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Energy Drinkis can damage liver

(13 Posts)
Eloethan Thu 03-Nov-16 00:01:53

There was a report in The I today of a man developed a serious liver condition because of excessive consumption of energy drinks - 4 to 5 cans daily. He was a 50 year old builder who was using the drinks to "cope with the physical demands of his job".

It is apparently becoming more common for liver disease to be caused by or linked to the increasing consumption of energy drinks and dietary supplements.

I wonder if this should be more widely publicised, particularly as I often see young people with these energy drinks.

janeainsworth Thu 03-Nov-16 06:32:13

eloethan This is an older article from the I about sugar in energy drinks.
If you scroll to the bottom it gives the sugar content of popular drinks.
Typically one can can contain over 70g of sugar.
Given that the current recommended daily intake is 90g (and some authorities think this is too high and it should be nearer to 40g) it's not surprising that liver disease could be linked to energy drinks. Sugar is metabolised in the liver and turned into fat.

Anya Thu 03-Nov-16 06:38:54

Yes, simply equate the word 'energy' with 'sugar' as that's all they generally add, though some throw in extra caffeine too.

janeainsworth Thu 03-Nov-16 06:41:55

I can't find the article in the i but I think this is the same case
The man's hepatitis thought to be due to high levels of Vitamin B3 in the drinks.

thatbags Thu 03-Nov-16 08:02:37

Um... ignorant question here, but presumably only sugar that is not used to fuel a person's body is turned to fat in the liver? If you burn up all the sugar you eat you won't store extra fat, will you?

And then there's the caffeine, as anya said.

Anya Thu 03-Nov-16 08:23:11

I doubt very much bags that the rest of his diet was an example of healthy choices either. Only an assumption, but suspect these drinks were 'as well as' not 'instead of' hmm

waiting to be shot down in flames for making assumptions

daphnedill Thu 03-Nov-16 09:57:51

It depends, bags. Sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose. Some glucose and all fructose can only be metabolised by the liver.

janeainsworth Thu 03-Nov-16 11:39:59

It's a question of how quickly the carbohydrates are absorbed and metabolised too Bags - the glycaemic index or GI value.
Glucose is 100 and the value of other carbohydrates is relative to that.
So if you have a bowl of 100g of brown rice, which is has a GI value of 55, or a banana, GI value 48, the sugars will be absorbed & digested only half as quickly as 100g of glucose.

But if you have a can of an energy drink containing 80 g sugar, as the worst ones do, that will be rapidly absorbed into your bloodstream and it's unlikely that your body will need that amount of energy at that time. The excess goes straight to your liver where it is stored as fat.
I agree with Daphne, fructose is the worst in this respect and that's why I stay away from fruit smoothies, have only 90 ml of orange juice a day and never eat anything with high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients.

POGS Thu 03-Nov-16 14:01:43

"Doctors at University of Florida College of Medicine, writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, found his symptoms were down to acute hepatitis - a severe disease of the liver"

."The doctors said the most likely cause of his hepatitis was overdose of vitamin B3, known as ' niacin ', which is found in high concentrations in energy drinks."

They wrote: ‘Each bottle of his energy drink contained 40 mg of niacin, or 200 per cent of the recommended daily value and he consumed four to five bottles daily for more than 21 days straight.’

Sorry if this has already been clearly stated.

My nephew was having pains in his stomach and he was told about his habitual drinking of energy drinks, he subsequently stopped and he is positive they were the probable cause of his pain.

thatbags Thu 03-Nov-16 17:15:24

What happens to the fat stored in one's liver when/if one isn't getting enough to eat? Is it broken down and used?

Also, why is fat stored on other parts of the body when one has too much of it? Is it because one's liver can only store a certain amount?

thatbags Thu 03-Nov-16 17:16:27

Interested to see that the liver problem in question was not caused by sugar.

thatbags Thu 03-Nov-16 17:36:28

Just read this about glycogen: "with the primary energy stores being fats held in adipose tissue. Muscle glycogen is converted into glucose by muscle cells, and liver glycogen converts to glucose for use throughout the body including the central nervous system".

If that's correct it seems to confirm what I thought before, which is that fat is stored all over and not that any "excess goes straight to the liver". Some does, no doubt, but just because it's excess in, say, the morning doesn't mean it'll still be excess by late afternoon.

Does that make sense?

janeainsworth Thu 03-Nov-16 17:41:01

there's lots of info on the web bags but this article sums it up quite well.

Basically your body uses up its stores of glucose from the liver & muscles.

Then it breaks down your stored fat.

Then it breaks down the protein.