Energy Drinks Do Not Help Maintain Alcohol's Buzz
from ACER News Release

Does Not Improve Performance
"We surveyed Brazilian nightclubs for people who consumed energy drinks, eventually interviewing 136 people," said Formigoni. "We asked whether they used it with alcohol and, if they did so, what effects they noticed. Most of them – seventy-six percent – used energy drinks with alcoholic beverages … some reporting that they do that in order to 'reduce' alcohol depressant effects while others do it to 'increase' the alcohol stimulant effects. The main effects reported with the combined use were happiness (37 percen), euphoria (30 percent), extroversion (26 percent) and an increase in vigor (24 percent)." The results of that survey, she said, led to the current examination of the combined effects of energy drinks and alcohol on physical performance.

Researchers had 14 healthy, male volunteers complete four sessions, each one week apart, during which they received water, alcohol (1.0 g/kg), an energy drink, and alcohol plus an energy drink prior to performing a cycling test. The cycling test, which lasted until either a maximum heart rate was reached or the volunteer asked to stop, began 60 minutes after ingestion of that week's solution. Sixty minutes after the cycling test, researchers also measured the participants' physiological indicators (VO2, ventilatory threshold, respiratory exchange rate, heart rate and blood pressure), biochemical variables (glucose, lactate, hormones and neurotransmitters) and blood alcohol levels.

Results indicate that the energy drink tested in this study, when consumed jointly with alcohol, did not improve performance (in this case, cycling) or reduce physiological and biochemical alterations induced by alcohol ingestion.

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