When it comes to providing the most nutritious breast milk, drinking certain beverages has been done under a watchful eye. Although coffee can be known to cause fussiness in newborns, drinking caffeine is perfectly fine in most cases.
Not everyone is a fan of coffee throughout the day. Some people prefer a colder, carbonated energy drink or the quick effects from a concentrated dose. I’ve researched this and below is a break down of the unique compositions of popular energy brands and how they work. Whether or not they will affect your baby is a personal judgement call.
Top 3 Energy Drinks
Red Bull has all the usual stuff inside. Caffeine, B-vitamins… you know the drill Red Bull also has a high concentration of Taurine. Taurine is an amino acid that is normally found in the body that helps regulate heart beats and muscle contractions. Although no one really knows what effect Taurine has as a drink additive, the average person already has about 70 times the amount found in a single Red Bull. Add it to the 80 milligrams of caffeine and sugar water and you have a seemingly effective energy drink.
Monster energy drinks are very similar (carbonated sugar water), but Monster drinks have the added touch of ginseng. Ginseng is known to reduce stress, boost energy levels, and increase memory much like caffeine. And in addition to Taurine, Monster has L-Carnitine: another amino acid naturally found in the body. L-Carnitine can increase metabolism and helps with weight loss during exercise.
Rockstar energy has the highest amount of caffeine at 160 milligrams per 16-ounce can. It also has a base of sugar water and includes everything mentioned above (Taurine, Ginseng, B-viatmins). Rockstar energy drinks also have a ton of Guarana, a caffeine-rich plant native to Brazil. Jitters, restlessness or nervousness, a boosted heart rate, more frequent urination, insomnia, appetite loss, headaches, nausea and heartburn are common symptoms due to the high amounts of caffeine associated with Guarana.
Energy Shots
The most popular energy shot is 5-hour ENERGY®. 5-hour ENERGY® shots are my personal favorite because they take very little effort (I don’t like having to chug a whole drink to get energized) and the shots don’t give me jitters. Vitamin B6 is the main component of 5-hour ENERGY® and just happens to be an important nutrient for normal behavioral development in infants. B-vitamins helps milk production, encourages feelings of well-being, and increases energy levels by converting sugar to energy. A 5-hour shot contains 40 milligrams of vitamin B6. It is not recommended to take more than 50 milligrams of B6 a day.
Energy Drops
MIO Energy drops are a drink flavoring that adds caffeine and B-vitamins to your everyday glass of water. When diluted properly, MIO gives you 60 milligrams of caffeine, which is 20 less milligrams than a Red Bull. The average cup of coffee has 95 milligrams of caffeine.
The similarities of the labels on energy products can be quite confusing. Generally speaking, all forms of caffeine are not as dangerous as we were led to believe and B-vitamins are actually a great, normal part of functioning as a breastfeeding parent! If energy drinks are your thing, start small and kick today’s butt!
Thank you for writing this informative article. I had just drank 1/2 of a 5 hour energy shot and wa worried I was going to affect my child negatively by breastfeeding afterward. America has such a strange attitude toward breastfeeding as if you have to be a martyr and never enjoy anything and avoid spicy food, processed anything, dairy, the occasional cup of coffee, etc and I believe that attitude really discourages a lot of women from breastfeeding.
I’m curious how it went after drinking the 1/2 of a 5 hour energy?? I got one this morning and was thinking of drinking 1/2 of it to be safe and test the waters. Did t affect your baby or your milk supply?? Thank you!!