Hey guys!
Do you think one sugar free monster energy drink a day is bad? I’m a medical assistant and nursing student, so it really helps me get through multiple 12 hour shifts a week and school. Pretty much everyone I work with drinks them. I’m worried they’re causing stomach problems and caffeine dependence.
What do you guys think?
As with everything in nutrition good and bad is relative. You need to have a holistic approach with food, look at the whole day not just one meal (in my opinion). I don’t drink energy drinks but I drink espresso and I can tolerate it without syrup. I’d keep on drinking them if you’re not adding other forms of caffeine and gut irritating foods in your diet. But try coffee and see what happens.
But if you are worried about something then stop drinking them. It’s hard for me to recommend anything since I don’t work 12 hour shifts.
Edit: if you swap out energy drinks with Starbucks drinks that are loaded with syrup and sugar you’re better off drinking the energy drinks which you enjoy and find effective.
Years ago, a PhD organic chemist with like 30 years of food/bev consulting experience told me that she believed habitual consumption of artificial sweeteners commonly found in sugar-free beverages is worse for your body than consuming table sugar in moderation. She said that when you consume artificial sweeteners, the sweetness signals to your brain that you must have consumed sugar. Your body then proceeds to instinctively burn sugar wherever it can find it in you body. Two places humans store a significant amount of sugar are in the eyes and knees. This chemist told me that she believed growing rates of juvenile arthritis and vision issues may in part be attributed to increased consumption of sugar-free beverages by young children.
I am not an expert in nutrition or chemistry by any means. Since this woman was, I took her word for it and have generally avoided sugar-free sweeteners ever since. I get by just fine with natural caffeine sources like unsweetened green tea and yerba mate. Was she full of shit? Has science in recent years debunked that theory? I don’t know.