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ENERGY DRINKS
Class discussion of so-called energy drinks like Red Bull led me to search the peer-reviewed literature to determine whether they are "safe and proven."
What is actually in an energy drink? Students were particularly aware of and .
Caffeine To summarize what I found about these, first the table below reflects the caffeine content:
| one can | milligrams caffeine |
| Red Bull (8.2 oz) | 80.0 |
| Pepsi One (12 oz) | 55.5 |
| Surge | 51.0 |
| Green Tea | 15 |
| Brewed Tea | 40-60 |
| Brewed coffee | 80-135 |
Thus, a cup of coffee provides substantially more caffeine than a so-called energy drink. The caffeine link shows that moderate caffeine consumption is good for health, but excessive consumption has potential hazards (over 4 cups per day).
Taurine As the taurine references describe, there appears to be little value for normal people of consuming extra taurine. I did find the following undocumented statement "Its sale is acutally[sic] prohibited in Denmark, France, Uruguay, and Norway. In France, Only energy drink without Taurine are sold. "
| one serving | milligrams taurine |
| Beef | 60/pound |
| Chicken | 104/pound |
| Cod | 134/pound |
| Red Bull | 1,000 |
| Creatine Surge | 1,000 |
I visited the Red Bull site, and eventually found the ingredients, which include various sugars and B vitamins, which are readily available in a healthy diet. I could find no documentation for any claims, though the web site was really flashy. The high price of energy drinks can clearly pay for excellent marketing.
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