Science Behind Rize Energy Drink

September 13, 2013July 30, 2019greeneyedguide

It’s the beginning of football season, and the end of the regular baseball season. It’s the end of summer and the beginning of colder months, all which coincidentally end with a “burr” (Octoburr, Novemburr, Decemburr).

September is a curious month. As the song lyrics go, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end,” — to many people, the beginnings and ends September brings are significant.

Like the trajectory of a Red Bull flugtag contraption, many people start September with an optimistic lift of energy and determination…before losing momentum and dropping quickly to the ground.

I have to plan for Halloween already?!? The sun has set already?!? Midterms, already?!?

Don’t give into the fall, rise. You may be powerless to stop the evening fog from rolling in, but you can combat the fog that creeps into your mind – rise.

The Energy Drink of the Month for September 2013 is Rize.

56114-rize_energy — Sept 2013 Energy Drink of the Month

Designed by a biochemist with a passion for athletic events ranging from Mud Runs to Marathons, Rize is not your typical “energy drink”. In fact, one would dare to say Rize symbolizes the New Era of energy drinks.

Rize is just one of the products you could use as a counterargument to one of my favorite blanket statements, “Energy drinks are bad.”

The Science Behind Rize Energy Drink

Like most energy drinks, Rize contains caffeine (*SHOCKER*) and B-vitamins. However, there are three major ingredients that set this drink apart from the other 500 products marketed as “energy drinks”.

Yes, 500. This is neither an exaggeration nor a typo. According to Forbes Magazine, there were over 500 energy drinks on the market worldwide in 2006. This vast collection of products is precisely why the blanket statement, above, irks me so.

1 – Trehalose

Trehalose sounds like it’s a fort you’d build in the limbs of a tree but trehalose (“trey-ha-lohs”) is a special kind of sugar. Don’t panic, it’s nothing foreign to your body. Trehalose is made from two regular glucose molecules. (glucose is the most basic building block of carbohydrates) In trehalose, however, the two glucose molecules are holding hands in a different way than two glucoses normally would (say, in a starch molecule). This tiny deviation from the norm is enough to change taste and metabolism.

Here’s the important part: trehalose doesn’t create blood sugar spikes like other simple sugars would. Trehalose has a unique sweetness that’s different than sugar but not metallic like Stevia. Also, it’s free of the controversies surrounding aspartame and sucralose. In essence, trehalose provides the yummy part of sugar, without the rise and fall of blood sugar levels. The result is sustained energy, the natural way.

2 – Green Tea Extract and Green Tea’s caffeine

The following is an excerpt from the book ARE YOU A MONSTER OR A ROCKSTAR: a guide to energy drinks:

Green tea is probably the healthiest drink on the planet, second to water. Loaded with antioxidants and other phytonutrients you’ve probably never heard of before, green tea is continuously glorified for its health benefits. Plus, it just looks healthy with that green hue, doesn’t it?

The only downside to consuming green tea is that it’s only good for you if you drink it, and the bitter taste is a deal-breaker to many, including yours truly. If you can’t stand the bitterness of green tea, green tea extract seems like the next best thing. Green tea extract is an isolated, purified version of the major antioxidants in green tea. Green tea has more nutrients than green tea extract, but green tea extract has all the star players, like the 25-man roster in baseball.

So how does green tea extract work? What, exactly does it do in the body? How do green tea extract and caffeine interact? For these answers and the rest of this discussion on the amazing benefits of Green Tea Extract, check out this handy guide. Rize contains both green tea extract and caffeine from green tea, giving it an advantage over the stereotypical “energy drinks”.

3 – Huperzine

Not only is Huperzine a fun word to say out loud, it’s the X-factor that distinguishes Rize from all the other “energy drinks”. Supposedly, this natural compound helps memory, focus and cognitive function. There are even double-blind clinical studies to prove it. These cognitive function studies gave huperzine to people over a period of 8 weeks. So to get the same benefit, you’d have to consume Rize for 8 weeks straight. Consuming the same energy drink every day for several consecutive days in a row goes against the 5 Levels of Fatigue

Rize is Fatigue Level 2 beverage

The 5 levels of Fatigue is a system which categorizes fatigue into levels of severity, then outlines which particular ingredients to look for to best suit that particular level.

For example, someone who needs a jolt in the morning should not be drinking the same product as someone who needs to pull an all-nighter. Rize is a Level 2 product, meaning it has up to 100 mg caffeine per serving, so you should drink it when you’re tired enough to need caffeine (as opposed to water) but not so tired you need a strong jolt of caffeine. You want to save those high-powered drinks for when you absolutely need them.

See this page to learn more about how to use the 5 Levels of Fatigue.

BOTTOM LINE

Trehalose is not a new discovery, but it’s not the most affordable ingredient out there in the world of sugars and sweeteners. As a product developer and food scientist, when I see a company using trehalose it makes me believe these guys are willing to pay for quality. They could’ve stuck with green tea and brain-boosting Huperzine, but they decided it was worth it to use trehalose as well. Not only does this earn my respect as a food scientist and fellow biochemist, it makes the product unique in sweetness.

The two biggest drawbacks are availability and ambiguity. Thus far, this product is only available in the eastern half of the US, in Meijer stores: ee the Rize Store Locator. Of course, you could always order a case and get it shipped to you, but it’s not as convenient as purchasing a competitive product from your local supermarket or gas station. Furthermore, this product does not disclose the amount of caffeine per can and it’s ridiculously difficult to find this information online. Fear not, it’s only a matter of time before Caffeine Informer comes to the rescue.

For the full Rize Story: http://www.rizeenergy.com/TheRizeStory.aspx

*UPDATED: 9-16-2013:
Caffeine Informer assessment of this product:**
Caffeine Informer on Rize Energy Drink

Science Behind Archer Farms Energy Drink

August 13, 2013July 30, 2019greeneyedguide

I know you don’t want to hear it, or read it, but I’m going to say it anyway – summer is ending. If you’re like me, you spend your nights plotting how to make the summer last just a little bit longer, contemplating which adventures you simply must fit in your schedule before the wind starts getting chilly and the sun isn’t waiting for you to get off work before it sets.

There are several aspects of this month’s chosen drink that make it perfect for this time of year, but first, it’s important to understand a few seasonal environmental factors that will affect one’s energy level.

1 – Changes in sleep schedule.

If you’re of school age, your days of staying up til 2 a.m. and sleeping in past noon are numbered. Getting used to waking up early might be a difficult transition for some, so a little help in the form of caffeine might be necessary. Even if you’re NOT a student, you may have noticed a significant change in freeway traffic. With less people driving to and from school, there’s usually fewer cars on the road. For many working adults, that means not having to wake up QUITEso early to beat the traffic to work. My, my, we’re in for a shock once schools go back into session. When you have to wake up earlier and earlier to avoid “Please-don’t-rear-end-me” freeway phobias, you may need some help waking up. Driving tired is at just as dangerous as driving drunk.

2 – Sun-daze.

It’s not unusual to feel fatigued after a long day in the sun, even if all you did was work on your tan. This “sun fatigue” has several suggested causes, ranging from dehydration to increased production of certain vitamins to increased UV damage and subsequent inflammation of the skin (the largest organ of the body). If playing or basking in the sun leaves you feeling wiped out, you may need something to wake you up for your evening activities.

3 – Cramming.

If you’ve made a summer bucket list, you may feel the heat as you try to check every activity off your list before the summer ends. Hey, if the days are longer, why not try to cram everything into one week, right? Sure, why not, but that hustle and bustle leaves some a bit winded.

For all three situations above, caffeine is just ONE solution. Getting more sleep, getting less sun or driving to lively music instead of news radio are also helpful solutions to these scenarios. For these situations, you don’t need a high-powered shock of energy, only a gentle boost. That’s precisely why I’ve picked Archer Farms Pomegranate Blueberry for the Energy Drink of the Month for August 2013.

This drink is exceptionally enjoyable on a hot summer day and its 12-ounce size makes it easy to carry. It’s 40% juice so you won’t have to worry about how the heat affects carbonation (carbonation and heat do not get along). Moreover, each can contains only one serving with a whopping 70 milligrams of caffeine. That’s just 10 milligrams short of the caffeine in a Red Bull or Starbucks Frappuccino, but it’s significantly less caffeine than other ready-to-go/convenience factor caffeine sources like McD’s iced coffee or Starbucks’ bottled Iced Coffee.

Make no mistake, though this drink is fortified with vitamins and contains ginseng and taurine, caffeine is the active ingredient. In nature, pomegranates and blueberries are loaded with antioxidants but the juice itself, not as much. The sugar (19 grams per serving) will also help with battling fatigue but there are sugar-free versions for those trying to limit their added sugars.

Bottom Line

According to the 5 Levels of Fatigue outlined in the book ARE YOU A MONSTER OR A ROCK STAR: a guide to energy drinks, this product would be at the upper end of Fatigue Level 2: Too Tired to Go It Alone. There are alternatives to caffeine to beat the August-specific causes of fatigue, but for those who do turn to caffeine, start small. Save the high-powered drinks with upwards of 120 milligrams for the days when the sun is only out for your lunch break or for the all-nighter midterms study sessions.

With only 70 milligrams of caffeine amidst the crisp, refreshing juice of a pomegranate-blueberry combo and the light sweetness of pear juice (ahem, the first juice listed on the Ingredient Line), this is the perfect energy drink for the month of August.

Additional Resources

What’s Good at Archer Farms review

Caffeine Informer (note Caffeine Content may be different than the caffeine amount stated on the can)

Science Behind Nawgan Energy Drink

July 13, 2013July 30, 2019greeneyedguide

Partially inspired by the movie Iron Man 3 and partially due to this summer’s hot weather, I’ve chosen Nawgan Mandarin Orange as the Energy Drink of the Month for July 2013.

For any caffeinated beverage, the following 10 attributes are key to assessing the drink’s potency and value. Let’s go through this exercise with Nawgan’s Mandarin Orange.

1. CAFFEINE CONTENT:
Caffeine content is stated on the label – 100mg caffeine per can (11.5 ounces)
This is amount is less than the amount of caffeine in a tall iced coffee from Starbucks (120mg).
Energy Fiend Complete Guide to Starbucks Caffeine

2. SERVING SIZE AND SERVINGS PER CONTAINER:
One serving is one whole can, which makes it easy to regulate the amount of caffeine one consumes.

3. NUTRITION OR SUPPLEMENT FACTS PANEL:
This product has a Nutrition Facts panel, which means it’s a beverage, not a supplement. That means this product is subject to food/beverage regulations, not the supplement regulations (What? Supplements are regulated? Yes, despite what you may here elsewhere, supplements ARE regulated by the FDA, just using a different rule book than the one used for food/beverage products).
Since this has a Nutrition Facts panel, you know all the ingredients used within are either GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) or approved food additives.

4. RECOMMENDED USE:
Since this product is a beverage, not a supplement, it’s unusual to find Recommended Usage or Warning information. Some caffeinated beverages still bear the Warning Label, but this beverage does not. With only 100mg caffeine, this isn’t surprising.

5. FIRST INGREDIENT:
The first ingredient in this product is filtered water, not carbonated water. Carbonation irritates the stomach lining which speeds up the absorption of certain molecules like alcohol and caffeine. This is why champagne seems to affect one’s sobriety more rapidly than beer does.

6. SWEET STUFF:
This product has 11 grams of added sugar so those of you watching your sugar intake may want to opt for the sugar-free Nawgan products. This product also has Erythritol, a sugar alcohol that’s captured the interest of food scientists for its reported ability to improve oral health.
New clinical trial indicates erythritol’s superior dental benefits
Notably, this product is also sweetened with Stevia, not any artificial sweeteners.

7. VITAMIN B-12:
Vitamin B-12 plays a key role in maintaining healthy cells and DNA throughout the body. This product has 50% of the Daily Value of B-12, a respectable amount. There is no known upper intake level for B-12, meaning you can’t ever have too much, but there’s no reason anyone without a clinically diagnosed B-12 deficiency or absorptive disorder needs over 100% DV in one product.

8. VITAMIN B-6:
Vitamin B-6 participates in over 100 chemical reactions in the body, most of them involving amino acids and proteins. This product has 50% of the Daily Value of B-6, which is a good amount. A deficiency in B-6 makes it harder for blood cells to carry oxygen properly, so it’s important to get enough of the vitamin every day. However, intakes over 100 milligrams ( 5,000% DV) can cause nerve damage.

9. FOLIC ACID – This product has no folic acid, which isn’t a bad thing at all. It would only be bad if the product had more than 100% DV folic acid because that could mask a B-12 deficiency.

10. NIACIN – This product has no niacin, which isn’t a bad thing either. It would only be bad if the product had more than 35 milligrams of niacin (175% DV) because that could bring on the “niacin flush” – symptoms of flushing and itching.

BONUS POINTS:
This drink gets bonus points for the ingredient that makes it (and all other Nawgan beverages) special. Citicoline has been used in numerous studies assessing cognitive health and especially cognitive decline with diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. A double-blind, placebo controlled (aka legit) study involving healthy participants showed that daily supplementation with citicoline improved cognitive function and performance. That study can be found here:
Improved Attentional Performance Following Citicoline Administration in Healthy Adult Women

BOTTOM LINE:
The amount of caffeine in this product and the lack of carbonation make this product a good match for Fatigue Level 3 (Read more about the 5 Levels of Fatigue in ARE YOU A MONSTER OR A ROCK STAR: a guide to energy drinks).

This drink is perfect for those mornings when a cup of tea or a glass of water isn’t enough to wake you up, but you don’t need a high-powered shove of caffeine to push you through an all-nighter or a graveyard shift. Moreover, whether or not this citicoline brain-booster actually works, the drink is energizing, sweet and refreshing – perfect for a hot summer day.

Nawgan.com: Mandarin Orange – product page