Most energy drinks contain Taurine. Why? Because Red Bull, maybe on a hunch, added Taurine to their drink 20 years ago and no one ever asked why. That’s why. It amazes me that over 7 billion cans of energy drinks are consumed every year (one for every human being!) despite the fact that they contain several highly questionable ingredients. Us humans definitely travel in herds!
The taurine found in energy drinks is synthetic and can cause medical problems, according to recent studies (see Heart Problems with Synthetic Taurine). The cocktail gets even worse when it is combined with caffeine, as it is often the case in smart drinks (see Taurine and Caffeine).
This might be why some countries such as France, Denmark and Sweden have banned Red Bull from their supermarket shelves. There are similar initiatives to regulate these products in other countries (Australia, Canada).
I drink energy drinks when I need to stay awake late and during long days of work. They’re great when I need to drive back home after a long day of work. They’re a great addition to my everyday diet.
What is painful to see sometimes is to what lengths the marketers take over the product development process. Most energy drinks come with so many other toxic ingredients (sorbitol, nutrasweet, sucralose) that the risk of ingestiong these products is greater than the potential mental boost. The same goes for drugs being reviewed by the Federal Government. This is why the FDA is mandated to examine on our behalf, what is good and bad with chemical substances (drugs). Most energy drinks are chemical substances but are not reviewed by the FDA.
Some of the energy drinks I dislike are the usual culprits: Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar. They are basically carbon copies of each other. Some of the energy drinks I DO like are Guyaki Yerba Matte, GURU Energy Drink, and Sambason Energy. they all contain mostly what you need in an energy drink. A stimulant (natural caffeine, guaranine or yerba matte) plus a minimum of other ingredients, most of them organic.
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