do energy drinks REALLY give you more energy? or is it just the caffine and sugar talking?

Question

i mean i know someone who it doesn't affect that much but it does have more of a placebo effect on him. he *thinks* he is more alert and active when drinking it. does anyone else think it really helps or is it just the sugar and caffine in it that helps a little?

Answer 1

It depends on the drink. Some are pure sugar that gets you up for a couple hours while other contain amino acides which will keep you up a little longer. The bad part about both is that they are only temporary solutions and a crash is inevitable. The best method is to eat an apple. Oranges have been suggested but if you have any lactic based products, such as cream in your coffee, it can cause a digestion issues or even gas. It is best to use a protein bar like luna or cliff combined with a fruit. This will build proteins for your body to build off of as well as energy and natural sugars to give you an immediate pick me up. On top of that you should keep in mind that you should not have an apple or apple juice if you are within 2 hours of your work out since it has been linked to causing cramps during exercise.

Answer 2

It really does depend, both on the person and what's in the drink.

Some people, for instance, just don't perk up so much in reaction to the amino acid taurine, which is common in energy drinks. And if someone is *already* hooked on caffiene, the sugar rush, or regularly takes a stiff dose of B vitamins (courtesy of say Stresstab-style multivitamins, as I do) every day, then the drinks won't have so much of an effect. Trouble is, the way so many of these drinks take a "shotgun approach" to stimulation, you can't really tell if it is the B vitamins, the taurine, the caffiene, the combination caffiene/theobromine cocktail in most guarana extracts, or what it is....

For instance. Caffiene and sugar by themselves barely do anything for me now--been hooked on soda/pop too long. But...the theobromine in chocolate and guarana still gets to me, as does the taurine....and yes, I can handle (and get the boost out of) a *lot* of B vitamins before it starts to wear thin.

Which of course leads to the energy drinks themselves. I've tried Red Bull once, didn't care for it....not a whole lot of kick to it. More recently I did try a Rip It....which had the taurine, caffiene, guarana, and also the B vitamins and Inositol...and I had more of a response. Not to mention, the stuff was a bit easier to actually drink. ^_^

But then again...I have a freakin' mood disorder. I have problems with depression, and my mood and energy levels are normally in the cellar to begin with, so odds are *I'm* the last person you want to ask about energy drinks, as I'd be the last person to get perky about anything....

As in, if it made *me* perky, it would likely mean it has *too much* of everything and would make other people sick. And yeah, that "Vespa Amino Acid Mixture" does come to mind here....that stuff is almost too much for human consumption.

Still, you get the point...it's a moiety. It really boils down to the combination of person and energy drink, some will work "ok" for most people, but only a few will work ideally for some weird folks like me....

Hope this helps....Have a good one. ^_^

Answer 3

it is the sugar and caffine in it working thats what the energy is.

Answer 4

It's just the sugar and caffiene. In fact, they don't even use real sugar, they use artificial sweetners like dextrose, sucrose, and high fructose corn syrup.

Answer 5

it is the sugar rush. i drink them. if you drink a lot of them on a hot day you could get dehydrated and really bad sick.

Answer 6

i think they give you energy , i use to drink Red Bull drinks and i always felt alert and active. it really does help.

Answer 7

I think it is the high sugar and caffeine content..... they make me feel jittery