Your Love of Energy Drinks Could Give You Hepatitis

Energy drinks have been tied to all manner of health problems, including irregular heartbeat, seizures, and even sudden cardiac deaths. But now, energy drink enthusiasts can sleep well at night worrying about the risk of catching hepatitis, too. It's officially in the mix of ills that can result from overdoing the ever-growing list of energy drinks, such as Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar—the top sellers, according to Caffeine Informer.

A report by doctors at the University of Florida, published in the British Medical Journal, tracks the sorry story of a 50-year old man who was otherwise healthy—until he started drinking four to five energy drinks per day for about three weeks straight. The guy was a construction worker, just trying to get through some grueling weeks at work.

The patient showed up at the doctor's office with abdominal pain, vomiting, and drowsiness. The doctors got concerned when they took note of his darkened urine and signs of jaundice. Diagnosis? Severe acute hepatitis.

Ruling out the sex, drugs, and alcohol as causes—as well as viral infection—the doctors zeroed in on the patient's report that he had been pounding the energy drinks. Their take-away was that "The development of acute hepatitis in this patient was likely secondary to the excessive energy drink consumption." Not great news for the energy-drink manufacturers of the world.

And, yes: the patient was promptly cured once he laid off the stuff.

The root of the problem, according the Florida doctors, was the high levels of niacin—also known as Vitamin B3—commonly found in energy drinks. For example, 5 Hour Energy typically contains 30 milligrams of niacin, which is quite a lot—140 percent of the recommended daily intake. Multiply that by four or five and you've got a niacin overload. The patient was probably taking in about 160 to 200 milligrams every day for three weeks. Enough to make his liver go kaput, in other words.

And, no, this is not the only reported case of an energy drink causing hepatitis. In a 2011 case, a woman who drank 10 cans of an energy drink also contracted hepatitis; doctors then thought the problem was the niacin in the drinks.

Bottom line: It seems that energy drinks can indeed cause serious problems in high dosages.

Caveat emptor, friends. Caveat emptor.