Excessive consumption of caffeinated functional drinks may cause addiction and mental disorders

Background news

Recently, Red Bull drinks have experienced the storm of getting off the shelves and getting on the shelves. The official website of the State Drug Administration said: "as to whether the simultaneous use of sodium benzoate and caffeine in Red Bull beverages will be harmful to health, the expert group has demonstrated that the two raw materials are used in accordance with the approved amount of use. in line with the relevant national regulations; consumers are safe to use in accordance with the appropriate population, eating methods and consumption requirements marked on the label."

Although safety has been confirmed, he Rihui, director of the Department of Psychology and Addiction treatment Center of the Guangdong Armed Police Corps Hospital, said: "in fact, the real risk of drinking energy drinks is that their caffeine content is too high. Long-term heavy use may lead to addiction, or even some mental disorders." It is reported that every 250 milliliters of Red Bull contains 50 milligrams of caffeine, twice as much as cola, and its content is also higher than most coffee and tea.

Long-term high-dose caffeine intake can lead to mental disorders, which is a clear conclusion in pharmacology. He once received a case of addiction to Red Bull abuse two years ago. He was a 16-year-old boy in Guangzhou. Because of his special physical condition, he could not drink much water. He usually drank Coke, Red Bull and other drinks to quench his thirst. Later, he became addicted to Red Bull and drank more and more. Four years later, he drank an average of 10 bottles of 250ml Red Bull a day. At the time of seeing a doctor, he had obvious mental symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations and delusions of being victimized. Doctors ruled out other causes through consultation and finally confirmed that it was caffeine causing trouble.

According to he Rihui, there are very few such cases, and there is no need to panic. There is no problem for ordinary people to drink occasionally, but don't drink in large doses for a long time. There is no consensus on the reasonable dose of caffeine. It is recommended that adults drink no more than 300 milligrams per day, and the safe dose for teenagers is even lower. Studies have shown that teenagers taking more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day can cause symptoms such as impatience, tension, tremors, insomnia and headaches. Long-term use can lead to high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and so on.

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Wine caffeine is life-threatening.

At the end of 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a statement saying it was unsafe to add caffeine to alcoholic beverages. At present, there have been records of young people dying and seeking medical treatment after drinking high levels of caffeine and alcohol. Australian health officials also said that functional drinks that contain a lot of caffeine and mixed with alcoholic beverages can do the same harm.

Because both caffeine and alcohol have reactions that make the heart beat faster. Among them, caffeine mainly affects the human nervous system, while alcohol has the effect of dilating blood vessels. When the two are mixed, the excitement will be superimposed, and the drinker's heart discomfort will be stronger. As the heart moves faster, people will feel that the heart beats faster, and the blood circulatory system will also accelerate, resulting in a sudden increase in the burden on the heart.