Coffee vs. Energy Drinks - These 6 Differences Will Surprise You

There has been a long-standing debate on whether one should consume coffee or an energy drink for a quick extra boost of energy or heightened mental alertness. While both the drinks offer a quick solution to the lack of energy, which one should a person choose when in a dilemma?

Coffee has been around for centuries and has been consumed by humans for a long time. Energy drinks, on the other hand, are a relatively new craze that is especially popular amongst the younger population. However, promising research has only been done for one of them: caffeine!

Researchers are still finding out about the health consequences that energy drinks can have on us, especially on younger kids.

Here are 6 reasons why you should choose a cup of coffee instead of an energy drink the next time you find yourself in this position

1. Coffee has way less calories than energy drinks do

Energy drinks are notoriously famous for having high amounts of sugar content. It is impossible to regulate one's sugar intake with energy drinks. When the rush is gone one tends to crash again from the sugar in energy drinks.

The effects of coffee, on the other hand, is a regulated caffeine rush, giving you a more sustained energy. Black coffee comes with the added bonus of not having to worry about your calorie count since it has about 0 calories!

2. The caffeine amount is about the same

Have you ever wondered why energy drinks give you a faster kick? It isn’t because energy drinks have more caffeine, the caffeine amount is almost the same as coffee. It is for the simple fact that coffees are sipped whereas energy drinks are gulped down faster.

3. It has no ingredients you don’t know about

The best part about drinking a cup of coffee is that you decide what you want to put into it! You are completely in control of what you ingest. However, this is not the case with energy drinks. They contain a list of ingredients that we normal consumers have never heard of before. Sure, they do contain vitamins like B12 which some might argue is better for your health, but you are probably already ingesting B12 from your normal diet!

4. The taste can be personalised

When drinking coffee, you are in control of the taste of it. You can decide how strong your cup of coffee to be by deciding how much you want to put into a cup. How much milk to add, how much sugar you want is all up to you. In the case of energy drinks, we have to drink what we get, and let’s face it there are not a lot of good tasting energy drinks out there!

5. We know more about coffee

Coffee has been in our lives for a very long time. This has resulted in multiple tests and research done on the short-term and long-term benefits and adverse effects of it. We can safely consume coffee without the imminent risk of side effects as it has been researched. However, the case for energy drinks is not the same. There has been little to no research on the long-term regular consumption of energy drinks.

6. Extremely rare overdoses

There has been a steady incline in the number of overdoses from energy drinks in teens causing adverse health reactions. A study done in 2013, showed how energy drinks can cause more vehement heart contractions. This could be extremely dangerous for people with pre-existing heart conditions. Whereas, historically, the occurrence of overdoses from coffee has been extremely rare.

In Conclusion

Even though the immediate effects of caffeine felt by consumers after having had either an energy drink or coffee can be very similar, the long-lasting effects may vary vastly. The differences between coffee and energy drinks need more research which will help us make more informed decisions in the future. Till the time researchers do what they do best and figure out what we do not know about energy drinks, it is safe to assume that a cup of coffee would be a much better and healthier option for you to get that much-needed boost!