Is it safe to take 5-hour energy?

Discussion in Food & Drink started by vest007 • Dec 21, 2012.

  1. vest007

    vest007Member

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    Some of my friends told me that the 5-hour energy is going to get banned in the US. Also, I just came across this article in the

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    . Is it really safe to consume 5-hour energy?

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  2. classicnyer

    classicnyerActive Member

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    I don't know if it's safe, but I know that it's definitely effective. I used to have an early morning job on the weekends right after having late night shows, and five hour energy definitely kept me afloat during that time.
     
  3. Jessi

    Jessi<a href="http://www.quirkycookery.com">QuirkyCooke

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    I don't think it's any safer or more dangerous than any other energy drinks. The problem does come in more frequently when people don't follow the limits, though. It takes a while to consume an entire Nos, for example, but you could potentially take 3 or 4 of these little shots back to back in the same amount of time. That could lead to major health problems. I don't recommend any of them at all, to be honest.
     
  4. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    They are probably safe when dranked in moderation. I'm not a fan of energy drinks in general. Once I took some caffeine pills in college. They did help me to stay awake all night, but I crashed during my exam and experienced some unpleasant side effects.
     
  5. Ja'cobeC

    Ja'cobeCMember

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    Yes it is safe if you don't go over board with it. I have to be honest they are very effective. I bought a few of them, but I only take it when I really need it. I limit it to one or two a day if I really need it.
     
  6. vest007

    vest007Member

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    So how much 5-hour energy can we take, without the risk of after-effects? I read in the NY times article that a total of 13 people have lost their lives so far, as a result of drinking 5-hour energy.
     
  7. FlanneryCam

    FlanneryCamActive Member

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    I also read the NYTimes article... Since I don't drink energy drinks at all and find them really repulsive in both a physical and social way, my opinion is kinda biased.

    I would never drink one of these. Ever. Take a nap. Sleep more at night. Stick to coffee.
     
  8. JLetterman

    JLettermanNew Member

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    I would think it's safe as far as what I know. However, I tried one again not too long ago, and it just didn't do the trick for me.
     
  9. andrew320

    andrew320Active Member

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    All of these drinks are just as bad as other energy drinks. Heck, they were worse than soft drinks because of the added chemicals that harm your body, especially your heart. With that being said, the government shouldn't be banning anything. Let the market work and it will eventually fade away, but also take into account that if the person wants to be stupid let them be!
     
  10. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    Well pure caffeine is lethal in relatively small amounts. When you're drinking coffee or tea, you're only getting maybe a hundred or so *milligrams* of it at a time. So taking a shot loaded with an undisclosed amount of it doesn't sound particularly safe to do on a regular basis. Also, if you are using products like these to offset a lack of sleep or rest, your body will catch up to you sooner or later. I had to tone down how much coffee I was drinking at work because I couldn't get to sleep at night and hit a point where I basically crashed and was couldn't even concentrate on anything no matter how much coffee I drank to try and perk me back up.
     
  11. Anna Blush

    Anna BlushActive Member

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    I never know if these are healthy or safe but the one thing I do know is that they are extremely effective. After I take them I feel as though I have had a few hundred coffees so therefore I stopped taking them because all this caffine can never be good or safe for your heart.
     
  12. Esperahol

    EsperaholActive Member

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    Well they certainly won't kill you. I've had more than a few of these, but honestly they only help to rub off the edge for me. I am just not sensitive to the effects of caffine and caffine-like products. That said most of these products are not going to kill you - they aren't crack or crank or epi. I don't know man, many of the people most concerned with these products are fine with popping B6, B12, whatever because those are natural. Interestingly enough most energy drinks are also filled with B12 and the like because why not?

    Anyway - these drinks are as safe as pretty well anything else on the market and rather safer than a lot of other things people regularly knock back.
     
  13. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    Well I read that energy drinks that contain taurine affects your kidneys if you drink it for a prolonged period of time, so energy drinks are not really safe if you drink it a lot. And since 13 people have already died drinking that energy drink, then it already serves as a warning for us not to drink it.
     
  14. vpresson

    vpressonWell-Known Member

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    I don't think it really is i have heard a lot of people getting sick after taking this some even have chest pains i don't think any kind of energy boosters like this are safe any how.
     
  15. nick87

    nick87Active Member

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    Short answer: No
    Long answer: Kind of. The deaths tended to result from people who drink entirely too much of it instead of the recommended 1 in 24 hours at most. Either way, it's bad for your system and will harm your body in the long run, but drinking one every once in a while most likely isn't going to kill you immediately unless you have health issues.
     
  16. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    I have my concerns about energy drinks, but people continue to drink them. I have not tried them not even Red Bull, strong coffee is all I need to keep me up. Mountain Dew and coffee will keep me awake for more than 24 hours.
     
  17. dissn_it

    dissn_itActive Member

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    I know that they are not safe for me to drink, I was have a heart murmur so they ar on my "no" list. I think that they are safe for most people to drink as long as they do so in moderation. I think that a lot of the problems we hear about have happened when people are drinking them with alcohol or have drank way too many of them in a short period of time.
     
  18. gabstaff

    gabstaffMember

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    I think you need to keep in mind that the people who lost their lives, how much did they drink? Did they follow the directions? Did they take anything else with it, like caffeine pills, medication?

    I use a 5-hour energy every once in awhile, but I am sure to only take once a day and actually eat something with it, then it will be the most effective, and I am fine the rest of the day.