Seven billion cans of energy drinks are consumed every year. Most energy drinks contain highly questionable ingredients such as taurine, introduced by Redbull over 20 years ago. Red Bull added Taurine to its energy drink 20 years ago. No one ever asked why up til now.
The taurine found in energy drinks is synthetic and can cause medical problems, according to recent studies (see Heart Problems with Synthetic Taurine). The cocktail gets even worse when it is combined with caffeine, as it is often the case in smart drinks (see Taurine and Caffeine).
This might be why some countries such as France, Denmark and Sweden have banned Red Bull from their supermarket shelves. There are similar initiatives to regulate these products in other countries (Australia, Canada).
Energy drinks are great stay alert longer and to get a mental boost. I like to drink them in the morning before my coffee. They help me start my day on a good foot.
What is painful to see sometimes is to what lengths the marketers take over the product development process. Most energy drinks come with so many other toxic ingredients (sorbitol, nutrasweet, sucralose) that the risk of ingestiong these products is greater than the potential mental boost. The same goes for drugs being reviewed by the Federal Government. This is why the FDA is mandated to examine on our behalf, what is good and bad with chemical substances (drugs). Most energy drinks are chemical substances but are not reviewed by the FDA.
So is there another choice? Coffee on its own is not a bad alternative as it doesn't come with all the artificial ingredients found in the Red Bulls and other products. Then there are some natural energy drinks which basically contain a stimulant (coffee, guarana or tea) plus a minimum of other ingredients. I recommend Guyaki Yerba Matte, GURU Energy Drink, and Sambason Energy. In the case of GURU and Sambason, they also have gone the extra step of making them with entirely organic ingredients.
The taurine found in energy drinks is synthetic and can cause medical problems, according to recent studies (see Heart Problems with Synthetic Taurine). The cocktail gets even worse when it is combined with caffeine, as it is often the case in smart drinks (see Taurine and Caffeine).
This might be why some countries such as France, Denmark and Sweden have banned Red Bull from their supermarket shelves. There are similar initiatives to regulate these products in other countries (Australia, Canada).
Energy drinks are great stay alert longer and to get a mental boost. I like to drink them in the morning before my coffee. They help me start my day on a good foot.
What is painful to see sometimes is to what lengths the marketers take over the product development process. Most energy drinks come with so many other toxic ingredients (sorbitol, nutrasweet, sucralose) that the risk of ingestiong these products is greater than the potential mental boost. The same goes for drugs being reviewed by the Federal Government. This is why the FDA is mandated to examine on our behalf, what is good and bad with chemical substances (drugs). Most energy drinks are chemical substances but are not reviewed by the FDA.
So is there another choice? Coffee on its own is not a bad alternative as it doesn't come with all the artificial ingredients found in the Red Bulls and other products. Then there are some natural energy drinks which basically contain a stimulant (coffee, guarana or tea) plus a minimum of other ingredients. I recommend Guyaki Yerba Matte, GURU Energy Drink, and Sambason Energy. In the case of GURU and Sambason, they also have gone the extra step of making them with entirely organic ingredients.
About the Author:
Dr. Frederik Gupta is a well-regarded expert in matters of natural food options and consults with different food and beverage companies. You can read his blog on Wordpress at Dr. Gupta.
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