Energy Drink Info – thanks to Susan Leake

Recently there’s been an avalanche of energy drinks (Red Bull, Full Throttle, Monster Energy, Rockstar, MakeYourLazyAssFeelBetter* and more) on the market … and the commercials for them could almost make one wonder how we survived without them.

'Energy drinks' photo (c) 2009, Simon - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
I’ve heard reports from others, including my sons, about the ‘amazing’ energy they have after drinking them. But I’ve been leery of them. I can’t help but remember the cliche we all love to hate … if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

I’ve dabbled into researching some of them, but have never taken the time to throughly study them. And now thankfully someone else has … Susan Leake has a great piece about energy drinks at No Meat Athlete …

The Scary Truth About Energy Drinks

Here are just a few of the things she says about them:

  • they are not regulated under any FDA standards.
  • many of the ingredients have not been deemed safe for public consumption.
  • lack of reputable information on some other ingredients.
.

Susan writes about those points and more. She has compiling information, research and good common sense to back up her claims. She suggests the novel idea of exercising, getting  enough sleep and eating well as ways to gain energy instead of aiming for a quick fix. (imagine that!)

Professional Triathlete Brendan Brazier sees little value in energy drinks. He says,

“Obtaining energy by way of stimulation is like shopping with a credit card. You get something you desire now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have to pay eventually. That bill will come.”

Other than making the drink companies rich, there’s no reason to drink them. I’m not saying drinking one every now and then will hurt you. In the spirit of full disclosure … diet sodas aren’t good for you either, but every now and then when I have a piece of pizza, I ‘need’ a diet coke.

I justify it because I have so few and I have them so far apart that I assume my system has time to clean out all the crap before I consume more. (and one of these days I will drink my last one, I think I can, I think I can… )

Go read Susan’s article and I think you’ll realize consuming energy drinks regularly could have results you don’t want … both for your health and your wallet.

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Do you drink energy drinks? Why or why not?
And know any healthy alternatives to energy drinks?
*this may or may not be a name I invented for an energy drink 
 
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  • http://www.veronicamonique.com Veronica Monique

    Eek! I’ve never been really interested in energy drinks because the idea of a jolt to my system for a boost seems like a bad idea.  I’d always be wondering if it was me or the drink.

    • http://www.JanetOberholtzer.com Janet Oberholtzer

      Yea … don’t think our bodies are really meant to have jolts and boosts like that.

  • Jacinda

    I haven’t had energy drinks.. but used a five hour energy one time. Ask my husband if I talked a lot! Poor guy! I needed to stay awake to keep him awake while trucking. It did the trick!

    • http://www.JanetOberholtzer.com Janet Oberholtzer

      Jacinda … that’s a perfectly good once-in-blue-moon reason to have one. It’s the people that drink them like water that could experience negative issues. 

  • http://kclanderson.com KCLAnderson (Karen)

    Your timing is impeccable! I had my first ever energy drink  yesterday when I did my long-haul from Toledo, OH, back home to New London, CT. I knew I could it one day but also knew that I was tired because I didn’t sleep well while away. I checked out a variety of energy drinks at a grocery store and found one called Steaz (http://www.steaz.com/e-shot/). It seemed like a good choice and it was…I got up early and got on the road (no coffee). About an hour later, I had some breakfast and drank the Steaz. I felt alert and awake and energized but not shaky or jittery. It’s not something I’d have on a regular basis but I’d definitely have it again under similar circumstances!

    • http://www.JanetOberholtzer.com Janet Oberholtzer

      Karen, thanks for sharing!
      Yours is a perfect reason why I would never say that you should never drink … from time to time they are justified, perfectly okay and maybe even necessary, but I’ve seen people buy them by the cartload and I doubt if that is healthy. 

  • Janis

    Nope.  I don’t know what’s in them, and I figure if I’m tired and have trouble focusing, the REAL cure for it is sleep, and having one of those things will ultimately interfere with that later on.  I also have heart issues in my family and don’t need to drink anything that will rev the thing up more than it should be.

  • http://www.madebydenise.net Denise Smedley

    I had not idea they weren’t regulated by the fda.  Other than coffee and soda, I don’t do energy drinks.

    Alternative?  

    Running.
    A good nights sleep.