Deadly energy drinks warning from ex-addict
A Killingworth man who drank up to five litres of energy drink a day is warning others about the risks.
Jonathan Ord has lost over 11 stone in the past year - after being told his lifestyle could kill him.
The 44 year old was drinking five or six bottles of the caffeine fuelled drink some days, equal to more than 15 cups of coffee
His habit came in at around 1500mg of caffeine on his worst days, when your average cup of instant coffee is just 93mg.
At 28st10 Jonathan decided to turn his life around.
Jonathan said:
“I would probably have about half a dozen a day at most, especially if I was feeling a bit sniffly. If I had a cold or something that’s when I tended to think I needed something to give me a boost. It was addictive.”
“I thought I was just giving myself a boost, waking up in the morning, helping with my concentration. In reality I was probably heading the other way.”
“I was putting on weight and I think I was in denial about how heavy I was and the risks I was causing to my health. I was heading for an early grave.”
Professor Paula Moynihan, who covers Nutrition and Oral Health at Newcastle University, said:
“For most cans on energy drinks, one can will contain more than the maximum daily amount of sugar that you should be having. They’re not good for your health, they’re not good for your body weight and they’re not good for your teeth.”
“If you’re having several a day you are fuelling your body with caffeine and that’s going to increase your heart rate which can’t be good.”
“We need better awareness about what they contain, how much sugar they contain, how much body weight you could put on… if you had four cans a day you’re having over 500 calories, that’s a quarter of the calories an average woman would have daily.”