I love receiving your questions and comments! Today, I'm sharing a question I received from a customer about energy drinks and how they affect weight loss. The answer just might surprise you.
Lisa,
I've been relying on energy drinks to get my workouts in and make it through my busy day. Ever since I started using them, I've gained seven pounds, and my doctor asked if I had been using energy drinks for energy. He insisted I don’t drink any energy drinks at all and that I need to STOP IMMEDIATELY because it's making me more anxious, is the cause of my lack of energy, and increasing my blood pressure and blood sugar levels. I’m also now deficient in several nutrients. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Some (I drink several different types) of the labels say that they are calorie-free, sugar-free, AND contain high levels of B-vitamins. They appear very safe to use.
HELP! Now I’m even more anxious, and I want to get the extra weight off I gained before summer starts, or none of my clothes will fit!
I applaud your doctor for caring enough to take the time to educate you on the dangers of energy drinks and shots, and you’ve come to the right place!
Improving health and making it easier to lose weight is my specialty. In fact, every product we make has to be good for weight loss, or we don't sell it. That's why you’ll never see premade protein shakes or lots of gummies, despite their popularity. They are NOT good for weight loss, especially if you're female, you can pinch more than an inch of belly fat, are stressed, and the list goes on, but I’m sure you get the point.
Losing weight is hard enough, so the last thing any of us needs is to spend our hard-earned money on seemingly healthy nutritional supplements that leave us more tired than we were before using them, several pounds heavier, and dependent on them to the point that we are spending hundreds of dollars every month just to make it through our days.
Add to that the damage to our environment when you add up all of those cans and bottles. It can really make you feel literally sick to your stomach!
Here's the scoop. If you're drinking Full Throttle, Bang, Rockstar, Red Bull, 5-Hour Energy, Monster, NOS, AMP, or any of today's popular energy drink products, you're harming your health and making it easier to gain weight. And on the flip side, harder to lose weight.
Energy drink use was associated with 20,000 emergency room visits in the US.
Here’s why you should SKIP your daily energy drink.
Nearly all energy drinks have been associated with potentially harmful changes in blood pressure, heart function, and erratic hearty beats (AFIB). For many of us over 40, they actually make us more tired in the long run due to their effects on sleep hygiene. This is true even if you can fall asleep. It's about the quality of your sleep, which depends on your ability to stay asleep long enough for your body and brain to reboot and recharge, which is where all healing and repairing takes place. If you have aches and pains, leg cramps, or tingles in your legs, this also applies to you.
Studies prove that regular consumption, or drinking energy drinks or vitamin waters for more than three days, can lead to heart arrhythmia, headaches, high blood pressure, sleep issues, weight gain, and anxiety.
Energy Drinks are Bad for Your Heart: Too Much Caffeine Mixed with Stimulants
Most energy drinks contain between 70 and 240mg of caffeine, compared to a cup of strong black coffee that has 100mg of caffeine.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states the safe limit of caffeine for adults is 400mg per day and discourages caffeine use for kids and teens under the age of 18 (or they should consume 100 mg or less per day). Caffeine isn't so bad, in fact, it has benefits. But when you combine it with other nutrients that magnify its effects, it can be dangerous and cause weight gain.
Contain Harmful Stimulants
Stimulants place a larger demand on your already stressed-out heart. If you're already stressed, or you have any type of heart disease or weakness that affects your heart, this combination of excessive energy drink intake that combines caffeine, stimulants, and sugar can be and has been lethal. It has been responsible for several “sudden deaths” in otherwise healthy people who relied on energy drinks for three days or more, which magnifies its harmful effects.
Our heart is a muscle, and like any other muscle in our body, it can become worn out over time and weaken to the point that it can't do its job anymore.
This is why runners who appear healthy or fit have some of the worst hearts.
All of the above-added stress weakens more than our heart muscles. It raises croton levels just like chronic everyday stress can. Over time, it begins to damage thyroid health and adrenal function, raising cortisol levels, making it impossible to lose weight.
Causes Weight Gain
How does energizing your body with energy drinks cause weight gain if they don't have any calories or sugar? Here's the simple science of how your metabolism works.
When we are tired, our cortisol levels rise. We drink an energy drink or excessively strong coffee to get through the day, and cortisol levels increase more. When our cortisol levels rise (and especially if they stay elevated), it causes our cells in our body to become resistant to insulin. Over time, this can lead to an increase in blood sugar (including A1C levels), weight gain, and potentially Type 2 Diabetes. All of which block fat loss.
Remember the law of “what goes up must fall back down”? Most people think more energy always equates to more weight loss, but that's not true. Take a look around at how our bodies are now built and how overweight we are as a society. You'll quickly see how our bodies have adapted to today’s stress, which isn't good for health at any level, including our brain health.
When energy goes up, cortisol goes up, and it always comes back down, which is why you have to have another, and another, and another... to the point that your body is hooked, and you can barely get out of bed unless you inhale a few more energy drinks.
When cortisol levels (stress hormones) drop excessively, it's more than just a fatigued feeling. It's what I call stage 4B fatigue that's now gone way beyond what a nap or good night sleep can fix. It's known as “adrenal exhaustion” and affects every aspect of your health, both physically and mentally.
This creates the perfect storm, setting your body up for all kinds of health issues that can be permanent while weakening immune health by damaging gut health. LynFit Nutrition® Daily Power Shot to the rescue!
Power Shot is not your typical energy shot. In fact, it's nothing like the energy drinks mentioned above. It's plant-based, all-natural, powerful energy that comes from natural adaptogens, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, and omega 3 essential fatty acid. It's your energy-friendly drink with health-boosting benefits!
- Naturally delicious tropical flavor
- Helps naturally and safely boost energy and focus
- Supports immune system and autoimmune recovery
- Antioxidants help reduce free radical damage caused by stress and daily living
- Provides 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of over 90 essential vitamins and minerals
- Is a fast-absorbing whole food energizer
- Features Ginkgo, Omega 3, Omega 6, and CoQ10
- Supports all metabolic functions
- Is created with LynFit's proprietary technology that provides pH balance and enhances nutrient absorption
It's Simply the Power of High Quality Nutrients in the Highest Absorbable Liquid (98%)! Did you know that your body doesn’t make minerals? Yet, 95 percent of your body’s processes require minerals to function.
Ninety-nine percent of American people are deficient in minerals and a marked deficiency in any one or more of the important minerals results in disease! The alarming fact is that fruits, vegetables, and grain now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain minerals are starving us no matter how much of them we eat.
We can’t eat enough fruits and vegetables to supply our bodies with the minerals required for optimal health because the stomach isn't big enough to hold them and they would escalate our insulin levels due to inactivity, making supplementing with highly absorbable minerals is the very best choice.
Weight loss and stress deplete your body’s nutrient stores, causing fatigue and illness, but “one shot-a-day keeps the fatigue away!”
Your body will feel re-energized, along with every cell in your body (including the cells that make up your bones, brain, eyes, muscles, ligaments, hair, skin, and nails) that fuel your metabolism. Your cells will be saturated with all the nutrients it needs, in the exact amount needed, quicker and more completely, so you feel it take effect in your body fast.
The nutrient absorption of just one ounce of delicious Daily Power Shot is so efficient that it prevents nutrients from NOT being used. No more overdosing or overspending your hard money on your daily essential nutrients!
Daily Power Shot saves you money and pays for itself. If you were to purchase each of the nutrients in Daily Power Shot separately, it would cost you over $300 for a comparable premium supplement. Thanks to advanced technology, LynFit has managed to formulate them together into a delicious power shot that you'll soon crave at a fraction of the cost. And, if you think taking supplements to stay healthy is expensive, try being sick!
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References:
AMA Tardy AL, Pouteau E, Marquez D, Yilmaz C, Scholey A. Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients. 2020;12(1):228. Published 2020 Jan 16. doi:10.3390/nu12010228
MLA Tardy, Anne-Laure et al. “Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence.” Nutrients vol. 12,1 228. 16 Jan. 2020, doi:10.3390/nu12010228
APA Tardy, A. L., Pouteau, E., Marquez, D., Yilmaz, C., & Scholey, A. (2020). Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients, 12(1), 228. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12010228
NLM Tardy AL, Pouteau E, Marquez D, Yilmaz C, Scholey A. Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 16;12(1):228. doi: 10.3390/nu12010228. PMID: 31963141; PMCID: PMC7019700.