I've always had the idea that the stimulants in the energy drinks that are on the market these days are bad news. I realized last night, though, that this was a completely unexamined, knee-jerk assumption on my part. For all I know, the things could just be loaded with caffeine*; I've never had the urge to buy one, so I've never bothered to check out their contents.
So, does anybody know? Is there a single stimulant that is used in all of them, or do different ones use different things? Are they unsafe? How addictive are the stimulants in them?
*yes, I know, caffeine isn't harmless, and it's certainly addictive. It just happens to be the only legal stimulant I really know much about, so if these drinks just contained enormous amounts of caffeine, I'd be dealing with a known quantity.
Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
I believe the three or so deaths involving Red Bull were the following scenarios:
young athlete works out incredibly hard, very dehydrated, drinks a couple red bulls. dies.
a young person drinks alcohol in conjunction with red bull, dies.
I know they decided to look into the ingredient in red bull, dunno if they found anything.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
How broadly are you classifying "energy" drinks?
Are you including "meal replacement" type drinks in that?
I'm personally horrible about eating breakfast in the morning. But I need to have something in my system so I don't go loopy by lunch time. Often I'll eat a nutrigrain bar along with a 1/2 liter of water. But recently I've come across Snapple A Day Meal Replacement Energy Drinks.
They are a little on the pricey side but I buy them at Costco and I love 'em. They come in three different flavors Strawberry, Tropical and Peach. I don't really go for the peach so Steve tends to drink those. But they really packed full of vitamins and minerals and are better than any other quick breakfast food I've found.
If you get to the end of a day and are just dragging, they give you a non-caffinated pick me up too. As far as I can tell they don't have any questionable herbal type energy additives either.
AJ
[ April 01, 2004, 10:30 AM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I wasn't really thinking about the meal replacement variety of drinks--I was thinking more of Red Bull and that kind of thing.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
What kind of stimulants are in the things you're drinking though AJ? Now you've got me interested in those too.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
quote: I believe the three or so deaths involving Red Bull were the following scenarios:
young athlete works out incredibly hard, very dehydrated, drinks a couple red bulls. dies.
a young person drinks alcohol in conjunction with red bull, dies.
I know they decided to look into the ingredient in red bull, dunno if they found anything.
Can you provide proof for this? It's not that I doubt you, but I've heard about this and always thought it was an urban legend....
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Oh my, the Snapple site is horribly annoying. Way, way too cutesy.
This is the official snapple a day site but there are lots of annoying cutesy animated things that pop up. You can actually get to an ingredients lists of all three major drinks on the same screen at the same time it just takes a while. It also eventually gets to a screen that shows low-carb versions which I haven't seen before. http://www.snapple-a-day.com/home.aspx Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Whoa. OK. Found my own sources. Here they are for all y'all...
[ April 01, 2004, 10:52 AM: Message edited by: Ryuko ]
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Red Bull tastes horrible anyway.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Red Bull is made with a lot of caffeine and sugar, which makes sense. It could have contributed to those people's deaths because it is a diuretic. Sugar and caffeine do not do well for hydrating people... It is likely that the people died of dehydration, which is common in the situations they've named. (Clubbing, with alcohol and working out)
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
If you need a pick-me-up, eat an apple.
Better for you than a cup of coffee, and just as effective.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
I was under the impression that Red Bull was goin to be the mixer of the future.
That's what I heard, at least. But as for not mixing sugars with alcohol, that pretty much goes for any mixer, and although the individuals in question might wind up doing some stupid things, they haven't died in any chemical-related way.
Not that I know of, at least.
[ April 01, 2004, 11:25 AM: Message edited by: Book ]
Posted by Alexa (Member # 6285) on :
Ask Speed...his name sounds appropriate. Perhaps he has some medical background.
Posted by lcarus (Member # 4395) on :
A lot of these contain stimulants about which claims are made (regarding energy boost, memory improvement, etc) but about which not a lot of research has been done. Since they are not classified as drugs, they can put this stuff in drinks and in pills and make claims about their efficacy, and the FDA does not evaluate those claims or regulate them. And then we end up discovering, years later, that some of these things can be very bad for you. Case in point: ephedra, the former main ingredient of MetaboLife. I stay away from things that contain ginkgo, melatonin, St. John's wort, and the like because, frankly, I think this is a fad, and a dangerous and suspicious one at that.
Of course, some of you know my family history with homeopathy, and why I'm especially suspicious of this junk. I might not be the most impartial on the topic.
Regarding meal replacement drinks . . . I did see a report in the news that SlimFast has been inconclusively linked with reduced cognitive function.
Regarding hydrating drinks--not that anyone asked--I think one of the most dangerous trends is the marketing of these drinks as though they were soft drinks or fruit juice. These drinks contain high amounts of sugar, and some of them contain electrolytes as well. They are designed for athletes, and people working out, not for fat third graders to drink two of before school. In addition to the risk of unbalancing one's electrolytes, I would not be at all surprised if in the future we find link between the frequent consumption of sports drinks by nonathletes and type II diabetes.
Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
rehydrating drinks don't have nearly enough electrolytes to equal normal saline, btw. Most of perspiration is water, even though your skin gets salty.
Some of the ecstasy related deaths were because people drank too much water and became hypokalemic, I think.
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
The big concern with the energy drinks isn't necessarily the herbal ingredients or vitamin supplements (which abound in many energy drinks) but the new amino acids such as taurine (which I believe regulates heart rate). I'm searching for more info. Taurine is believed to have caused some of the deaths aforementioned.
Edit: Seems I lied. Caffeine is another risk, most of these drinks have around 80mg caffeine.
[ April 01, 2004, 12:30 PM: Message edited by: Christy ]
Posted by Alucard... (Member # 4924) on :
Red Bull has sugars, taurine, caffeine, and some B-vitamins.
Stacker 2 YJ Stinger has sugar, caffeine, taurine, Vitamin C, Vitamin B "Stack" (complex), yerba mate, guarana, and ginseng.
Amp Energy Drink has sugars, guarana, caffeine, taurine, ginseng, and B-Vitamins.
Keep in mind that products like guarana and yerba mate are another natural source of caffeine. It also appears that Red Bull has more taurine than the other two, if going by the ingredients. I seem to remember that ingredients listed are listed by amount from highest to lowest.
Hope this helps.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
(incidentally it doesn't appear that the Snapple meal-a-day has any actual stimulants in it, just lots of fiber and vitamins and minerals)
AJ
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
Every once in a while, I'll drink a Monster Energry Drink.
I usually only have one when I'm inexplicably tired and don't plan on being too active. If I'm just a little drowsy, I'll take a cat-nap (NEVER longer than twenties minutes. That throws my entire system out of whack, for some reason) or a Coke and an apple.
[ April 01, 2004, 02:06 PM: Message edited by: Da_Goat ]
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Apparently, caffeine keeps you awake and alert by blocking adenosine receptors in the forebrain.
The forebrain is responsible for keeping us awake and alert, in part by producing dopamine. In normal daily metabolic activity, adenosine is produced. Adenosine is taken up by the neurons in the forebrain and starts an internal message that shuts 'em down for awhile (sleepiness, sleep).
Caffeine blocks those adenosine receptors, making the forebrain stay awake and alert.
Posted by lcarus (Member # 4395) on :
Do these adenosine receptors pile up? Because when I quit caffiene a couple of weeks or so before a performance, I always find that for a day or three I'm falling asleep left and right, no matter how much sleep I get at night.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Yeah. The adenosine doesn't just go away. So when the caffeine wears off, the receptors are all opened up and the continued metabolic activity has built up MORE adenosine.
So you're really sleepy.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
mack is smarrrt.... O_O
I knew there was a reason I quit drinking caffiene.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Mack just learned that this weekend.
I can also tell you part of why ADHD folks forget stuff all the time.
Yeah, this neuro stuff is awesome.
Caffeine also restricts blood vessels and reduces blood flow to the brain. You get a caffeine headache when the blood vessels open back up and the blood flow increases.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I got a Red Bull one time after seeing the commercials for ages... I took one sip, spit it out (very ladylike) and poured the rest of it out on the ground.
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