Can Energy Drinks Make You Retain Water? (Really?)

The human body needs energy to function. Energy fuels the body’s functions, such as movement and metabolism.

Energy is also needed for the body to produce heat and maintain a normal body temperature. To be precise, energy is needed for nearly every function of the body!

The primary source of energy for humans is their diet. If you consume a diet comprised of poor nutrients that the amount of energy you will get will be poor as well, however, if you consume a diet with rich nutrients then your energy levels will stay high.

For this purpose, brands came up with a beverage solely made for fueling your body with nutrients to provide you the energy you need to get through the day.

But energy beverages have their own side effects which can range from mild to severe. If we talk about the less severe side effects of energy drinks, then one of them could be water retention.

Let’s evaluate this statement a little more in the article below and find out whether water retention is really a side effect of energy drinks and if so, then what could possibly cause this.

So let’s begin our journey!

What is Water Retention?

The stomach is a pouch located in the upper part of the abdominal cavity. It is the location where food is first tasted and then swallowed, where the digestive enzymes are produced, and where the first portion of food is stored for later use.

Sometimes, the stomach is the only part of the body that feels full after eating a small amount of food. This is called the stomach sensation of satiety.

However, when your stomach feels full and bloated for longer even when you have not eaten anything solid, then this could be water retention in your stomach.

Water retention in the stomach is commonly referred to as bloating. It’s a common side effect of many medications and dietary supplements, such as coffee, certain tea varieties, soda, certain foods, and even certain toiletries such as bubble baths.

Water retention leading to bloating
Water retention can be caused by various factors

What are the Causes of Water Retention?

Water retention in the stomach is a common condition that occurs when the amount of liquid in the stomach increases.

This can be caused by various factors, including drinking too much water, eating too much salt, and eating a high-sodium diet.

In some cases, however, water retention in the stomach could be a symptom of a more serious medical condition.

A few causes of water retention can be:

  • Pregnancy
  • High sodium diet
  • Certain medications
  • Kidney Diseases
  • Sedentary lifestyle
  • Deficiency of certain vitamins

Does Caffeine Cause You to Retain Water?

Caffeine is a stimulant that is found in many beverages and manufactured products. It’s often used as a beverage additive to enhance flavor and improve the taste of a product.

Apart from enhancing the flavor and taste of the drink, caffeine can actually help with certain mental activities such as improving your memory and sharpening your focusing and concentration skills.

As far as the question, of whether caffeine in energy drinks causes retention or not, is concerned, then let’s discuss it briefly.

Caffeine is a diuretic, which simply means that it induces the process of urination. This will automatically make you think that since caffeine is a diuretic, it’s going to expel all that excess water.

However, when you drink caffeinated beverages a lot, then instead of expelling water, it starts accumulating it. Weird, right?

Too much caffeine can cause dehydration, and when your body is dehydrated, so your colon starts absorbing more water than usual, this can actually lead to water retention.

A piece of honest advice? Stay away from highly caffeinated beverages, they are not really your friend.

Caffeine
Caffeine can contribute to Water retention.

Do Energy Drinks Make You Bloated?

Energy drinks can make you bloated due to various reasons.

These drinks are composed of soda and caffeine, and both of these ingredients can make you bloated.

Sodas can cause gas in your stomach, which definitely makes you bloated, other than that, it also contains sugar, which is another ingredient to make you bloated.

Apart from soda and sugar, drinking a high amount of caffeine can cause you to become bloated by causing water retention.

Does Energy Drink Make You Gain Weight?

Energy drinks can make you gain weight; however, this can vary according to the type of energy drink you are consuming.

Most energy drinks contain a high amount of sugar, this sugar can add to your daily calorie count significantly, which can make you gain weight.

However, if you consume these energy drinks within a limit, choose the right kind of energy drink with less sugar, and stay active, then you can avoid gaining weight through these energy drinks.

What Happens When You Drink Energy Drinks Every Day?

You can consume energy drinks every day, and I guess that does not pose any threat to your health. However, the main thing you should keep in your mind is that do not to consume highly sugary drinks or highly caffeinated drinks.

If you consume drinks, which contain too much caffeine, then eventually you are going to develop caffeine dependence; this can have negative effects on your body because if you’ll not get your daily caffeine dose then you might experience the following symptoms:

  • Headaches.
  • Tiredness.
  • Difficulty concentrating.
  • Nausea.
  • Muscle pain.
  • Irritability.

Whereas, prolonged consumption of sugary beverages can lead to weight gain, diabetes, blood pressure, and many other health problems.

Caffeine side effects
Nausea, headache, stomach aches, and water retention could be a few side effects of caffeine

Will you Lose Weight if you Stop Drinking Energy Drinks?

Energy beverages contain sugar as a stimulant in them and for the sweet taste, obviously. However, this sugar is a foe rather than a friend, because it does not provide any nutritional benefit to the consumer.

Instead of providing any nutritional benefit, unchecked sugar consumption makes you gain a significant amount of weight.

If you are consuming sugary energy drinks daily, then you might gain weight and by quitting them, you can lose weight for sure.

What Happens When you Quit Energy Drinks?

Nothing really happens if you quit energy drinks and you are not habitual of drinking energy drinks, however, if you are someone who drinks highly caffeinated energy drinks daily then it might cause minor issues for you.

Consumers who are habitual of drinking highly caffeinated energy drinks daily can actually develop a caffeine dependence, and when you do not get the dose of your daily caffeine, then you are most likely to experience withdrawal symptoms of caffeine which might include:

  • Irritability
  • Mood swings
  • Headaches
  • Body aches
  • Difficulty in concentrating

How Do You Debloat?

Walking, sitting, or sleeping with a bloated stomach can be uncomfortable, however, you can debloat yourself with a few easy things such as:

  • Take a walk
  • Do yoga poses
  • Try abdomen massage
  • Try digestive enzyme supplements
  • Keep yourself hydrated

Can Energy Drinks Damage Your Stomach?

Energy drinks can cause damage to your stomach. This is not going to happen overnight, but the prolonged use of energy drinks can definitely cause damage.

Energy carbonated drinks can cause gastritis, and this gastritis can lead your stomach to become inflamed and might cause ulcers, discomfort, and even bleeding.

Energy drinks are heavily acidic and can cause a lot of gut irritation. You don’t want to have a lot of energy drinks all the time in your stomach lining like your intestines, it ends up having a bad effect on your body.

Does Red Bull Make You Fat?

Red Bull is a highly sugary drink, if you consume it regularly and you have a sedentary lifestyle then it is possible that Red Bull can make you fat.

The sugar and caffeine content of Red Bull can be observed below:

Can SizeSugarCaffeine
8.4 fl. oz26g77.4mg
12 fl. oz37g110.7mg
16 fl. oz49g147.6mg
Caffeine and Sugar Content of Red Bull

The limit of sugar should be 24 grams for females per day and 36 grams per day for males, and one should not consume more than that.

However, it is quite visible, that even the 8.4 fl. oz can of Red Bull contains 26 grams of sugar, which is too much.

Red Bull
Red Bull can cause weight gain

What Energy Drink is the Healthiest?

Personally, I would not suggest any energy drink to be healthy, because each type of energy drink poses its own threats to health.

However, if you are wondering about energy drinks, which are better than their counterparts, then you consider buying plant-based energy drinks, which contain natural ingredients rather than artificial ingredients which can be harmful to you.

What is the Best Energy Drink for Weight Loss?

It should be kept in mind that energy drinks do not induce weight loss. However, you can consume these drinks when you are on a diet and they will not contribute any extra calories hence you are not likely to gain weight.

There are many energy drinks, which contain low calories and natural sweeteners. A few energy drinks, which you can try for weight loss are:

Do Zero-Calorie Energy Drinks Make You Gain Weight?

Zero-calorie energy drinks do not cause weight gain.

However, there is new research that suggests that consuming energy drinks, which have artificial sweeteners present in them can cause your body to accumulate more fat, which might make you obese.

Do Energy Drinks Dehydrate You?

Energy drinks are not likely to dehydrate you, in fact, there are many mineral energy drinks that can hydrate you.

However, the presence of caffeine can make this drink a diuretic, which means that it can lead to frequent urination. Even though this is not going to cause dehydration, consuming high dosages of these drinks might lead to dehydration.

What Do Energy Drinks Do to Your Kidneys?

Energy drinks can have serious side effects on your body. Your kidney is one of the most important organs of your body, and putting it at the risk by consuming harmful energy drinks is not worth it!

Yes, you read it right. Energy drinks can cause harmful effects on your body. These carbonated drinks can lead to stone formation in your kidney.

Do Energy Drinks Cause Kidney Stones?

Yes, energy drinks can be bad for your kidney and can cause kidney stones and other kidney diseases like kidney infection and even kidney failure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlFnHKS2dRI
Water retention remedies.

Final Verdict

  • Energy drinks can cause water retention and this can lead to a feeling of discomfort and bloating.
  • However, you can debloat your stomach and get rid of water retention easily.
  • Excessive amounts of caffeine can cause dehydration, and when your body is dehydrated, so your colon starts absorbing more water than usual, this can actually lead to water retention.
  • Energy drinks don’t cause weight loss but they’ll not contribute any extra calories hence you are likely to gain weight.
  • There are some other side effects of your energy drinks as well, such as, it can cause kidney problems.

Other Articles:

Can Energy Drinks Make You Ill? (Learn More)

Can Energy Drinks Make Your Kidneys Hurt? (Yes or No)

Can Energy Drinks Make You Taller? (Fact or Rumor)

Tim

I like to write about energy drinks and play video games. I hope the information that I share on this website is useful for you.

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