SPOTLIGHT on Supplements...
The truth about Energy Drinks
By Merle Heidemann, Division of Science and Mathematics Education, Michigan State University and Gerald Urquhart, Lyman Briggs School of Science, Michigan State University.
Generally energy drinks contain methylxanthines (including caffeine), vitamin B and herbs. Other common ingredients are guarana, acai, and taurine, plus a variety of forms of ginseng, maltodextrin, carbonated water, inositol, carnitine, creatine, glucuronolactone and ginkgo biloba. Some contain high levels of sugar, and many brands also offer
artificially-sweetened 'diet' versions. The central ingredient in most energy drinks is caffeine, the same stimulant found in coffee or tea, often in the form of guarana or yerba mate.
After spending several years working the Sport’s Desk of the Lansing State Journal, Rhonda had landed the job of her dreams as a writer for Runners’ World magazine. The job was fantastic! Since high school, where she had excelled in cross country, Rhonda had been a consistent runner, participating in local races and those assigned to her for her job.
For her last assignment, she had run and reported on the Leadwood, South Dakota, marathon—it was a blast!
As if reading her mind, her boss Charley walked in just then with a can of XS Citrus Blast® in one hand and a list of several other energy drinks in the other.
“We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries about the different energy drinks on the market, including XS Citrus Blast®. Do you know anything about them?” Charley asked.
“I know that people use them for various reasons,” replied Rhonda. “It seems they’re primarily used by athletes to provide some ‘fuel’ as they practice and compete. Other people use them more casually as a way to become ‘energized.’ That’s about all I know.”
“That seems to be about all any of us knows,” Charley said.
“For your next assignment,” Charley continued, “I want you to find out what each of the ingredients in these drinks is and what it does for a runner or for a non-athlete. You need to be very accurate in your analysis—determine what each component really does for the body, not what the marketers want you to believe it does. Then look at the marketing claims of some of these drinks and see if the scientific facts match up to them. Many of our readers are using these drinks with some general notion that they’re helpful, but they’re basing their use of them on no scientific information. So, when you are going to your vitamin store, make sure, you select the one with zero, or limited amount of sugar. Remember you might get a “kick” after drinking a high level sugar energy drink, but after 20 minutes, you’ll crash due to a rapid decrease of the insulin in your blood stream. Read carefully the Nutritional Facts in the back of the product, try different brands of energy drink, and pay close attention to the way it makes you feel."