The Best And Worst Energy Drinks For Your Health

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Whether you're really feeling it from a long, hard week, or need a little something extra to power through a workout, grabbing an energy drink when you need a pick-me-up is something most people have done. The worldwide energy drink market has reached almost monstrous proportions, with a total value of over $134 billion in 2021 — almost $14 billion of which was spent in the U.S. alone (per Statista).

However, energy drinks have remained controversial pretty much since they went mainstream. With the astronomical levels of caffeine, sugar, and additives that some energy drinks can contain, drinking too many or too frequently can have some seriously unpleasant (and potentially dangerous) side effects, as Eat This, Not That highlights. It's important to remember, though, as Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's primary care sports medicine physician Larry Nolan told U.S. News & World Report, "Any drink that contains a stimulant compound" is in effect an energy drink, and there are plenty of choices out there that are healthier than some others.

The monolithic Monster Energy brand might be one of the most well-known energy drinks out there, but let's be real –- just because it's popular doesn't always mean that something's good for you. Such is the case with Monster Energy drinks. Some nutritional aspects of these beverages make Monster far and away one of the unhealthier choices out there today, with one of their 24-ounce cans providing 27 grams of sugar (via InstaCart).

Monster Energy drinks also contain salt and a caffeine load of 160 milligrams per can, according to Caffeine Informer. The drinks also contain a host of further troublesome ingredients such as citric acid, which is guaranteed to give your dentist a headache, particularly in combination with Monster's high sugar load. "Imagine the collision of citric acid with sugars, and you have the perfect storm for tooth enamel demineralization and/or tooth decay," Anastasia Turchetta, a registered dental hygienist, told The Healthy. Enamel cannot grow back, and once it's gone, you face an increased risk of dental issues, as well as teeth that are way more yellow and stain-prone, says Turchetta.

Roughly a quarter of all people who buy energy drinks will opt for a can of Red Bull (per Statista). But the reason it is so wildly popular (energy!) is, unfortunately, also the reason why it's one of the unhealthier drinks you can choose.

It's no secret that the caffeine content of Red Bull is pretty high, at 80 milligrams in an 8.46-ounce can and 114 milligrams in a 12-ounce can, according to Caffeine Informer. It's worth pointing out that the FDA has advised that up to 400 milligrams of caffeine daily is safe. However, as clinical dietitian Jessica Mason told Eat This, Not That, "Increased intake of caffeine can lead to increased blood pressure and increased heart rate." Mason additionally states that drinking Red Bull frequently over time can lead to poorer heart health. To add to this, individuals more susceptible to the effects of caffeine — such as children and adolescents, pregnant people, and those with caffeine sensitivity — may be more susceptible to the effects of caffeine on the cardiovascular system, according to a review by the National Academy of Sciences. In short: Red Bull may give you wings, but it may also give you problems that you don't want.

Rockstar energy drinks may come with a super-cool name and a super-fast boost of energy, but that's pretty much where the positives end. When it comes to nutrition, these drinks are bad news, primarily due to their sugar content. As Open Food Facts shows, in addition to a number of additives, a standard Rockstar energy drink contains 31 grams of sugar per 240-milliliter serving. Considering that there are two servings per 480-milliliter can, and you're looking at 62 grams of sugar.

Now, you don't need to be a health guru to know that's a lot. Even if you stick to just a single serving (is there, like, a version of a champagne stopper for cans, we wonder?) that's a lot more than the 6 to 9 teaspoons of added sugars that the American Heart Association recommends as the upper daily limit for Americans. Keeping an eye on your added sugar intake is vital as excess consumption is linked to various health effects that can increase your risk of stroke or heart attack (per Harvard Health Publishing).

Mountain Dew's energy drink line, Rise, is one of the least healthy products available on the market. On the surface, these drinks seem to be a better choice than other sugar-laden products, with just 4 grams of sugar in the 16-ounce cans, according to the nutritional information for Mountain Dew Rise Tropical Sunrise (via PepsiCo Beverage Facts). This is offset, however, by the wildly high caffeine level of the drink, an eye-watering 180 milligrams per serving.

It's also worth considering where the flavor and color of drinks come from, and with Mountain Dew Rise, the sources aren't great. According to Nicole Avena, the assistant professor of neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Mountain Dew Rise "contains multiple artificial sweeteners (aspartame and sucralose) and colors (yellow 5)" (via Eat This, Not That). Avena pointed out that artificial coloring is of particular concern due to a potential research-based link between yellow 5 and hyperactivity in children.

With a name like "Rip It Power" you can expect this drink to provide a huge boost to your energy levels, and a glance at Rip It Power's nutritional information confirms this. Actually, it arguably provides a little too much, with a huge 51 grams of sugar per can, per Nutritionix. That's 102% of your daily recommended intake for a single serving, as the nutritional label points out. And that's before the sky-high 160 milligrams of caffeine you'll also ingest when drinking it.

If that wasn't enough to cause concern, registered dietitian and co-creator of the "Happy Eating Podcast" Brierley Horton named Rip It as the least healthy energy drink out there in an article for Eating Well. While Horton does point out that Rip It's caffeine content doesn't exceed the recommended limit, she also noted that there are way better choices out there for an energy boost –- like a simple black coffee.

Natural Bang Energy Drinks, on the surface, look like a pretty good option for an energy boost, boasting no sugar and no artificial coloring according to their website. To add to this, the caffeine they use in their drinks is, as they point out, derived from actual coffee beans instead of produced synthetically. But the level of caffeine in their drinks? Well, it's ... a lot.

Natural Bang contains a daunting 250 milligrams of caffeine per 16-ounc can, way more than half of the upper recommended daily allowance outlined by the FDA. This is enough to give the assistant professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine Nicola Avena pause (via Eat This, Not That). While Avena did reiterate a fairly positive view of its ingredients list and sugar-free nature, she asserted that the high caffeine levels in Natural Bang "can cause adverse side effects such as jitters, nausea, heart palpitations, and even vomiting," depending on how tolerant you are to caffeine.

This drink is Full Throttle in name and in nature — when it comes to ingredients, it seriously doesn't hold back. This energy drink contains a bevy of ingredients that push it into wildly unhealthy territory, the most obvious being its enormous sugar content, at 58 grams per serving for its citrus and blue agave flavors (per Full Throttle). The amount of sugar is so enormous, in fact, that registered dietitian Trista Best added the drink to the top of her "worst list" (via Eat This, Not That).

Not only that, but the sugar in the drink comes largely from high fructose corn syrup, an artificial sugar source that if consumed in excessive quantities can increase your likelihood of fatty liver disease, diabetes development, and inflammation, according to Healthline. Full Throttle also contains a pretty large 160 milligrams of caffeine per can, almost half of your recommended daily upper limit, according to the FDA, in addition to artificial flavors, preservatives, and colorings.