A few days before the end of the millennia, I wrote in one of my newspaper columns that we could anticipate the continued massive introduction of the so-called energizing drinks that have become so enormously popular in the last five years in England, Scandinavia and the United States. To my great sadness, in the intervening months (not enough as far as I am concerned), I have sampled beverages with the catchy names of Red Bull, Silver Spike, Silver Speed, XTC (an obvious tip of the hat to the popular but dangerous drug Ecstacy), El Sol, Black Booster, Reanimator, Dynamite, Red Kick, Magic, Semtex, Battery, Dark Dog, Lipovitan and Flying Horse, all of which we are told are good for us, will give us a necessary mid-day energy boost and taste good. I anticipate with a grimace the appearance in the not-too-distant future of other beverages, some as outrageously named as Orgasm, Climax, Teen Sex and Go-For-It, Baby. Considering the millions of dollars, Euros, francs, and even drachmas that are going to be spent promoting these items, perhaps the time has come to examine the claims of these beverages that they are good for us, give us a needed mid-day energy boost and taste good.

The Ingredients

Perhaps the first thing that potential buyers should know is that there are not all that many differences between these beverages, nearly of which contain a remarkably similar combination of ingredients. In one form or another, and in various combinations, nearly all contain fruit flavorings or fruit juice, caffeine, ginseng, panatonic acid, carbonated spring water, sucrose, glucose, citric acid, taurine, extracts of guarana and yerba mate, glucuronolactone, inositol, a variety of B vitamins and sometimes, Vitamin C.

Taurine: for the uninitiated (probably about 99.98% of the population of the planet), taurine is a colorless, crystalline compound (NC2H2SO2) that is found in nature in red meat and fish as well as in the bile of mammals and is easily reproduced in the laboratory. Taking its name from the mythological bull Taurus, as produced by the body, taurine is an amino acid and is one of the components of taurocholic acid, the major purpose of which is to promote the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream. Several of the producers of these energizing beverages claim that taurine enhances the effects of caffeine but to date there have been no studies performed to confirm this statement. On the negative side, there are several studies that show that excessive amounts of taurine introduced artificially to the body tend to suppress the activity of the central nervous system.

Guarana (also known as Paullinia Cupana): This ingredient, categorized as an herb, comes from the seed of a plant found in the Amazon regions in Brazil.Brazilian Indians have used Guarana for hundreds of years as a stimulant, either chewing it or making tea with it. The Guarana fruit is harvested when ripe, after turning bright red or yellow. The gathered fruit yields a small round black seed which is crushed into a paste that is easily soluble in water. The claim of several producers is that Guarana contains some substances that slow down the uptake of caffeine in the body, thus making the effects of their beverages last longer than from coffee or caffeine tablets. Here again, there have been no medical or other studies to confirm this. What is known, however, is that guarana is one of the most caffeine rich sources known and it has been very well documented that caffeine stimulates the nervous system, fights fatigue and helps the body use fats for fuel. Like caffeine, guarana is also a thermogenic compound, and what that means is that it raises the body temperature.

Caffeine: In addition to guarana, most manufacturers add pure caffeine to their products. To read the labels of these beverages one cannot help but notice that the amount of caffeine in a 250 ml. container of these energizing beverages is even less than it would be in a double espresso. That is an illusion, however, for the combination of guarana and caffeine together means that every 250 ml. container of energizing beverage you consume will contain the equivalent caffeine as will be found in as many as six - ten cups of coffee.

Glucuronolactone: A rumor has been circulating, largely on the internet, to the effect that glucuronolactone is "an artificial stimulant developed in the early 1960's by the American government in order to make soldiers in Vietnam more aggressive". This is simply nonsense. Glucuronalactone is
a naturally occurring metabolite, a carbohydrate produced by the human system that is found in the liver when glucose is metabolized. The producers of several energizing drinks say that this is supposed to stimulate the basal metabolic rate but no-one seems overly concerned that there is no scientific evidence to support this claim.

B-Vitamins: B2, B6, B12, Niacin and Pantotherat: There is no question but that the B-Vitamins play a major role in the body's ability to generate energy from nutrients provided by the foods we eat. Most dieticians and medical experts agree, however, that supplementing foods with B-Vitamins is useful only for those who have a natural deficiency in them. Many also concur that over-consumption of B- vitamins may even have the negative effect of reducing the body's ability to use body fat as fuel.

Ginseng: A dried root that is a member of the Araliacea (ivy) family, Ginseng contains many different substances, several of which have impacts on the body similar to various hormones. Although ginseng can have a positive impact on energy levels, largely in elderly people after long term use and in relatively high doses, the amount used in energy drinks is so small (largely because ginseng is so expensive) that most medical studies say that it could not possibly produce a noticeable effect.

Inositol: An enzyme produced and used by the body primarily to assist the liver with digestion. Produced naturally by the body, inositol is also known to aid in the breakdown of fats and to reduce blood cholesterol. Several studies show, however, that when added artificially to the body it has no effect whatever, and there is no research at all to back up the claims that inositol helps to heal cirrhosis of the liver, stimulate hair growth or prevent baldness.

Putting Them All Together

Put all of these ingredients together and what you have is beverages that are said, in one form or another, to give an energy punch or boost. Nearly everyone I have spoken with who has tried this stuff felt that drinking a 250 ml. can gave them an energy boost. Frankly, after sampling each of the beverages available locally and some that are on their way here now, even I found that to be true.
Being realistic, however, if we feel an effect from energy drinks it is doubtless from the caffeine and large amounts of sugar in them, the sugar probably having even more of an impact than the caffeine because most of these beverages actually contain less caffeine than a cup of coffee. Most researchers feel that the other ingredients could not possibly have any noticeable effects on our long-term energy status. As to the overall impact of these beverages on our health and well-being, one cannot help but wonder precisely why the Surgeon General's office in the United States has advised against overindulgence in this and similar beverages and why there is a major movement now gaining momentum to ban these beverages in England, France and several Scandinavian countries. Also worth our consideration is that these beverages are contra-indicated (even by several of their producers) for children, people with sensitivity to caffeine, diabetics, those taking certain categories of psychiatric medications or during pregnancy.

Who then are the potential consumers for these beverages? Although the initial target market was for young and trendy people who participate in the club scene and in extreme sports, the market has now broadened and includes anyone feeling the need for an energy-kick or mental-boost. For better or for worse, many long-distance runners have tried and given up on these beverages, finding that they leave them psychologically depressed and with feelings of muscle ache; many students have found that after a while they need more and more cans of this stuff to keep them going (one may notice that the need for increased dosages to maintain the same level is one of the definitions of addiction); and according to recent studies in Scandinavia, some 10 - 15% of the general population shows allergic reactions one or more of the combinations of ingredients in some of these drinks.

As to taste and potential drinking pleasure, after a series of recent re-tastings, I could not help but conclude that regardless of which fruit additive is used, every one of these beverages tasted surprisingly alike, was too sweet and left my mouth with the odd, fuzzy feeling that comes about after sucking on peach pits. Tasty? Definitely not. An energy boost? Probably, but whether the energy boost received from these beverages is any more than one receives from a cup of coffee or a tin of Cola remains open to question. As to me - I intend to avoid these beverages, not so much because I think they will do us any real harm but because they seem too much like New-Age nonsense and at the outrageous prices that are being charged for these things, they seem considerably too dear for whatever dubious plusses they may contain. My guess is that I'll stay with coffee for caffeine, fine Belgian chocolate for sugar and my body to produce whatever other chemicals are needed to keep me going.

© Daniel Rogov