Even drinking two per day seems intense. I’d need to look at the caffeine content again, I think red bull is relatively less, like comparable to a coffee. But monster is a ton.
Comment on elixir of a god
Starski@lemmy.zip 3 days ago
I remember seeing an article not too long ago that went something along the lines of “perfectly healthy man has stroke after drinking energy drink” and I remember thinking oh damn, are they making those things worse? Nope, bro was perfectly healthy, except for the like 6 to 8 energy drinks he was drinking daily, I don’t remember which one but it was like monster or redbull. I can’t help but think, if youre drinking anywhere over even 3 cans of energy drinks a day, how could you possibly believe you’re being healthy. All of these options are trash, drink water, the only reason you “need” caffeine is because you’re already used to drinking it.
JackbyDev@programming.dev 3 days ago
BranBucket@lemmy.world 3 days ago
OBLIGATORY I’M NOT A DOCTOR DON’T TAKE THIS AS MEDICAL ADVICE FIRST.
Monster runs about 160-180 mg per can depending on variety. Coffee is about 80-120 per cup, depending on the bean and roast.
A 400-500 mg dose of caffeine daily is considered safe for most people according to Wikipedia. So 2-3 Monsters a day for a heavy caffeine user isn’t a crazy amount.
Now, when you look at Bing and Reign, which IIRC have around 350 mg per can, those numbers go up real fast, but you’re still not going to get close to the approximately ten grams of caffeine needed for it to be a lethal dose, you’d puke long before you got that much liquid in your stomach.
Also, the physical effects of caffeine abate over time. Users build up a tolerance fairly quickly, and it gets to the point that the twitchiness, elevated BP, and higher heart rate aren’t really present like they’d be for someone who doesn’t consume a lot of them. Again, paraphrasing Wikipedia here. So a moderate user probably isn’t on the verge of an infarction at all times, as the media seems to enjoy impling.
It’s mostly just soda pop with extra caffeine, and caffeine is bitter, so they jack up the sugar content to compensate. That’s a bigger issue IMO.
But overall, there are likely millions, if not billions of people who down two or three energy drinks daily and don’t drop dead. So while the caffeine numbers seem extreme, it’s really the sugar, artificial sweetners, and probably unhealthy lifestyle that goes with being a chronic user that will cause the most damage over time.
Gonzako@lemmy.world 3 days ago
damn I’ve only drank more than two a day when I wanted to pull an allnighter in a lan party
BanMe@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I have to stop and give myself caffeine resets because it’ll creep up over time from 2 cups of decaf a day to 4 cups of full strength, and then 6, and then I’m wondering why my heart flutters when I go to bed. I don’t touch energy drinks but I’m guessing it’s the same, trying to recapture that productive high. Of course coffee is practically free compared to energy drinks…
smh@slrpnk.net 3 days ago
I used to self-medicate my ADHD with coffee. I could have 12 cups over the course of a work day. My new job doesn’t provide coffee, so now I just use prescription amphetamines.
mika_mika@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Hi! I take my prescription amphetamines but still self medicate with caffeine and nicotine, how did you make the switch instead of just stacking?
smh@slrpnk.net 3 days ago
I tried different prescription meds until I found one that worked for me without bad side effects.
I’m honestly bad at taking my meds, but I take them when I really need to focus on something. But, my current job lets me flit from task to task, so I usually have something novel to work on and so don’t need the meds. I do still take coffee, but only about a large cup a day.
Sorry that’s not more helpful.