Anyone keeping an eye on their diet knows their beverage choice can be just as important as what they’re eating. In fact, sugary drinks are commonly cited as a significant concern when it comes to weight gain, diabetes, and other health concerns. Those who only crack the occasional can may not think they have much to worry about health-wise. But it actually might come down to which brand you’re buying, as one doctor says people should avoid Celsius energy drinks “like the plague.”
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Celsius is full of sucralose.
In a recent video posted to TikTok, naturopathic doctor Lila Lewenstein took time to run down the increasingly popular energy drinks from top to bottom. At first, she admits the front labeling appears to be reassuring—including that the beverage has “essential energy,” accelerates metabolism, burns body fat, and contains zero sugar. But once you flip the can over, the back label immediately throws up a red flag with a “sneaky” artificial sweetener known as sucralose.
“It is Splenda, just with a different name,” she explains. “And what we know about sucralose—or Splenda—is that it can really disrupt the gut microbiome, which ironically can then drive inflammation, slow down metabolism, and do all the things that you are hoping to avoid in the first place.”
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Celsius is also loaded with caffeine.
But while this gives Lewenstein pause, another ingredient really sets off alarm bells. She notes that Celsius contains a whopping 200mg of caffeine per can. By comparison, a regular cup of coffee is 90mg each, making this the equivalent of over two cups of joe.
“That is a lot of caffeine!” she warns. “And I know people are drinking this in the afternoon, so then they wonder, ‘Why is my sleep bad? Why am I anxious?’ Because you’re having just a [expletive] ton of caffeine in the afternoon, and it’s not sitting well!”
She goes on to explain that too much caffeine can affect cortisol levels in the body, which in turn can make issues like anxiety worse, affect your sleep, and “tell your body to hold on to fat.”
Too much caffeine can create serious health problems.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) currently advises people to consume no more than 400mg of caffeine per day. However, while the agency limits soft drinks and sodas to just 71mg of caffeine per serving, beverages like Celsius aren’t under the same restrictions since they are classified as dietary supplements, The Guardian reports.
According to the FDA, caffeine overload can cause a host of symptoms, including increased heart rate, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, insomnia or sleep disruptions, anxiety, jitters, upset stomach, nausea, and headache. Unfortunately, regularly overdoing it can also create a vicious cycle.
"An additional problem is that drinks with such high caffeine content can lead to dependency and addiction, causing individuals to consume more energy drinks to maintain the same level of alertness, leading to a cycle of dependence,” Joe Whittington, MD, an emergency medicine specialist, told Pop Sugar. “This is especially true in adolescent populations who may not be aware of the risks."
There isn’t much benefit to the touted nutrients, either.
Celsius also includes a long list of vitamins that could essentially make the beverage a healthy supplement. But Lewenstein argues that this is misleading.
“The dose of each vitamin is so low, you’re probably getting that or more in one balanced meal,” she says.
She goes on to explain that the vitamins in the can are in their “cheapest forms,” particularly the B12, which appears as cyanocobalamin. “It breaks down into cyanide and cobalamin in your body—cobalamin is B12,” she explains. “I like to use more of a methylcobalamin or a hydroxocobalamin, but cyanocobalamin I tend to try to avoid to the best of my ability.”
She adds that while many of the other ingredients in the “proprietary blend,” like taurine, ginger root extract, and green tea extract, are personal favorites, they’re not essential nutrients, and their inclusion doesn’t outweigh the possible negative effects of the beverage.
One Costco worker has an interesting anecdote about Celsius.
Apparently, it’s not just about what’s on the label that should catch your eye. In a recent TikTok video, Costco employee @karla__brown details claims that Celsius is one of the store’s “crazy products.”
“Whenever we had Celsius energy drinks fall over, the liquid would literally eat away at the concrete,” she alleges. “So, you know, imagine what that is doing to your stomach.”
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The takeaway.
Ultimately, Lewenstein admits that indulging in a Celsius beverage every once in a while “won’t kill you.” But she also says the drinks do not provide the healthy boost you might be looking for and could be creating more problems due to the high caffeine content.
“My take is if you’re tired, if you’re stressed, if you’re trying to lose weight, if you’re not sleeping well: Avoid these drinks like the plague,” she warns. “They are not doing you any service. They are not benefiting you in any way—and are potentially driving dysfunction or imbalances in the body.”
