There’s something magical about the color pink. Just the word “pink” brings to mind several connotations from princesses and Victoria’s Secret merchandise to breast cancer. Unfortunately, the football players have ditched their pink attire and the yogurt lids will soon return to their normal colors, but there is an easy way to support breast cancer research and awareness year-round.
The energy drink “her” (“healthy energy revolution”) was the first energy drink I came across that indicated a charitable donation on their label. The label indicates, “5% of net proceeds will be donated to charity” but it’s unclear exactly which charity. If we trust Wikipedia (and I never let my students use this free encyclopedia as their primary source), her energy donated to numerous organizations including the Susan G Komen foundation and MADD. Then again, they also tried to get Lindsay Lohan out of jail using signs that stated “Free her“. I almost want to give them points for being clever. Almost.
The whole scenario is a bit sketchy and since that drink’s website has been replaced by a site that reminds me how much Japanese I can still read, let’s discuss a different energy drink.
Go Girl trumps h.e.r. energy drink
You’ll get another one. A better one. That one.
[Ten points and a free gift if you can tell me what movie that quote is from.]
Let’s see, there’s Charlotte, Aragog, the “her” from LOTR, the ones John Goodman had to fight in Arachnophobia, the one that freaked out Little Miss Muffet…What other spiders did you come up with?
How about this one – Spider Energy. With a head nod towards Halloween, this month’s pick is Spider Energy.
Other flavors are available but I prefer Widow Maker for its flavor, its tagline atop the can, and its colors scheme.
Anyone can review a beverage and tell you how they like the flavor, or how the ingredients affect them. I find these reviews helpful and steer you toward those reviews when I can. However, ultimately my goal is to give you the tools so you can go beyond someone else’s review and determine, just by looking at a can, how the product might affect your own body in your particular condition of fatigue.
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.
Green-Eyed Insight on Spider Energy
1 – Caffeine.
This product has 240 milligrams of caffeine per 16 ounce can, and this information is kindly included on the Nutrition Facts Panel. Keep in mind those under 18 should have less than 100 milligrams of caffeine per day, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, and those 18 and up should keep daily intakes below 400 milligrams, the maximum dosage considered safe by Health Canada and the US FDA. All of this assumes you aren’t pregnant or nursing or have a pre-existing condition that makes you sensitive to caffeine.
To see how this energy drink compares to others, Energy Fiend is ALWAYS a great resource:
At one point, Spider Energy was two servings per can (see the picture from my collection, below). Nowadays, Spider Energy labels indicate one 16 ounce can is one serving, but always confirm the number of servings per container before making any judgments on any other nutrients. We’ve all seen the super-sized muffins that are supposed to be three servings, right? If you consume one whole 16 ounce can, you’re getting 240 milligrams of caffeine, which is not a small dose, but nothing obscene or potentially hazardous like some of the other energy products out there. Remember that you are not legally or morally obligated to drink the entire can in one sitting – the label is not the boss of you. This product is not weak so there will be days when half the can will do. Remember the words of Paracelsus: the difference between medicine and a cure is the dosage (this is also a song by Circa Survive).
3 – Carbonation and/or Juice.
Carbonation slightly irritates the stomach lining, speeding up caffeine absorption. Energy drinks with fruit juice are usually non-carbonated or lightly carbonated so those products might be better suited for those seeking a milder pick-me-up. When you want to take advantage of this nifty trick, check the ingredient list: in this case carbonated water is the very first ingredient, so there’s your answer.
Note this can from my collection says 2 Servings per Container and uses a Supplement Facts panel – this product has been reclassified as a beverage so current products feature a Nutrition Facts Panel, and the label has been updated to say 1 Serving per Container. Note all the Green-Eyed Insight here applies to both the previous and the current product.
4 – Vitamins.
Vitamins help your body perform reactions that can generate energy, but vitamins are not the source of energy. This is why you should be cautious of products that promise to deliver heaps of energy in the form of vitamin mega-doses. Even some water-soluble vitamins like niacin (vitamin B3) or vitamin B6 can lead to side-effects when you consume too much, so it’s always good to double-check the label for those particular vitamins.
B6 – Side-effects for B6 start at 100 milligrams so even if you did chug the whole Spider Energy, you’re only getting 8 milligrams (twice the Daily Value) of vitamin B6.
Niacin Flush – For this particular product, the amount of niacin per SERVING is 100% Daily Value, which is 20 milligrams. At 35 milligrams, some people experience a “niacin flush” – mild itching and flushing of the skin. Drinking the whole can provides 40 milligrams of niacin, enough to cause the niacin flush in some people. But, if you’re smart and if you’ve been listening to my advice all this time, you know better than to chug the whole can in one sitting. Better yet, perhaps you’ve met Mr. Swift and Mr. Thrift in Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: a guide to energy drinks, so you know how manipulating the speed of consumption can alter the ways caffeine affects your body, giving you, literally, more bang for your buck.
5 – Sugars.
In one 16 ounce can, there are a whopping 30 grams of sugar. For those of us limiting added sugars, there are sugar-free versions of Spider Energy. Then there are some people who might actually benefit from the sugar – people working a swing-shift with no time to eat, bartenders working the Vampire Schedule with no lulls to get real food…you know who you are. In this product, the sugar comes from sucrose (literally, table sugar) and glucose. Skimming the ingredient list all the way through shows no HFCS (if you care about that and if you’ve forgotten that regular sugar can be just as bad in excess as HFCS). Moreover, this product is sweetened with Sucralose (Splenda), and Ace-K but not aspartame (good news for those with PKU). Again, it all comes down to making the best decision for you – your body, your situation, your call.
Other Aspects to Consider:
This product calls out the amounts of other popular energy drink ingredients like ginseng, green tea extract, guarana and taurine. Perhaps you’re thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if I had some quick little reference guide that explained in plain English what these ingredients do and how much is too much to consume?”
Enjoy with caution. The amount of caffeine per container, carbonation and sugar content put this product at Level 4 in the 5 Levels of Fatigue:
Level 0 – Energizer Bunny
Level 1 – Magic 8 Ball Says “Fatigue Forthcoming”
Level 2 – Too Tired to Go It Alone
Level 3 – Lethargic and Struggling
Level 4 – For the Long Nights and Rough Fights
Level 5 – Barely Alive
For a complete breakdown of these levels and how to use them to maximize caffeine’s effects while minimizing your intake, check this out: 5 Levels of Fatigue.
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.
