With sky-high levels of caffeine, sugar and additives, it should come as no surprise that energy drinks are not good for our health.
But can they also cause some people to go bald?
The answer is yes, according to Turkish hair transplant surgeon Dr. Abdulaziz Balwi, who said he warns his patients to stop drinking altogether.
Many contain ingredients critical to hair growth, including vitamins and minerals, but in the case of “too much of a good thing,” he said consuming excessive amounts can backfire.
“While these energy drinks may be fine in moderation, too much of them can cause a greater risk of outright hair loss or affect overall health,” said Dr Balwi of Elithair in Istanbul.
Dr Abdulaziz Balwi, a hair transplant surgeon at Istanbul’s Elithair Clinic, warned that energy drinks could contribute to hair loss (picture).
“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 condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks hair cells, causing them to fall out in patches.”
Some energy drinks sold in the UK can contain 113 per cent of the recommended intake of vitamin A and 100 per cent of selenium.
Plus, brands like Red Bull, Prime and Monster can have up to 150mg of caffeine, almost double that of black coffee.
While moderate levels of caffeine can promote hair growth, Dr. Balwi said too much can lead to increased stress and hormonal imbalances that can damage hair follicles.
Drinking multiple cans or consuming foods and beverages that also contain these substances in a short period of time can 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 can directly contribute to hair loss, they can also exacerbate other health problems that cause men to go bald.
High sugar content in drinks could contribute to obesity and diabetes, which were previously linked to male hair loss.
Some brands of energy drinks can contain almost 28g of sugar per can or bottle.
With the NHS recommending that adults only consume 30g of free sugars (sugar added to food, from syrups or fruit juices) a day, this means that one energy drink can make up more than 90 per cent of a person’s daily intake.
Dr Balwi also cited a Chinese study of more than 1,000 young adults published in January last year which suggested that men who consumed sugary drinks, including energy drinks, were 42 per cent more likely to experience hair loss.
Energy drinks contain a huge number of ingredients that have powerful effects on the body. Some brands can have up to 160mg of caffeine, almost three times the amount of instant coffee, almost 10 times the level of taurine, amino acids commonly found in meat, fish and eggs like salmon fillet and the same amount of sugar as a full fat cola
While the study suggested this potential link between sugary drinks and hair loss, the authors note that they couldn’t prove that consuming such drinks directly caused people to lose hair.
They also noted that factors such as stress may also play a role in both promoting the consumption of sugary drinks and triggering hair loss, and further studies were needed to reveal this relationship.
It may also be that excessive consumption of energy drinks is an indicator of an unhealthy lifestyle and poor diet, which may contribute to hair loss in general rather than directly triggering it.
Eating too much sugar has been well established to increase the risk of obesity, which in turn can increase the likelihood of serious health conditions such as high blood pressure, as well as some cancers.
Dr Balwi said men should try to limit 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 said.
But British hair transplant surgeons said any suspected link between energy drinks and hair loss was tenuous at best.
Dr Bessam Farjo of the Farjo Hair Institute said that although energy drinks could theoretically cause hair loss, this had 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—consumption of energy drinks in moderation does not pose a significant risk for hair loss.”
He added that while metabolic issues like diabetes can indeed contribute to hair loss, they need to be addressed specifically and not focused on energy drinks.
“A moderate consumption of two to three energy drinks a day is unlikely to cause hair loss,” he said.
“The key concern should be the overall impact on health, rather than attributing hair loss directly to energy drinks.”
Dr. Kieran Dayah, lead hair transplant surgeon at Wimpole and Mayfair Hair Clinic, both in London, agreed that the evidence between energy drinks and hair loss is not strong enough at present.
Drinks like Red Bull, Prime and Monster can contain up to 150mg of caffeine. For comparison, a 250ml cup of coffee has around 90mg
“To my knowledge, there is currently insufficient evidence to suggest any link between energy drinks and hair loss,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that excessive consumption of caffeine, vitamin A and selenium can cause problems for your hair.
“As with anything, it can be harmful in too much,” he said.
“These energy drinks have extremely high amounts of stimulants, so it doesn’t sound too far-fetched.”
Dr Dayah said he would advise people to limit their intake of energy drinks in general at this time.
“Everyone is becoming more and more aware of the damage that energy drinks can cause in terms of overall health,” he said.
“If hair problems are another one of them, it adds to the list of reasons to avoid over-consumption.
“If you’re going to have an energy drink, don’t consume more than one a day, stick to NHS guidelines for caffeine and sugar intake.”
An estimated 6.5 million men in the UK suffer from male pattern baldness, compared to around 50 million in the US.
Most men will experience some level of hair thinning by the time they reach their 60s.
However, in some men it occurs much earlier in life, in their 20s and 30s, which can cause self-esteem issues for some individuals.