Hepatitis can be caused by overdoing energy drinks, as reported in Discover Magazine’s D-brief blog:
But take it easy on those Red Bulls, Monsters and 5-Hour Energy bottles — your liver will thank you. Case in point: Doctors at the University of Florida report what they believe to be the second documented case of acute hepatitis brought on by chugging too many energy drinks.
Those Aren’t Wings
The patient was a 50-year-old, otherwise healthy, man who had been nagged by abdominal pain, vomiting and drowsiness for a few weeks. He brushed it off as flu-like symptoms, but grew alarmed after he noticed darkened urine and signs of jaundice. After visiting with doctors, he was promptly diagnosed with severe acute hepatitis.
Doctors ruled out drugs, alcohol and sexual behavior as causes, and tests revealed this wasn’t a typical viral hepatitis infection. However, levels of B vitamins — used as “energy blends” in beverages — in his liver were literally off the charts. Sure enough, the patient told doctors he had been consuming four to five energy drinks daily, for three weeks straight, to get through his labor-intensive days as a construction worker.
I had a similar experience with Vitamin water and a kidney stone a few years back. The vitamin C, at ridiculously high levels in the nutrient-packed water, acted as an attractor for the material making up the stone (I forget which variant I had).
The lesson? Keep an eye on the constituents of what you’re drinking. A little enhancement is probably not going to hurt you, but when it says 1000% of the daily requirements and you’re chugging two or three a day, watch out.
