There has been a recent story about a construction worker that drank 4-5 energy drinks a day for three weeks. Afterwards he was hospitalized with severe liver damage that is thought to be caused by consumption of energy drinks. The man, 50 years old, presented with symptoms such as abdominal pain for two weeks, and later on developed nausea and vomiting. The man thought the symptoms were just a common cold, but he was alarmed when his urine became dark, eyes and skin turned yellow.
The man was consuming so much energy drinks because of long work days. On examination it was revealed that he had severe liver inflammation- hepatitis and liver damage consistent with it. The medical team believes that these symptoms were caused by energy drink consumption.
This was actually the second known case that reported damage to liver by excessive energy drink consumption.
Energy drinks contain niacin, also known as vitamin B3. Each bottle of energy drink the man was consuming had 40 mg of niacin, which is 200% of recommended daily value. His daily intake was about 1600-200 milligrams for period of three weeks. Although this level is below the toxic threshold, the accumulative effect of B3 intake could have played a role in damaging the liver. Energy drinks also contain a lot of caffeine, sugar, taurine, guarana. All of these ingredients are safe to use in small doses. In many energy drinks the amount is much bigger that the daily recommended value. Energy drinks also can cause symptoms like nervousness, insomnia and heart burn. After the initial stimulation has passed, one might feel a sudden loss of energy, what is also known as sugar crush.
After hospitalization the symptoms disappeared after 3 days, and the man was discharged after 6 days of hospitalization. He was instructed to avoid niacin containing products.
Still, the team of doctors working on this case concluded that this case could have been just a coincidence, and there is still not enough research to prove the damaging effect of energy drinks on liver. Specialist believe, this case should be viewed as a warning. Patients with already existing liver disorders should be extra cautious about consuming niacin containing energy drinks. Also awareness has to be raised amongst doctors, and attention has to be paid to what the patients are consuming, in case healthy adults suddenly develop hepatitis.
