Energy Drinks: Are they for you?

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Caffeine


Energy Drinks: Are they for you?

Caffeine has been a part of an athletes' nutrition/supplementation regimen for years now, and this has evolved over the years to drinks that contain several ingredients that claim to increase athletic performance and increase energy levels: energy drinks. Energy drinks can be bought at almost any convenience or grocery store for reasonable prices, and come in a wide variety or flavors–there's a flavor for every palate. Some popular brands include Bang Energy, Reign, Monster, Red Bull, and various others. 

While caffeine has been shown to increase athletic performance, there is much more than caffeine in most of these beverages, so the question becomes: how much of this is helping me?




Let's look at two of the more popular energy drinks and their ingredients: Bang and Reign. 

Bang:

  • Caffeine Anhydrous
  • BCAA's 
  • Vitamin C and B Vitamins 
  • Creatine (labeled SUPER CREATINE) 
  • Coenzyme Q10 
 Reign: has the same ingredients as Bang, but the caffeine is natural caffeine, and Reign has additional electrolytes.

So do any of these ingredients have athletic benefits? Well, aside from caffeine, there are very few studies that show any substantial benefits to athletic performance, though electrolytes will aid in hydration, which will help during athletics especially if you're a heavy sweater. 

Should I stop drinking these? If you think they help you, then by all means continue to drink them–just use caution as some of these drinks can have 300mg of caffeine (sometimes more) which is very close to the recommended daily safe limit of caffeine (400mg).

In conclusion, so long as you are careful about your caffeine consumption and monitor it closely, energy drink are perfectly safe and may help with athletic performance. So be safe, find your flavor, and enjoy your workouts!


--CB--


https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/08/01/336886286/caffeine-gives-athletes-an-edge-but-dont-overdo-it

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