Most sports energy drinks send your blood sugar sky high and then push it off a cliff without so much as a safety net.
This risky feat happens because those drinks are composed of simple sugars (sucrose or fructose) or maltodextrin - poor choices for an energy drink because they break down very rapidly, forcing you to re-dose over and over. This creates an unhealthy cycle of a spike and crash in blood sugar.
Check out the roller-coaster effects of these drinks on blood sugar:
As if these products playing it fast and loose with your energy levels isn't enough, they also elevate blood insulin levels, inhibiting your body's ability to burn fat. Athletes who rely on these kinds of sugary products often fail to reach their true potential and face health risks such as obesity, malnutrition and diabetes.