Could Energy Drinks Be Good For Your Heart?

Heart health and energy drinks? Two things that seemingly don't go together just might: A newly released study, presented at European Society of Cardiology conference, shows that those who drink energy drinks (and are already healthy individuals) might experience heart-positive effects.

The researchers studied 35 healthy individuals around the age of 25, Bloomberg reports. The participants then drank a drink with caffeine and taurine (two common ingredients in energy drinks); the researchers found that after the drink, the participants had increased function in the left and right ventricles of the heart. The researchers believe that taurine stimulates calcium production in muscles, which is good for the heart. 

Of course, it's noted that the study was only on healthy individuals — no one knows what effect energy drinks could have on those with cardiac disease. Said the main researcher, Dr. Matteo Cameli from the University of Siena, "It will also be important to determine which of the effects are induced in patients with cardiac disease to further our understanding of the potential benefits or risks of energy drink consumption." And of course, too much caffeine can be a bad thing: those who ingest too much of it can experience the sweats and heart palpitations. Although most research points to the unhealthy effects of energy drinks, this is one study we're curious to follow up on. 

(Photo Bunch of Energy Drinks Modified: Flickr/homard.net/CC 4.0)