With very high levels of caffeine, sugar and additives, it should be no surprise that energy drinks do not benefit our health.
But could they also cause some people to go bald?
The answer is yes, according to Turkish hair transplant surgeon Dr. Abdulaziz Balwi, who says he warns his patients to stop drinking completely.
Many of them contain ingredients critical for hair growth, including vitamins and minerals, but in the case of “too much of a good thing,” he said, consuming excessive amounts could have the opposite effect.
“Although these energy drinks may be fine in moderation, in excess they can cause an increased risk of hair loss directly or affect overall health,” said Dr. Balwi of Elithair in Istanbul.
Dr Abdulaziz Balwi, a hair transplant surgeon at the Istanbul-based Elithair clinic, warned that energy drinks could contribute to hair loss (file image)
‘Excessive intake of energy drinks is a predisposing factor to the toxicity of certain elements such as caffeine and selenium.
“Selenium and vitamin A are toxic to hair when taken in high doses and can also trigger alopecia areata, a disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks hair cells, causing it to fall out in patches” .
Some energy drinks on sale in the UK can contain 113 per cent of a person’s recommended intake of vitamin A and 100 per cent of their selenium.
Additionally, brands like Red Bull, Prime, and Monster can have up to 150 mg of caffeine, almost twice as much as a black coffee.
While moderate levels of caffeine can stimulate hair growth, Dr. Balwi said too much can lead to increased stress and hormonal imbalances that can damage hair follicles.
Therefore, drinking several cans or eating foods and drinks that also contain these substances in a short period of time could cause a person to consume too much and, as a result, suffer potential health consequences, such as hair loss.
He added that while energy drinks could directly contribute to hair loss, they could also exacerbate other health problems that cause men to go bald.
The high sugar content of the drinks could contribute to obesity and diabetes, both of which have previously been linked to hair loss in men.
Some brands of energy drinks can contain almost 28g of sugar per can or bottle.
Given that the NHS recommends that adults consume just 30g of free sugars (sugar added to food, in syrups or fruit juices) per day, this means that a single energy drink can account for more than 90 per cent of the daily intake of a person.
Dr Balwi also cited a Chinese study of more than 1,000 young adults published in January last year that suggested men who consume sugary drinks, including energy drinks, are 42 per cent more likely to lose their hair.
Energy drinks have very high levels of ingredients that have powerful effects on the body. Some brands can have up to 160 mg of caffeine, almost triple that of instant coffee, almost 10 times the level of taurine, an amino acid commonly found in meat, fish and eggs, such as a salmon fillet and the same amount of sugar than a whole Coca-Cola
While the study suggested this potential link between sugary drinks and hair loss, the authors note that they could not prove that consuming such drinks caused people to lose hair directly.
They also noted that factors such as stress could also play a role in both encouraging the consumption of sugary drinks and triggering hair loss, and more studies were needed to unravel this relationship.
It could also be that excessive consumption of energy drinks is an indicator of unhealthy lifestyles and poor diet that may contribute to hair loss more generally rather than triggering it directly.
Eating too much sugar has been shown to increase the risk of obesity, which in turn can increase the chances of serious health problems, such as high blood pressure, as well as certain types of cancer.
Dr Balwi said men should try to reduce their consumption of energy drinks to reduce the risk of baldness.
‘Acceptable consumption is an average of five to seven energy drinks per week. Above this amount there is a risk of serious damage to health,” he stated.
However, British hair transplant surgeons said any alleged link between energy drinks and hair loss is tenuous at best.
Dr Bessam Farjo, of the Farjo Hair Institute, said that while energy drinks could theoretically cause hair loss, this has not yet been proven.
“While it is theoretically possible that energy drinks contribute to hair loss, it is extremely unlikely,” he said.
“From a basic science perspective, there is no established toxic dose of caffeine that directly leads to hair loss; consuming energy drinks in moderation does not pose a significant risk of hair loss.”
He added that while metabolic problems, such as diabetes, could indeed contribute to hair loss, they need to be specifically addressed rather than focusing on energy drinks.
“Moderate consumption of two or three energy drinks a day is unlikely to cause hair loss,” he said.
“The main concern should be the overall impact on health, rather than attributing hair loss directly to energy drinks.”
Dr Kieran Dayah, senior hair transplant surgeon at Wimpole Clinic and Mayfair Hair Clinic, both in London, agreed that the evidence between energy drinks and hair loss was not strong enough at present. .
Drinks like Red Bull, Prime and Monster can have up to 150 mg of caffeine. For comparison, a 250ml cup of coffee has around 90mg.
“There is not enough evidence, to my knowledge, to suggest any link between energy drinks and hair loss at this time,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that there was some logic in why excessive consumption of caffeine, vitamin A and selenium would cause hair problems.
“As with anything, too much can be harmful,” he said.
“These energy drinks contain extremely high amounts of substances to stimulate people, so it doesn’t seem too far-fetched.”
Dr Dayah said that for the time being he would recommend people limit their consumption of energy drinks in general.
“Everyone is increasingly aware of the harm that energy drinks can cause in terms of overall health,” he said.
‘If hair problems are another of them, it is added to the list of reasons to avoid consuming them in excess.
“If you are going to have an energy drink, don’t have several in one day, follow NHS guidelines in terms of caffeine and sugar intake.”
An estimated 6.5 million men in the UK experience male pattern baldness, a figure that rises to around 50 million in the United States.
Most men will experience some level of hair thinning by the time they reach their 60s.
However, for some men it occurs much earlier in life, between their 20s and 30s, which can cause self-esteem issues in some people.