Category: Energy Drink Ingredients

Science behind ingredients in energy drinks and other supplements

How Much Carnitine? Book Excerpt of the Week

How Much Carnitine? Book Excerpt of the Week

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For last week’s Book Excerpt, we reviewed the role of carnitine in the body and how it helps the body’s powerhouse, the Mighty Mitochondria. This week we ask, “How much carnitine is too much?”

With a well-balanced diet, a healthy human body makes enough carnitine to meet demand.

Carnitine supplements have been used in clinical trials for age-related cognitive decline, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s disease. These studies use carnitine in GRAMS and many energy drinks contain carnitine in MILLIGRAMS.

In other words, don’t expect the carnitine amount in energy drinks to MAKE YOU OVERDOSE on carnitine or PREVENT COGNITIVE DECLINE.

The body is pretty effective at getting rid of excess carnitine so consuming too much shouldn’t be a big concern… unless you have an empty stomach. Taruine, carnitine, and B-vitamins can irritate an empty stomach, leading to nausea, light-headedness, and other stomach pains.

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Carnitine and the Mighty Mitochondria – Book Excerpt of the Week

Carnitine and the Mighty Mitochondria – Book Excerpt of the Week

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Carnitine is another popular energy drink ingredient, but WHAT DOES IT DO? Carnitine is a doorman, a carrier. Carnitine carries fatty acids across the threshold, into the place where they’re metabolized: the mitochondria. The mitochondria is basically where molecules that used to be food are converted to energy. 

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

Carnitine doesn’t just bring things INTO the mitochondria, it also helps REMOVE WASTE. This is an important job because if waste builds up in the mitochondria, it can slow energy production down. 

MY GOODNESS, WHAT DID WE EVER DO WITHOUT THE CARNITINE IN ENERGY DRINKS?!? 

Stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt from 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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Carnitine as a doorman – Book Excerpt of the Week

Carnitine as a doorman – Book Excerpt of the Week

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The Book Excerpt of the Week is about CARNITINE! Carnitine is a common energy drink ingredient, but it’s also popping up in some sports supplements as well. So what is it and what does it do? 

When I was studying energy drink ingredients in college and grad school, I had to make funny stories for everything to help me remember the details. This fun story is how I remember what carnitine does, 

We’ll get more into the specifics as we continue to move page by page through the Carnitine chapter, so stay tuned for more book excerpts every Monday on your favorite GreenEyedGuide medium, whether that’s right here, on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. 

Carnitine: What is it? Where does it come from? WHAT DOES IT DO? All questions are answered in this section 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”. Available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. 

Taurine Amounts in Energy Drinks and Safe Dosage Limits – Book Excerpt of the Week

Taurine Amounts in Energy Drinks and Safe Dosage Limits – Book Excerpt of the Week

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“Three of the most popular energy drink brands in the US have 1000 milligrams of taurine per serving so it’s unlikely taurine coming from an energy drink will cause any side effects.”

As we continue to move page-by-page through my book on energy drinks, this week’s excerpt is about taurine and how much you can consume safely. The maximum amount a person can have with no side effects is called the “No Observable Adverse Effect Level” (NOAEL).

The NOAEL for taurine was accepted as 1000mg/kg body weight or 455mg/lb body weight. This NOAEL was accepted by the European Food Safety Authority in a comprehensive review of the safety and use of taurine and glucoronolactone in energy drinks (EFSA 2009).
To learn more about energy drink ingredients  (what they are/what they do/how much to consume), stay tuned every Monday for more excerpts from “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star-A Guide to Energy Drinks: How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely”

Taurine and the Heart – Book Excerpt of the Week 

Taurine and the Heart – Book Excerpt of the Week 

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The Book Excerpt of the Week deals with TAURINE. This is a very common energy drink ingredients, but have you ever wondered what it does?

In my book, I review the What It Is/What It Does/How Much Do I Need for the most common energy drink ingredients. Taurine has multiple functions (see last week’s excerpt). One of the things it does is control ion balances (ions like sodium, potassium, calcium).

Taurine can help with bloating because taurine helps the body restore the ideal balance of sodium and potassium, reducing water retention. Taurine also helps restore the balance of calcium ions inside heart muscle cells. Calcium imbalances can lead to cell death and heart muscle damage.
Does this mean an energy drink is good for the heart? No. An energy drink contains many ingredients, so the functions of all those ingredients has to be considered.

Get your copy of “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star-A Guide to Energy Drinks: How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely” at http://amzn.to/2bjHRbk