Energy Drink Ingredients
Wine is grapes. Sure, there’s a lot of different kinds, but who really cares? Beer is hops, barley, water–again, pretty boring. Anyone who’s reasonably intelligent would look somewhere to see what they’re putting in their body. Especially if it makes you warm and tingly. Here, then, is your research, handed to your ass on a silver platter.
- Caffeine: The most common stimulant, found in coffee, Coke and Mountain Dew. Found in much higher quantities in energy drinks. Most energy drinks contain between 70 and 200 mg. A 5 oz cup of coffee contains 110-150mg for drip, 65-125mg for percolated, and 40-80 mg for instant. Dr. Pepper gives you 61mg, and a can of Coke provides 50mg. A full can of RockStar has 150mg. A lot of people experience side effects above 200mg, but I’ve personally known people that can handle a full gram at a time. They looked like an ADD monkey having a seizure, but they didn’t die. I don’t recommend it.
We’re tracking the caffeine levels of virtually all energy drinks. Go knock yourself out.
- Taurine: Taurine is an amino acid that your body naturally produces. It helps regulate heartbeat and muscle contractions, and energy levels. Usually your body makes enough that you don’t need to supplement. It’s thought, but not proven, that under “stress conditions” like illness, physical exertion, or injury, the body does not create enough and supplements can help. Taurine might be a “mild inhibitory neurotransmitter”, some studies show it helps with excitable brain states. While this isn’t exactly what we want, maybe it helps level us out so we function better with elevated levels of other stimulants.
- Guarana: Guarana comes from plants in South America. Amazonians have used it for a long time to increase alertness and energy. It’s more dense in caffeine than coffee beans (3-4% vs 1-2%). It’s not just called “caffeine” because it contains a couple other things: theobromine and theophylline. They’re found in coffees and teas, and are known stimulants. Marketing retards will sometimes call this one guaranine, as if it’s something different. It’s not.
- B Vitamins: These are essentially the things that help you convert crap to energy. Crap like sugar, which is found in abundance in energy drinks. The jury’s still out on whether or not they increase energy levels via supplementation, but they will sure help warding off the hangovers when you mix that energy drink with alcohol. Search the interweb for info on proper dosing of the different vitamins.
- Ginseng: Ginseng, an adaptogenic herb, is known to increase energy, has some anti-fatigue components, and supposedly relieves stress. Right now it’s suspected that gingseng helps stimulate the hypothalamic and pituitary glands, which then secrete something called adrenal corticotropic hormone. With a name like that, it can’t possibly be bad. Ginseng is nothing that’s naturally created by your body, so having this in your drink certainly won’t hurt. 200mg/day seems to be the standard dose, but you can safely take up to 2700mg.
- Ginkgo Biloba: It’s suspected that ginkgo biloba is the longest-living organism on this planet. Using the theory that you get something’s (or someone’s) powers by eating the brains, eating the oldest thing on the planet is probably a good thing. Or maybe it’s such a hardy mofo that it’ll kill you instantly. But that’s never been the case. It helps memory rentention, concentration, circulation, acts as an anti-depressant, and even shows signs of helping people with Alzheimer’s. The German government recognizes it as something that helps with memory loss, concentration, and depression. That’s some kick-ass stuff right there. 60mg is a standard supplementation dose, and you can easily take 240mg. If you don’t get this with your drinks, I’d highly recommend supplementing your diet with it.
- L-Carnitine: An amino acid usually created by your liver and kidneys, this stuff helps up your metabolism and energy levels. Because of the way it interacts with your body, it may act as a thermogenic and help increase weight loss and endurance during exercise. The jury’s still out on whether or not you need to supplement unless you have an unusual diet, but you can take 2-6 grams without worry. Make sure you get L-Carnitine, which is the type your body creates and can use. D-Carnitine is “inactive” and may actually hurt endurance levels. Some people take this to support their heart, so putting it in an energy drink that increases your heart rate… good stuff
- Sugars: Glucose is the body’s preferred fuel. That’s why you get hyper with a lot of sugar. Energy drinks contain a ton of sugar. Therefore, energy. It’s a carbohydrate, and a lot of exercise regiments suggest a good dose of sugar for workouts lasting more than an hour. A lot of athletes take it in the form of rice or noodles, so they have timed absorption. You can take a bunch of this easily… 150 grams in your system might get you wired, but probably won’t hurt you.
- Antioxidants: Antioxidants are things that help your body gracefully recover from the damage of free radicals. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, so claiming that your energy drink has a lot of antioxidants is like saying you’re buying really expensive orange juice. But they’re good, they help fend off illness and prevent cellular damage. Vitamins C and E, Vitamin A (aka retinol, beta-carotene), and selenium are all antioxidants.
UPDATE: See the new sugar in energy drinks database for a sortable table of beverage sugar content.
421 Comments
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Who the hell are all of you people acting like dumbasses putting these stupid comments????!!!!! Do all of you just sit at home all day and find ways to check other people and just make yourself seem like complete assholes?! What the hell is wrong with the f ing drug addict telling us about how he’s fing up his life. Thanks so much for giving hundreds of people that idea. This is why this country is so screwed up, because of people like you. You spend all your energy doing worhtless things like this, wasting your life and others along eith it.
kava is and will always be avalible its good stuff 4 ne1 and they should sell the drink kavakaze in more retail stores it has caffiene in it 2 its cool.kava is safe and has been drunk even by 2year old kids on hawaii for years.
I think monster and red bull have bull sperm but my friends don’t think so but red bull gives it away because it has bull on it.
Hi ,
Just a suggestion, but I thought it would be useful when reviewing any product that a scan of the front and back label be included so that people can see and ask questions from what they see. Is this possible ?
Many thanks
John
The highest caffeine level i can find in any energy drink is Spike Shooter wich has 300mg of caffeine in a 8.4oz’s can wich beats cocaine out at 250mg of caffeine per can wich is also 8.4oz’s i havent tried spike shooter but i chuged a cocaine in like 3 sec and so did my cousin and he had worse effect than i did but it could be beacuse of wieght wich i weigh like 40 pounds more but he had an effect of paranoia and hallucination of spiders so he took a shower but i didnt incounter any of this but i did get light headed and dizzy and heart rate did increase but i can wait tell i get spike shooter
i have questions please contact me
did u kno that most energy drinks have alcohol they jus don tell u?
if you would research you would know that taurine does not come from bull sperm but was found in bull BILE which is a far cry from sperm duh put your drink down and research before you spew untrue facts
Ok have question for all you out there in internet land: What harm is it to allow a 14 year old girl to drink a can of Full Throttle?
XS IS AWESOME BUT IS IT LIKE COLA ?
just a thought…in most states it’s illegal to sell caffeine pills, no doz, ect, to minors.(18)
So why is ok to sell 200 to 300mgs of it wrapped in sugar, which by the testimony of the youngster above a few comments berfore, he’s already looking forward to his hext “high” or “buzz”……..just a thought….oh and one more thing–Cocaine?–Spike Shooter? hmmm…….now where have I heard that before?????……just a thought……
They are so so so so good hahaha
I did’nt know that someone could get addicted 2 caffeine and energy drinks,well I did and now I have had kiddeny problems.One night I swear my left kiddeny felt on fire and that it would burst inside of me.I wasn’t drinking enough water at all but I don’t drink dark soada hardly.I was steady taken caffeine pills and drinking energy drinks ,yeah call me a (dumbass)PLUS I would got out with friends and drink beer lots of beer!!So now Iam payen the price for hurten my body i THOUGHT oh,iam young I’ll be ok ,yeah right!!Would anyone let please let me know what kinds of energy drinks are healty or vitamins that won’t shut down my kiddenys!!!
you guys need to not drinks so much engy drinks.
tasty, but horrible
haha dot have to many or else you can cause heart palpations or get die from dehydration
There is no alcohol content in energy drinks. I have researched this in FULL for a college level class. I am a Junior ADV major in college. It would be COMPLETELY illegal for them to not put the alcohol content on the packaging. And selling to minors? HUGE deal.. they would not do that.
Please research before you start typing rumors you hear from your high school friends.
I can second that Kristen.
I’m doing my own research for a college class as well, and there is no fact nor reason to those claims. There is, however, currently an energy drink that contains alcohol. It’s produced by a company - which shall remain nameless - who already produces alcohol. They wanted to corner the up-and-coming market of Energy drinks.
I personally don’t see the point in mixing energy drinks with alcohol. From my research it has been said to have drastic and often devastatin effects - the worst being death.
Red Bull for example has been in the U.S. now for around 20 years, coming originally from Sweden or Switzerland, I can’t recall which at the moment. It has been, and still is the current leader in majority favorite. But for just as long as it has been here, the folks who attend the night life, i.e. clubbing. Have been mixing it with Vodka and such, but this started back in Europe. There have been cases of near instant heart failure when these were mixed, though that is an extremely rare case. Most often, it leaves you feeling less inebriated, though still drunk (your Blood Alcohol Level isn’t effected in the least) you have “more energy” and supposedly a higher tolerance for drinks.
In conclusion to this, take Kristen’s heart-felt advice. Study up before you make yourself look stupid.
Give me a shout if you have anymore questions or just want to yell at me for making you feel slow. ^^
Auf Wiedersehen alle.
I love Monster energy drinks. Both my parendt say it’s bad for me to drink, but I’ve learnded my leson to never try racing who can drink one the fastest. My friend Andew and I did this and ended up getting sick on the bus. Our bus driver Shelia said thats not my fault that you guys don’t fell well.
what would ahppen if you combined a sleeping pill an energy drink
You would have nightmares of never being able to sleep again.
i once drank 2 ampd energy drinks one day
and then the next day had two more,and then had some coke
and i had chest pains,and i looked like i was on speed,but other than that i felt pretty normal
its like that with anything, yes,i am aware that they are really bad for you but same with anything else
its just how much you take,and how your body can handle it
I had an energy drink called blue charge, the worst mistake of my life, ended up with epilepsy, i was at my freinds house drinking it, then suddenly just went blank, and next minute i remember being in hospital, so i advise anyone who wants to be clever drinking them in skool evry day, 2 just stop if you dont wanna end up like me.
my comment is try writing a 16 page book report and a project and have 2 days to do it well energy drinks are good they do bad stuff to ur health
energy drinks suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they killed my brother.
[…] impact you negatively so that you can avoid them. As well, energy drink manufacturers throw in other ingredients that work like or with caffeine. Public Health “experts” and statisticians haven’t done […]
monsters are bad .. dont do them
OMG… Most of you people on this site are so ignorant; it amazes me. Just walk away…
Energy drinks plus alcohol equals what?
full throttle is the best and it gives me personally energy for like the whole day but sometimes i get sooo sick i asked my doctor why it happens but he does not no
i used to drink an energy drink every morning and one day my body shut down and i was rushed to the hospitile…. my docter said my body shut down because i drink to many energy drinks… that was 2 years ago and i have had seizures ever since that day……………………….
Yeah, I have been using this wedsite ALOT! I am doing a science fair prject on which energy drinks give you the most energy. Personally, I like the Monster and it gives me energy for a little. Is there anyone who knows some energy drinks I can use for this project? If so, message me on myspace if you have one. My URL is http://www.myspace.com/lifeisbettercrunkk904 or email me at JenniferNineOhFour@yahoo.com
Thank you!!!
;D
The majority of energy drinks unfortunately, are very unhealthy for you. Its not just the chemicals in many of them, its the high caffeine, and especially the high sugar content. Sugar is NOT good for you period, and most energy drinks are laden with it. I am involved in the launch of an extremely scientific and healthy energy drink with 3 US patents and a patented, healthy sweetener instead of sugar. Drop me an email if you want any information. I wont sell you anything, just give you the information. e-mail me at chris.doyle1@virgin.net
rockstar and nos are the best energy drink ever and nobody can make me stop drinkin it. it gives me a lot of energy. but i will never have more than one a day because they make my heart start to hurt but other than that they are great. i have so much energy when i drink them
Ok well I feel very happy now, I have been reading through at everyones comments and stories. Bullsprem EW. Ok i decided since my friends have toldme before i should try an energy drink that I would just see what excatly is in them . Nw the list up top looks OK-ish but the comments seem to give you more of an idea what an enrgy drink actully does too you so Iam gad for everyonr whoshares their comments/stories. I ave never had an energy drink and I dont plan n havin one soon. Im healthy take part in sports am outside everyday for all you parents who are concrned with your kids health problems 
It helps if you give them no hance ofJUNK FOOD and you give them a balanced diet. It really does im 13 and wiegh 105 Im not fat. I eat well I m ouside doing what ever and I enjoy mself get kids interested in something but do it subtly we hate to be told what we should do!!)Anywho I feel that energy rinks are near drus and kids can occasionally have them but geez keep it toatleast 2 a day if you a major addict i would really apprecaite it if kids for msake would help adults to realize, yes we drnk them for a buzz yes some of us known they are unhealthy but if you plan on telling us too stop hwn you giv up something youlike.( thatwas just for all the people whi really like thir energy drnks)
- ME
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WTF…. dude the kid must be an infant…
most likly the drink isnt the problem…
THINK
1. too young (i wouldnt know its your kid)
2.kid must have an allergy to an ingredient in the drink…
3. he picked it up when you went to the pet store to play with the flu infected birds….
^ ^
sorry… no offence or anything…
but that is reeeeeeely LAME!
NOS is the best tasting energy drink out there