Each and every day, we are forced to try and squeeze more work hours, and more efficiency out of each day, all the while trying to maintain our exercise routine so we don’t croak before we see 50.

Gone are the days when people would drink three pots of cover over the course of the day to stay focused.  Here are the days of the energy drink and its 9 billion dollar industry.

The industry leads us to believe that by drinking these energy drink elixirs you will be given the ability to maintain your focus and be able to increase your productivity or your sports performance by leaps and bounds.  Unfortunately, the energy drink industry for the most part is fuelled by capitalism and not by your health.

For those of you who are hammering energy drinks, really take a step back and think about what you are putting into your body on a daily basis, these drinks could be potentially causing you long term health issues.

Ridiculous amount of Sugar

Have you ever taken a look how much sugar is in one can of Rockstar or Redbull?  The immense amount of sugar is responsible for many issues including elevated blood sugar, insulin spikes, weakening of the immune system as well as the onset of obesity.

Oh what is that you say? You are drinking the sugar free version? Well, you might not be getting fat, and you might not be wreaking havoc on your blood sugar levels, but it is no secret that there are long term side effects associated with Aspartame.  Have fun remembering your name when you hit 70!

Energy Crash

So you need a little energy to help get you through the day? What do you do, reach for your run of the mill can of Redbull or Rockstar and get a monster caffeine rush that lasts about an hour before you hit a wall.  Once you hit the peak of your caffeine buzz it is time to introduce yourself to the good old caffeine and sugar crash.

Your caffeine levels have tapered off and your blood sugar is so low your body is prepared to go into a diabetic coma.  Unless you are drinking an all natural healthy energy drink like Xowii, this is the point where you either need to pound back another glass of caffeinated sugar or allow your productivity to crash with your energy levels.

Makes you wonder if energy drinks are really the answer for all your productivity needs huh?

Got Meth Anybody?

Everybody loves a meth junky right? Well thats what most people act like after consuming 200mg or more of caffeine.  While not all energy drinks have 200mg of caffeine, many of the newer drinks are pushing the limits on caffeine, and for the most part, people are not going to want anything to do with a bumbling idiot who is talking two million words per minute.

Anxiety

Ever wonder why your girlfriend’s mom really pisses you off after a long day full of energy drinks?  Well my friend, chances are you are experiencing anxiety which after awhile causes every last little thing to piss you off.  Also, anxiety causes every last little thing to build up in the back of your mind until you are ready to either explode from anger or have a nervous breakdown due to your mentally exaggerated stress.

Caffeine Withdrawals

So your week starts out with a couple Red Bulls and ends with a case of Xenergy drinks with 200mg+ of caffeine per can.  After your high performance week, along comes the weekend which is supposed to be down time.  Instead of being able to relax on your couch and chill like a normal human being, a nasty headache takes the place of down time.  After a five day streak of pounding back half a gram of caffeine a day, your body isn’t ready to call it quits.  For you my friend, it means your head shall be pounding all day until you find that sweet sweet can of Full Throttle to guzzle.  Sweet, we have energy again, I guess we should just keep the fridge fully stocked full of energy drinks for the weekends since you are now officially an addict.

I’ve personally tried quitting coffee a few times, and let me tell you it is actually pretty hard, I can’t imagine having to quit the caffeine demons that are energy drinks.

Glow in the Dark Piss

I’m not sure if this one is really a bad thing or actually kind of cool, but after pounding back a few cans of energy drink, your body has no use for all the excess Vitamin B you’ve just consumed so in order to get it out of your body you will find your self with some very interesting neon yellow glow in the dark piss. If you are lucky it might also smell like ammonia.. but that is the cherry on top.

Before I close down this article, I should let you know that I was a pretty heavy energy drink users for years.  Three Rockstar Energy drinks a day was nothing short of normal for me.  While I can’t throw stones while living in a glass house, I’ve switched my addiction from energy drinks to Coffee.  Hopefully a few cups of coffee is never found to causes colon cancer or something or I guess I’m screwed.  Good luck on quitting energy drinks!