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Science Behind Xyience Energy Drink

Science Behind Xyience Energy Drink

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The world of energy drinks is vast, and there isn’t enough time to give every drink the full “Energy Drink of the Month” deep dive review. In my attempt to guide my fans through this world of energy drinks, I like to share the science behind the various caffeinated beverages I come across in my travels.

On a request from one of my fans via Instagram, here is the Science Behind Xyience!

Photo Editor-20171129_141330

Caffeine

Caffeine comes from plain caffeine and from guarana seed extract. There’s 176 mg caffeine per can (88 mg per serving and 2 servings per container). According to Caffeine Informer, Xyience used to be 200 mg per can. Either way, it’s Fatigue Level 3.

Key Ingredients

This drink contains B-vitamins, and some stereotypical energy drink ingredients including guarana, glucuronolactone, taurine, ginseng root extract, and inositol.

  • Glucuronolactone might feed one reaction that helps the body generate energy, but glucuronolactone has to go through some small transformations first, and this reaction (the Pentose Phosphate Pathway) isn’t a major reaction, energy wise
  • Taurine is a taxi cab that helps shuttle water-hating fat molecules to the place they need to be metabolized
  • Ginseng is supposed to help with stress but a systematic review of almost 500 studies involving Panax Ginseng found the only benefit was for glucose metabolism in animal models
  • Inositol helps with insomnia…(kind of ironic, right?)
  • B-Vitamins include 100% of niacin (my favorite vitamin), 250% of B6, 80% of B12, and 500% (why?) of Pantothenic Acid
    • Niacin is part of over 200 reactions in the body, most of them involving the production of ENERGY.
    • B6 helps our bodies make those non-essential amino acids and also helps us maintain optimal blood sugar levels.
    • B12 helps our bodies make healthy red blood cells
    • B5 helps with the metabolism of carbs, fat, and protein, but there’s so much of it in every food group no one needs a B5 supplement (in my opinion)

Other Notes

Preservatives in this drink include potassium sorbate, potassium benzoate, and sodium citrate.

  • Potassium sorbate – this anti-microbial preservative prevents yeast and mold growth in sodas and other foods. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) rates this as safe. If the CSPI, who has a reputation for fear-mongering and chemophobia, rates this safe, you should definitely feel at ease. [See Panera KNOW-No Project Part IV]
  • Sodium Benzoate – Did you know that benzoate salts like this one prevent the growth of microorganisms like yeast and mold? Benzoate salts are often used with other preservatives especially at low pH (acidic food). People can ingest up to 5mg per kg of body weight of benzoic acid and its salts according to European Commission – Scientific Committee on Food. 
  • Sodium Citrate and Citric Acid – both are abundant naturally in citrus fruits and are used in beverages to help control the pH.

Fruit and vegetable juice is used for color, but this drink has artificial sweeteners Ace-K and Sucralose. But there are only 2 grams of carbs (from the juice, most likely) and zero Calories, zero grams of sugar.

What drink should I review next?

You can find more about the science behind energy drink ingredients here at GreenEyedGuide.com and within my book, “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks- How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely” on Amazon (and now on Audible!!!).

Let’s connect!

Caffeine versus Green Tea – Book Excerpt of the Week

Caffeine versus Green Tea – Book Excerpt of the Week

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When I was writing my book, “Are You A Monster or a Rock Star”, it was fun to discover all the ways green tea and caffeine DON’T play nice.

 

Photo Editor-20171127_165917Yes, there’s caffeine in green tea so you COULD SAY they “coexist”, but sometimes the health benefits of caffeine (by itself) counteract the benefits of green tea (by itself).

For example,  a review of 11 different trials with green tea showed catechins like EGCG significantly decreased body weight and helped people maintain weight loss.

However, the people that normally consumed more than 300 mg of caffeine per day didn’t get as big of an impact with their green tea treatment.

It’s as if caffeine intake interferes with green tea’s weight loss magic!

I’ve also shared a scientific study in which the combo of caffeine and theanine resulted in WORSE performance on cognitive function tests than caffeine alone: See [How do Caffeine Theanine Interactions Affect Mood and Attention?

There are a few ways caffeine and green tea DO work together and some ways people get the benefits of caffeine REGARDLESS of where it comes from. If this interests you, please check out (<- Library Pun) my book: “Are You A Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks”. Available on Amazon and Audible.

Stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide (now on Audible!!!).

Get your copy of MY BOOK: “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks — How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely”

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Let’s connect!

Science Behind 5-Hour Energy Protein

Science Behind 5-Hour Energy Protein

greeneyedguide

The world of energy drinks is vast, and there isn’t enough time to give every drink the full “Energy Drink of the Month” deep dive review. In my attempt to guide my fans through this world of energy drinks, I like to share the science behind the various caffeinated beverages I come across in my travels.

Sometimes I am BOTH fascinated and wary of new energy products. Some online supplements seem rather shady to me, and sometimes protein drinks are clumpy and gross. Fortunately, this protein-plus-energy shot wasn’t awful. For this protein caffeine combo, we look at the key ingredients and what they do. Read more →

Glucuronolactone – What Does It Do? Book Excerpt of the Week

Glucuronolactone – What Does It Do? Book Excerpt of the Week

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Glucuronolactone is fun to say, in my opinion. Once you’ve got it down, it’s a musical mouthful. When doing research for my book, I remember being most intrigued by this energy drink ingredient because it was such a mystery ingredient. It’s certainly not a star player as far as effective ingredients go — if energy drink ingredients were football players, you definitely wouldn’t want to draft this one before the fourth round for your fantasy lineup.

For last week’s book excerpt, we talked about what glucuronolactone is. For this week’s Book Excerpt from “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star”, we consider one theory behind what glucuronolactone does and why it might be useful in energy drinks. Read more →

Energy Drink of the Month – Nov 2017: Hydrive Energy Water

Energy Drink of the Month – Nov 2017: Hydrive Energy Water

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The challenge with Energy Waters is two-fold. First of all, water, by itself, is a boring beverage. But it’s important to drink water, so we start adding things to it to make it more enticing: lemons, cucumbers, flavoring… The second challenge becomes trying to define when something is no longer a “water” because of all the additions.

If you’ve tried other energy waters and wanted more flavor, more sweetness, maybe a little more color, then I’ve got a beverage for you. This month’s pick is a little more than an Energy Water, but it’s still a healthier alternative than the stereotypical energy drink. We’ll review how to tell if this drink is for you, what the key ingredients do, and how the caffeine compares to other energy drinks.

Read more →