Category: Energy Drink Ingredients

Science behind ingredients in energy drinks and other supplements

How do Caffeine Theanine Interactions Affect Mood and Attention? Caffeine/Energy Drinks in the News

How do Caffeine Theanine Interactions Affect Mood and Attention? Caffeine/Energy Drinks in the News

greeneyedguide

We associate caffeine with being hyper and tea with being calm, so what happens when a person has caffeine and theanine together?  I reviewed a paper by the Department of Psychology at Tufts University in which they gave 36 people caffeine, theanine, or both. These participants had to watch disturbing episodes of Band of Brothers to get them all emotional, then take tests to rate their mood and attention. The results indicate just how well theanine and caffeine play together (or against each other). Read more →

How Vitamin B5 Works: The Puppy Metaphor- Book Excerpt of the Week

How Vitamin B5 Works: The Puppy Metaphor- Book Excerpt of the Week

greeneyedguide

Last week we said that supplementing with pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is pointless because it’s abundant in so many different foods. Supplementing is pointless, but the vitamin is not. Pantothnic acid has an important job when it comes to metabolizing food for energy. This puppy metaphor will help you remember WHAT B5/PANTOTHENIC ACID DOES:

  • Pantothenic acid helps form Coenzyme A.
  • Coenzyme A is essential for metabolism of carbs, protein, fat, and alcohol.
  • When these food molecules break down, they end up as ACETATE.
  • Acetate may come from the metabolism of carbohydrates, fat, alcohol, or protein, just like a dog may come from the pet store, the pound, the street, or a neighbor.
  • Coenzyme A is like the person  who brings a dog, in this case acetate, to the park.
  • Regardless of where it came from,  a healthy dog wants to go to the PARK. If you bring it to the PARK and let it run, you’ll see a 💥burst of energy 💥.
  • Coenzyme A has to bring acetate to the KREBS CYCLE, which results in a 💥huge release of energy 💥

 

STAY TUNED every Monday for more book excerpts and the science behind energy drink ingredients as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide.

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What do TAURINE and CARNITINE do? Science Behind Monster Purple [YouTube]

What do TAURINE and CARNITINE do? Science Behind Monster Purple [YouTube]

greeneyedguide

In place of the Energy Drink of the Month, GreenEyedGuide  explains the function of the key ingredients in Monster Ultra Violet.

3 Ingredients in the Monster Energy Blend:

  1. Caffeine – how much is in this product and how much is safe?
  2. Taurine – what does it do and why does GreenEyedGuide call it a taxi?
  3. Carnitine – what does it do and why does GreenEyedGuide call it a doorman?

Energy Drink of the Month will resume August 2017!

Review the entire ENERGY DRINK OF THE MONTH SERIES

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Widespread and Pointless? Pantothenic Acid – Book Excerpt of the Week

Widespread and Pointless? Pantothenic Acid – Book Excerpt of the Week

greeneyedguide

Vitamin B5 aka pantothenic acid is everywhere. If you were assembling your dream superhero squad for an energy drink, I would argue that pantothenic acid is the last vitamin worthy of making the team.

Sorry B5, we can’t all be like Niacin, the Captain America of Energy Drink Ingredient Avengers.

Here’s why pantothenic acid is not worthy.

Rich sources of pantothenic acid include mushrooms, peanuts, eggs (especially the yolk), yeast, broccoli, milk, sweet potatoes, legumes, and whole grains.

Milk, meat, vegetables, and carbs are all sources of pantothenic acid so it’s hard to imagine a diet that isn’t getting pantothenic acid from somewhere.

all carb diet

I have yet to discover why anyone needs to supplement with panthothenic acid, yet its included in several energy drink vitamin blends. Of course, pantothenic acid has an important role when it comes to facilitating energy production in the body, but a vitamin B5 deficiency is rare because this vitamin is in so many foods.

STAY TUNED every Monday for more book excerpts and the science behind energy drink ingredients as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide.

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Is V8 Really an Energy Drink? A Primer on the Science of Energy Drinks in Disguise [GreenEyedGuide on ScienceMeetsFood]

Is V8 Really an Energy Drink? A Primer on the Science of Energy Drinks in Disguise [GreenEyedGuide on ScienceMeetsFood]

greeneyedguide

In this article I wrote for ScienceMeetsFood.org, I address the problem behind the term “energy drink” and the science behind energy drinks in disguise. (There’s also a Guardians of the Galaxy metaphor!) It’s a great primer if you’ve never heard the term “energy drink in disguise”, or if you never realized that V8 and Ocean Spray make energy drinks. Read this article in its entirety at ScienceMeetsFood.org

“I’ve been studying energy drinks since 2003 and they continue to both fascinate and horrify me. They fascinate me because I’m a biochemistry major, or maybe it’s the other way around. Energy drinks are the reason I pursued my masters in food science (and the reason I survived grad school). Metabolic biochemistry is the closest I’ll ever come to engineering – for me, studying biochemistry is studying the secret rules to how things work.

Energy drinks horrify me because it feels like people with no science background are behind some of the products you can buy online. Sometimes I’ll read a label and think, “What are they doing? Who thought this was a good idea?” The most concerning aspect of energy drinks is we don’t have a proper nomenclature to classify them properly. (#WhatWouldIUPACDo?) Using the term “energy drink” the way we do is like calling pure ethanol “booze”. Let’s talk about why the lack of classification is a problem.

Is V8 Really Energy Drink
Read this on ScienceMeetsFood

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