seventy percent of you is water? Mandrake: Uh, uh, Good Lord! Ripper: And as human beings, you and I need fresh, pure water to replenish our precious bodily fluids. Mandrake: Yes. Ripper: Are you beginning to understand? Mandrake: Yes. Ripper: Mandrake. Mandrake, have you never wondered why I drink only distilled water, or rain water, and only pure-grain alcohol? Mandrake: Well, it did occur to me, Jack, yes. Ripper: Have you ever heard of a thing called fluoridation. Fluoridation of water? Mandrake: Uh? Yes, I-I have heard of that, Jack, yes. Yes. Ripper: Well, do you know what it is? Mandrake: No, no I don't know what it is, no. Ripper: Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face?
- gjkood 10y agoAgreed on the single malt. I have heard that no 'true' Scotsman would touch blended. Is that true?
- benjohnson 10y agoA true Scotsman is also thrifty - a good blend can be a good value.
- ortusdux 10y agoI cut out sweeteners, real or artificial, over 5 years ago.
- smarks 10y agoAnd preferably only single malt whiskey that is over 12 years old.
- briansteffens 10y agoUnless it's Ardbeg, then you can get away with 10
- chris_7 10y agoI'd have a lot of trouble hitting my daily protein target without milk (and whey, but that's not really a drink). I also don't really see why beer is included.
- jey 10y agoHonestly, Ethanol is straight up toxic and we probably shouldn't drink it. We just grandfathered it in because our ancestors were getting drunk off fermenting fruit way before the genus Homo even existed.
- ArkyBeagle 10y agoI dunno. I don't think there would have been civilization had there not been beer.
- drcross 10y agoDid anyone think for a second that those things aren't bad for you? Washing down multiple cans of it per day and coupled with an unhealthy lifestyle is a guarantee to have trouble down the line. I'm astonished that the author seemed to expect a different outcome.
- mindcrime 10y agoI was really bad for this at one time. Back in 2014 I was doing crazy shit like routinely working 14 hours a day or more, and in the evenings I would prop myself up by having a triple shot latte, followed by a Red Bull, and maybe a box or two of chocolate covered espresso beans. And I was doing this 5 or 6 days a week, for weeks on end. Not getting enough sleep, not watching my diet, not exercising, etc. You can probably guess where this story leads... yep, onto the back of an ambulance, having a heart attack. :-( Now anytime someone has a heart attack, there are probably a lot of factors involved. I can't sit here and say that energy drinks in particular caused mine. But in retrospect, the overall lifestyle I was living was not healthy and I paid for it. So, long story short... don't be like me.
- smt88 10y agoWhy did you work that much?
- mindcrime 10y agoWorking a day job to pay the bills, and building a startup on the side.
- jacquesm 10y agoI'm going to forward your comment to a friend of mine who is very much on the same track. Thanks for posting this.
- mindcrime 10y agoThe good news is, I lived, and the doctors tell me I should be fine as long as I commit to a healthy lifestyle going forward. So I got back into bicycle riding big time again, both road biking and mountain biking, and a typical meal for me now is something like I had for lunch today: a big plate of salad which was nothing but lettuce, salt, pepper, olive oil and a small amount of honey-ginger dressing. I eat a lot of lettuce lately.. it's nice because it has few calories and takes up space in your stomach so it curbs my urge to snack all the time, which was a problem in the past. Of course that's not all I eat, before somebody posts worrying that I'm going too far in the other direction. I still eat a lot of the same stuff I always did, but in moderation, and a lot more veggies now than in the past. And I mostly quit eating candy, chips, and other real low-value junk food.
- semisight 10y agoWell this strikes close to home. During grad school, I'd drink a red bull (or two) a day. Now, I've quit caffeine completely (save a tiny cup of coffee in the morning occasionally). I hope the author has a quick and easy recovery.
- draw_down 10y agoI find that those energy shots really help if you need to stay up for a party, etc. But taking them every day, that's nuts.
- SFJulie 10y agoI live by my grandpa motto, everything is poison, vary them and your diet to avoid be poisoned to fast by one single source.
- Theodores 10y agoWhat is funny is that energy drinks can be zero calories - no energy!
- joshmanders 10y agoI still consume energy drinks, right now I am drinking a rip it sugar free zero carb/calorie energy drink with 120% vitamin C, 100% vitamin B6 and 170% vitamin B12. Sure I can probably skip this and slug through the day, but I find it's a good balance for me, other than this all I drink is water and I only have a single serving a day.
- betenoire 10y agoCheck your can. You sure you are only having one serving?
- joshmanders 10y agoYes. 8 fl oz.
- RogtamBar 10y agoMy solution to getting enough caffeine: a 50 cent 100 gramm bag of roasted robusta beans. They also taste pretty nice, if you eat them singly. Much better than any coffee that can be brewed from such..
- oscarteg 10y agoDatabase error.... really
- hundchenkatze 10y agoReally, that's what it said. Op seems to have resolved the problem. Here's the cached version if not. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:iVkhl9bp0QgJ:yiddish.ninja/the-hidden-cost-of-energy-drinks-they-poisoned-me/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:iVkhl9b...
- arcticfox 10y agoIs there a mirror or tl;dr? Looks like it got taken down by traffic.
- deelowe 10y agoThe issue appears to be the 2000% DV of B6. This isn't the first I've heard of this (e.g. with supplements). Most energy drinks don't have this in them. Be careful with vitamins and minerals. More isn't always better.
- xhrpost 10y agoI used to occasionally drink Spike Shooter which contains 25,000% of B12. Supposedly you can't OD on B12 without a predisposed genetic condition. Still, I have no regrets moving away from energy drinks, I found my desire for them was simply a symptom of a bigger problem like not getting enough sleep.
- jey 10y agoWhile it's generally true that water-soluble vitamins are hard to overdose on, it's still true that you at the very least have an abnormally high (and possibly toxic) level of the compound in your bloodstream until your kidneys can excrete it. In the case of B6, it apparently takes years of overdose before the sensorimotor neuropathy becomes apparent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6#Toxicity
- omalleyt 10y agoThe form of vitamin B6 in supplements is pyroxidine hydrochloride, which at high levels (mostly >100mg/day) can cause peripheral neuropathy. So can zinc. A lot of times it's overlooked that the form of the vitamin is different from what the body usually receives/produces.
- crazypyro 10y agoIn case anyone is curious, Monster has 200% DV of B6 in a 16 oz can.
- xlm1717 10y agoI was really surprised that the B6 was the issue. I always thought that since B vitamins were water soluble they didn't build up in the body, never thought they would be harmful at such mega doses. Will definitely re-think vitamin supplements now.
- jimrandomh 10y agotl;dr: "5 hour energy", as well as Costco's generic version thereof, contain a megadose of vitamin B6 which is not safe for daily consumption. The lesson you should take from this is that, when taking a combination drug like an energy drink, you have to go through ingredient by ingredient checking the dosages and reading the corresponding wikipedia pages. I do consume energy drinks, but I used that procedure to reject the brand that's reported causing a problem here.
- merraksh 10y agotl;dr Continued consumption of energy drinks like 5 Hour Energy / Costco Energy Shot / RockStar Pure Zero gave him the 2000% of the US recommended daily B6 of 2mg. Main effect: numbness in half of the body, a known side effect of B6 overdosing.
- mikepavone 10y agoJust the Costco Energy Shot was 2000% of the US RDA. His total consumption was 2600% if I'm reading his post right. Interestingly, 46mg per day is still well below the value that's generally considered the safe upper limit: 100mg [1]. Presumably he also got some B6 from food, but probably not more than 1-2 mg. [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16320662 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16320662
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- striking 10y agoIt's almost like making a habit of consuming something with addictive properties is a bad idea. Yeah, they're good for helping finish a late-night essay or helping sustain your programming train of thought... but they're not designed to be used often. Too much of anything will more often than not kill you.
- rdegges 10y agoAh... Fuck. I feel like this is the signal I've been waiting for all these years :( Since 2006 (in uni), when I was first introduced to energy drinks, I've been more or less addicted to them ever since. I even go so far as to regulate my consumption of them in cycles to get the most I can out of it: https://www.rdegges.com/2011/my-use-and-abuse-of-caffeine/ https://www.rdegges.com/2011/my-use-and-abuse-of-caffeine/ I never really liked the taste of coffee much (without loads of cream and sugar/splenda), so energy drinks were a happy medium because they taste really good, they come in lots of 0 sugar / calorie varieties (which is great when you're trying to stay in shape), and give you a LOT of caffeine per serving which makes me feel super high: happy, productive, focused. Since 2006, I've probably had roughly 2 energy drinks per day (and over the last few years: maybe 4). So... This really sucks. I always "felt" like they were bad for me, but never really did any research as I knew it would most likely make me stop drinking them. It's surprisingly easy to convince yourself not to look into something so you can continue justifying your actions. But now, I suppose, the fun is up. It's really time I start being more careful with myself :(
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- Jach 10y agoYou'll think you've become free, but all it takes is the right super-sale to bring you back: http://imgur.com/AxILSxw http://imgur.com/AxILSxw If you're just in it for caffeine, I occasionally quit carbonated drinks and substitute with water or tea and 200mg caffeine pills.
- checker 10y agoPills also have the advantage of more consistent dosage vs tea/coffee. Plus no calories, cheaper, and no taste so you won't find yourself going back just for the flavor.
- WorldMaker 10y agoPills also have the disadvantage that it is much, much easier to overdose on pills than tea/coffee.
- narrator 10y agoI used to be an energy drink addict. I drank two Rockstar a day for several years. I stopped cold turkey and my skin and health in general improved. I also swore off drinking anything in an aluminum can because of the BPA lining. Larger energy drinks have the largest detectable amounts of BPA in them.[1] These days I drink bulletproof coffee that I make at home and keep in a stainless steel mug. It takes a bit of getting used to, but drinking butter + mct oil+ coffee without sweeteeners is a pretty good way to start the day, IMHO. I feel much healthier because of it and love that it's compatible with the ketogenic diet, which I have lost about 20 lbs doing. [1]http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2009/03/health-canada-finds-bpa-most-soft-drinks-energy-drinks-top-list http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2009/03/health-canada-finds-bp...
- ferrari8608 10y agoSame here, but Monster was my poison of choice. I lost 50 lbs with keto and haven't looked back. Everything just got better. I think bulletproof coffee is a bit overrated though. I tried it and couldn't get into it, and that's with very good quality coffee. A bit of heavy cream is nice sometimes though.
- VLM 10y agoTLDR OP overdosed on B6. Sometimes I drink the Runa energy drinks and I can verify they have no supplemental B6. I can also verify they taste really bizarre and many people cannot stomach them. Ironically the only thing making the taste of "regular energy drinks" drinkable is weird artificial flavorings and tons of syrupy carbs. Its not as weird tasting as some liquors, someone who can stomach a shot of scotch will probably be fine with a Runa. They taste like strong green tea mixed with a paint store, if that makes any sense. I was mystified by the claims of poisoning because the dose where people start getting sick according to the medical data I found is about 5000% of the RDA. Only two documented cases in the whole world have resulted in problems at or below 5000% of the RDA. OP is something of a medical miracle to have been the third person on the planet to get symptoms below 5000%. I suppose somebody has to be the unlucky one. More than 50000% of RDA, about 10 times higher, is generally medically recognized as being unsafe for people in general. The ED/LD ratio for B6 is pretty safe compared to aspirin or tylenol or alcohol for that matter. From wikipedia "For vitamin B6 labeling purposes 100% of the Daily Value is 2.0 mg." The guy blames his rockstar drink, his 5 hour energy shot, and his supplements equally, but I checked online and the rockstar he's blaming is only 100% of the RDA (which is none the less a bit high) but the "Kirkland energy shot" is marked as 40 mg of B6 which is about 2000% of his RDA! That is a WTF product right there. http://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-content/kirkland-energy-shot http://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-content/kirkland-en... Doing some math his unnamed OTC vitamin supplement is providing 4 mg or 200% of the RDA. Which is also unreasonably high, although not dangerously so. I would say the title is very misleading as many (most?) energy drinks don't have near toxic levels of B6. One very specific generic copy of a brand does have a level that sickens people at a rate of 0.5 parts per billion but its still only about a tenth of what most medical professionals think would sicken most people.
- rosser 10y agoWait, are we supposed to be surprised by this?
- zizzles 10y agoIf anybody needed an article or a news report to realize that an energy drink is far from "healthy" then I pity them. Just take a quick glance at the ingredient list: Sugar. Caffeine. High-fructose corn syrup. This is the case with most off the shelf beverages and processed foods. Remember: The majority of manufacturers do not care about your well-being or health. Toxic ingredients are so abundant, that eating "healthy" in the 21st century is a massive under-taking. Green tea might be a better and somewhat healthier substitute to any energy drink addicts that are reading this.
- icebraining 10y agoJust take a quick glance at the ingredient list: Sugar. Caffeine. High-fructose corn syrup. If they are not in the US and they took a sugarfree version, they'd only see caffeine, and that wasn't what caused the problem here, so that's not great advice.
- Kluny 10y agoReally?? It takes a trip to the hospital with paralysis before you notice that shit is poison? The heart palpitations and industrial aftertaste didn't give you any hints?
- hipsterrific 10y agoThank goodness that coffee is something I actually like. I stick to no more than 4 cups a day, 5 cups if I'm feeling lucky. And by a cup, I mean an 8 oz cup (a 20oz to me is 2.5 cups of coffee). When I was in college I was admitted to the ER for arrythmia. The condition was exacerbated by excess caffeine. I went from a pot of coffee a day to 3 cups a day for years, this included exercise and meditation. I refuse to touch energy drinks; while it gives me a shot of energy, prolonged use has consequences like my visit to the ER due to excessive coffee intake. I'd rather focus on getting the correct amount of sleep and taking regular breaks to recoup my energy rather than relying on coffee to feel awake.
- JustSomeNobody 10y agoActually, you poisoned yourself. You payed little to no attention to what you were consuming.
- Moshe_Silnorin 10y agoI was involved in the nootropics community for years, doing Gwen.net style double blinded assessments on various compounds. The biggest thing I've learned (aside from the fact that almost all nootropics are ineffective or only marginally effective, the marginally effective being the most popular: nicotine, caffeine, modafinil and amphetamines) is, if you're using performance enhancing drugs, you have to be honest with yourself about this and be really nerdy about it. Proprietary blends and energy drinks are just bad news. I would recommend taking caffeine pills instead of energy drinks. You can easily optimize your dose and you know what your taking. You can also get a years supply of caffeine for like 20 bucks in pill form. Being honest with yourself about the fact that you don't so much like the taste of coffee as the highly-addictive drug in it can save you a decent amount of money. There's no evidence that any of the other compounds in energy drinks beside caffeine do anything for alertness, and caffeine is a very safe drug.
- burgerguyg 10y agoI actually did a MindCamp session on making your own energy drinks 6+ years ago. The live demo/taster was a double-shot mocha with 150 mg of powdered caffeine (in solution), a bottle of shelf-stable chocolate milk (because I was at a conf), and a tablespoon of Torani Kahlua-flavored syrup.
- wiredfool 10y agoDude! I remember that! You had more than the LD50 of caffeine for the entire conference in the canister.
- anf 10y agoFor B6, 46mg by 10am isn't very much. Most B6 supplements come in 100mg capsules. The FNB noted that although several reports show sensory neuropathy occurring at doses lower than 500 mg/day, studies in patients treated with vitamin B6 (average dose of 200 mg/day) for up to 5 years found no evidence of this effect. Based on limitations in the data on potential harms from long-term use, the FNB halved the dose used in these studies to establish a UL of 100 mg/day for adults. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/ https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfession...
- 6t6t6t6 10y agoI will never understand people who take drugs for working. Drugs are supposed to be for fun!
- jinushaun 10y agoYup. Guessed it was B vitamins before reading through the entire article. As always, too much of a good thing. Most energy drinks contain a ton of B12 and B6—and I've suspected for a long time is actually more responsible for the feeling of energy from these drinks than caffeine or taurine.
- XzetaU8 10y agoI doubt the B12 you see in most energy drinks are the more expensive/absorbable form (Methylcobalamin) and not the cheap and less absorbable (adenosylcobalamin), I could be wrong though.