Have you ever looked at an energy drink and thought, “Is this good for me?” Don’t laugh – this question is not rhetorical. In fact, I’ve studied energy drinks for almost 20 years and I get this question all the time. My friends, family, and fans will send me pictures and ask, “What about this drink?” Some drinks are DEFINITELY better than others. And so today we’re going to focus on the Science Behind Kill Cliff Ignite.
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More than 90% of the population drinks caffeine every day. But when and how you drink your caffeine makes a huge difference in your health and well-being.I use my science background to help people drink caffeine strategically. In other words, I help people work better, sleep better, and feel better.
A study presented at the November 2018 American Heart Association conference claimed, “Just one energy drink may hurt blood vessel function.” It’s been a few months since the last “energy drinks are killing people” freak out, so I suppose we were due. Instead of pointing out all the limitations in the study (because this Healthline article beat me to it and did a great job) I’m going to skip the science for today and just talk about the 10 energy drinks that will not hurt your blood vessels.
Interesting and Unusual Ingredients In This Energy Drink
Isomaltulose is a natural sweetener found in honey and sugar cane extract. It has the same two “members” that make table sugar: glucose + fructose = sucrose. However the glucose and fructose are arranged (i.e., holding hands) in a different way than they do in sucrose. As a result of this arrangement, isomaltulose is only half as sweet as sucrose.
This energy drink contains JABUTICABA, which is basically a Brazilian grape. Jabuticaba fruit contains protein, calcium, iron, phosphorus, Vitamin C and some B vitamins.
Jabuticaba has polyphenol antioxidants like those in cranberries and grapes. These antioxidants have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties…in test tubes and lab rats. It’s difficult to prove these benefits outside of a controlled cell or rat cage because life is too complicated to prove a cause and effect of this magnitude. In other words, it’s extremely difficult to control for things like diet, stress, sunlight, exercise, the number of hours sitting down, etc. to conclusively prove whether polyphenols prevent cancer.
When Juice Becomes A Tool
Jabuticaba isn’t very high on the ingredients list, meaning there might not be enough of it in this drink to be an effective dose for those antioxidant health benefits. The same can be said for the other juices in here too: apple, grape, acai, and acerola. All of these juices offer some variety of health benefits related to the benefit of antioxidants. But the dosage makes a difference. So does the order.
Apple and Grape juice are the most predominant, and they are very sweet, which tells me this drink is using those juices more for flavor and sweetness than for health benefits.
Regardless, this is a healthier alternative to the stereotypical energy drink. This energy drink has 80 mg caffeine (same as Red Bull) from 3 leaf extracts: 1.Green Tea, 2.Guarana, 3.Yerba Mate. With 80 mg caffeine, this drink fits Fatigue Level 2. [See 5 Levels of Fatigue to see how to use this system to avoid caffeine toxicity, dependency, and tolerance]
You can find more about the science behind energy drink ingredients here at GreenEyedGuidecom 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!!!).
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.
Energy drinks have come a long way since 2003 when all energy drinks looked like Red Bull or Monster. GURU Organic Energy drink is more proof of that. GURU is not your stereotypical energy drink, and in this post, I’ll review the key ingredients, the caffeine content, and if it’s a good idea to drink this every day.
What is “Organic Energy”?
Ask a science nerd like me about “Organic Energy,” and you’ll get a lot of puns. There’s “organic energy,” as in energy that’s inherent or innate. Then, there’s “Organic” as in “based on the study of carbon-based molecules.” But what about carbon-ated drinks?
All puns aside (sorry, not sorry), let’s talk about a carbonated energy drink that is certified-Organic.
The Energy Drink of the Month for June 2017 is GURU Organic Energy.
In this post, we’ll review three key questions. First, who is this for – what do the ingredients say about the target audience? Second, what are those key ingredients, and what do they do? Third, can you drink this every day?
![Is V8 Really an Energy Drink? A Primer on the Science of Energy Drinks in Disguise [GreenEyedGuide on ScienceMeetsFood]](https://i0.wp.com/greeneyedguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/is-v8-really-energy-drink.png?resize=512%2C548&ssl=1)
