What’s in your Energy drink ?

Recent reports indicate that Red bull energy drink products in Hongkong has been identified to be laced with traces of cocaine in some of the samples coming from Austria and United Kingdom. Retailers were immediately advised to pull out Red Bull energy drink off the market.

Energy drinks do proliferate in most convenient stores and drugstores here in the Philippines. To some it has become a habit to take one before work , for students  they have to take it before examinations and to keep them awake  through the night as they are reviewing. Along the streets you will see vendors selling Extra Joss in sachets and a bottle of mineral water to motorist caught in the traffic. I have seen security guards mixing the said energy drink during their break time.

Cobra, Extra Joss and I –ON energy drink s have the following main ingredients such as caffeine, taurine, ginseng and royal jelly.

Effects of these ingredients are the following:

Caffeine : One will experience less drowsiness, less fatigue, more rapid and clearer flow of thought.

Taurine : Is a kind of amino acid  ( protein) and helps regulate water and mineral salts in the body.

The B complex vitamins are in smaller amounts however, we can get these from the food we eat every day. These are also water-soluble vitamins so that anything we eat in excess, it goes to out of the body in the urine. You may notice that your urine turns more yellowish every time one takes these energy drinks.

Ginseng : increase energy and endurance, reduce fatique and effects of stress and prevent infections. increase mental and physical capacity

Royal jelly : can ameliorate the physical fatigue after exercise

Ginseng and royal jelly have myriad other benefits aside from what I have mentioned.

If one eats the proper diet every day, rice, vegetables, meat and fish. One can get these ingredients. A cup of coffee in the morning provides about 80 mg of caffeine.

Imagine yourself, drinking 1 cup of coffee (80 mg caffeine) in the morning, a bottle of cola ( 50 mg caffeine) for lunch, an ice cold tea ( 50 mg caffeine) and a bottle of Cobra (134 mg caffeine) in the early afternoon to ward off sleepiness and a night cap at Starbucks coffee ( 85 mg caffeine). That a lot of caffeine in your body, a total of about 400 mg of caffeine in your body. Warning , as the dose of caffeine is increased, it can produced nervousness, restlessness, insomnia, tremors and palpitations, oftentimes mental block if you are a  student.

Be careful of taking these energy drinks. It can do more harm than good when taken in excess and taking them becomes a habit.