Energy drinks are becoming increasingly sought-after; however, their consumption is also alarming, as they can harm your health. According to a few studies, overconsumption of energy drinks can lead to an increased risk of cancer.

However, a recent study published in the journal Nature has examined a connection between leukemia, a kind of blood cancer, and taurine, a naturally occurring amino acid that is added to Red Bull, Monster Energy, and a slew of other popular energy drinks.

The study says even though it may look like taurine does spike your risk of cancer, the research did not actually include any humans. The trials were conducted on mice, and through that process, they found that at least in those mouse models, leukemia cells used taurine to fuel their growth, making a “very aggressive cancer slightly more aggressive.

According to experts, the findings are quite different from the fact that taurine can cause cancer. At no point did the researchers give healthy mice or healthy people taurine to see whether they developed leukemia. “We have no evidence for that,” said Dr. Jeevisha Bajaj, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Genetics at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. However, Dr. Bajaj said the research does hold promising takeaways, and more studies are needed to prove the same. However, scientists have been able to find that blocking cancer cells from using taurine for growth could be one way to treat leukemia.

According to experts, even though the study provides an in-depth insight into how you can get leukemia, it is probably not needed to switch your diet just based on these findings.

Taurine is not exclusively found in energy drinks, as your body also produces taurine. However, amino acids play an important role in many bodily processes, as they help support the nervous and immune systems to regulate cellular function. Taurine is also naturally found in meat, seafood, and dairy products, and apart from energy drinks, it is also added to protein powders and nutritional supplements, as it can help enhance athletic performance.

And so, experts call for the need to wait until the trials are conducted on humans to draw firm conclusions about what the results would mean for the public.

A few side effects of drinking too many energy drinks can lead to:

Too much consumption of energy drinks can raise the heart rate and blood pressure levels, potentially straining your heart and contributing to irregular heartbeats and even heart failure.

The high caffeine content in energy drinks can cause anxiety, nervousness, and sleep disturbances.

Energy drinks irritate the stomach lining, leading to nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal problems.

Since caffeine is a diuretic, it can increase your urine production, which leads to dehydration, especially when combined with physical activity.