Energy Drink is a soft drink containing a high percentage of sugar, caffeine, or another stimulant, typically consumed during or after sporting activity or as a way of overcoming tiredness.
Below is the List Of Energy Drinks In Ghana
Help Energy Drink
MatchaBar Hustle Energy (Lemon Lime)
V8 +Energy (Pomegranate and Blueberry)
Guayaki Yerba Mate (Lemon Elation)
Runa Energy Drink (Berry Boost)
KABISA
Rush Energy Drink
5 Star Energy Drink
What is Rush energy drink?
Rush! Energy Drink by Monarch is a citrus-flavored energy drink that almost tastes like a Mountain Dew knock-off.
Abuse Of Energy Drinks In Ghana
We should be worried about the public health consequences of over-dependence on these products – energy drinks and alcohol-based bitters. And are proper quality control checks being done to ensure these products being thrown unto the Ghanaian market are not endangering the health of consumers?
Many Ghanaians now depend on all kinds of energy drinks as though they [energy drinks] were ordinary water. Some of our pregnant women are also noted to be abusing these energy drinks. However, available public health literature shows that common ingredients in energy drinks such as caffeine, glucuronolactone, milk thistle, etc. are considered potentially harmful during pregnancy (babysit, 2017). And yes, a section of the public has taken energy drink addiction to a different level, where they have resorted to taking these energy drinks with bread and other pastries. Some even break their fast with these “purported energy drinks” – that is how far we have gone with the level of abuse.
Probably, Ghanaians seem to be craving for these so-called energy drinks not necessarily to boost their energy level, but because of the high level of sugar content, these drinks come along with.
According to the Christian Women Mirror (Christian Women Mirror, 2011), excessive intake of sugar is dangerous to health. Most of the world’s common diseases – high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, tooth decay, etc. are directly or indirectly linked to regular intake of sugar.
In Ghana, much of our diet contains carbohydrates, the end product of which is glucose [sugar]. When you take in too many carbohydrates and take sugar regularly too, you only succeed in increasing the amount of sugar in your system. And this exposes you to many health hazards.
There is no proof energy drinks work to increase energy through any function other than through the supply of caffeine to the body (babyMed, 2017).
A study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2014), cited by the Guardian in 2017, suggested that energy drinks could cause public health problems. The study maintained that the primary risk of high dependence on energy drinks was from high caffeine levels, which can cause problems such as palpitations [rapid, strong, or irregular heartbeat], hypertension, and in extreme cases, heart failure leading to death.
Many Ghanaians who are trying to lose weight are also contradicting their health behaviour by depending on energy drinks regularly. The fact is that if you are trying to lose weight and you still depend highly on sugar-based energy drinks, you will not make any headway in your weight loss expedition. Energy drinks add extra sugar and calories to your diet unless you depend on sugar-free ones. I might be wrong, but I am yet to sight a sugar-free energy drink on the Ghanaian market.
Who knows if manufacturers of our energy drinks do list the actual ingredients on the nutrition facts label for the consumer’s consideration?
Control the amount of sugar you take. Do not abuse energy drinks; they could be harmful to your health.