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Biotech

An Energy Drinks Roundup? 268

Posted by Cliff from the gets-you-going dept.
NecroWraith asks: "Ok, I'm sure most folks on Slashdot have something they eat or drink that helps you stay awake far beyond what your body wants you to for, whatever reason: late night gaming sessions; late nights at work; or late nights in the pub. The big one now is energy drinks. I swear I see a new one on the shelf every week. Rockstar, Red Bull, Monster, Hansen's, Jolt, Red Jak, Lost, Sobe, Bawls, Amp, MDX, the list goes on. So, what have you tried, and what do you like? What tastes best? What works best? Which one is the best deal?"
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An Energy Drinks Roundup? More

An Energy Drinks Roundup?

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  • No More Sugar! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheOtherAgentM ( 700696 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:38PM (#14608946)
    I don't know if I'm the only one, who thinks like this, but I think a lot of computer jockeys, including myself are fat enough from sitting in front of a computer without needing a drink full of sugar. I just started going to the gym about two months ago, and that gives me more energy than those drinks.
    • Jolt Ultra is going to be my new caffinated drink if I go diabetic for exactly this reason (All the caffine, NONE of the sugar, it's made with splenda).

      • Re:No More Sugar! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by arivanov ( 12034 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @04:38PM (#14610318) Homepage
        This will not help you.

        One of the main reasons for caffeine giving you a wake-up call is that it forces the liver to hydrolise glycogen into glucose. So you if you are drinking a caffeinated drink your blood sugar level will rise regardless of the sugar level of the drink. This will give your brain food as brain can consume only glucose (nothing else can traverse the hematoencephalic barrier). As a result you wake up.

        In fact, I have found high-sugar containing fruit like grapes to be nearly as effective as a whole jug of expresso when waking me up. If I do not wake up by the end of the second expresso jug I usually munch down half a kilogram of grapes. That does it and usually does not stick on the "rubber ring" the way junk food does.
      • Actually, if you're worried about type II diabetes, you might really want to lay off the caffeine. [sciencenews.org]

        People who ingested caffeine in a controlled experiment had 21% higher blood sugar levels than people who took a placebo after eating breakfast (which is equivalent to amount reduced by diabetes-controlling drugs). They also did an experiment where they had a bunch of sedentary, obese men go on an exercise program to lose weight. At the end, those who were given caffeine saw none of the benefits to their bloo
    • Red Bull has an energy that has zero sugar. I like the way it tastes better than the sugar'd variety.

      I only drink it in the summer time when I ride my bike, so my results are skewed. :)

    • Think of your heart/etc too (Score:4, Informative)

      by ModernGeek ( 601932 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @03:07PM (#14609264)
      You can't take time from your sleep, you can only borrow it. You will make up for it sooner or later whether it be in a few days, or a few years. Your body will start deteriorating as you get more and more reliant on these stimulants to keep yourself awake. The best bet is to do what the parent says, and get off your ass.
    • Instead of caffein, I prefer nutritional supplements that give you energy without the jitters.

      One of my favorites is Vibe [877getvibe.com]

      Seriously, this stuff gets sucked into your bloodstream almost instantly and gives you a rush for hours, without ephedrine, caffein, or any other stimulants... it's freakin amazing...

      • It's well hidden, but Vibe contains Green Tea Extract which contains caffine. But with all the other antioxidants, vitamins, and natural frutcose this drink gives you, I can certainly understand that the jitter effect is either muted or non-existant.....
        • I hadn't noticed that, thanks. I did some research, and it appears that Green Tea has a lot less caffein than other kinds of teas, so it may not even be as much as a single cup of coffee.

          One other thing I noticed, this is apparently the only vitamin product to be listed in the Physicians Desk Reference because of its ORAC score. I don't have a copy of the PDR to verify, if someone else does, can you look it up?
      • I hope you're only taking the recommended dosage and not downing the whole bottle.

        Directions:
        Adults: Take 1 Ounce Daily (2 Tablespoons).
        Recommended: 1 Tablespoon in AM - 1 Tablespoon in PM
        Children...blah blah blah...

    • Re:No More Sugar! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by hords ( 619030 )
      I stopped drinking caffiene December of 2004 as my new years resolution. I then gave up all soda around a month later. I was heavily addicted to caffiene. Every time I tried to quit I would get really sick. I drank tons of water to help keep myself away from the soda and this time I barely even got a headache. I've lost about 30 pounds in 2005 when I was gaining weight in 2004. I don't excercise at all and sit in front of a computer all day (which I really should change.)
    • They're a bit harder to find - often a store will only have the sugared version.

      Of the ones I've tried (I've tried a lot over the past few months), I can't tell any difference in their actual ability to give me energy. They don't help if I'm totally exhausted (very late at night), they don't make me feel super-tiptop-shape (they are a bit overhyped in this regard.) They DO help me feel a bit more human (more so than caffeine only) if I'm a bit borderline. (Such as any time before noon.)

      A list of most of
      • I've had the low-carb version of SoBe No Fear. I didn't like it, but I don't like the taste of iced tea in general. If you like iced tea, you might like No Fear.
  • 1. Caffeine

    2. Sugar

    3. Water

  • Monster energy drink is my favorite of the bunch. I just wish I could find a chep source of them.

  • In the UK (Score:2, Informative)

    by MentalMooMan ( 785571 ) *
    Well, I don't know about the US, but in the UK, I've tried 3 types.

    Red Bull - Way too expensive, certainly not worth the price, especially with all the alternatives available.

    Blue Bear - It used to be great. You could get it in 1.5 Litre bottles for £1.50 or something like that. It is sold in Spar, but they've discontinued the large bottles now, so you have to get the measly 250ml cans.

    Kick - This one's from Tesco. Well worth it. My friend once bought 10 bottles (1 litre each) at 50p each (I think the

  • My favorite.. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by burgeswe ( 873550 )
    is BAWLS [thinkgeek.com]. It's fruity and delecious, for all your late nite computing needs However, in a pinch, you can't beat good old coffee, and a snack of choco-covered coffee beans.
  • Red Bull is my regular drink. I actually use the alias "Redt Toro" when I take an editing credit. When I was in New Zealand they had a drink called "V" that actually tasted good that worked as well as Red Bull. Kind of a light citrus taste. Red Bull doesn't taste the greatest but it works. The sugar free Red Bull is pretty disgusting though. Wish they sold V in this country.

  • H2O (Score:5, Interesting)

    by chrismcdirty ( 677039 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:42PM (#14608999) Homepage
    Water. And lots of it. I stay awake late nights by giving myself mini workout sessions in during load times or when my brain is feeling stressed from programming. The water keeps me feeling fresh.

    It's also required that I walk back and forth to the bathroom multiple times during the course of a night.

    • Re:H2O (Score:4, Interesting)

      by misleb ( 129952 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @03:05PM (#14609239)
      No kidding. I used to get real tired in the evening while driving. So tired that I would zone out and nearly fall asleep at the wheel. What's wierd is that I am find before and after getting in the car. It is just cars that make me sleepy. I tried coffee (i'm still sensitive to caffiene) and ephedrine. Nothing seemed to work very well. I would still space out. Then I discovered that all I needed was proper hydration. A bottle of water or sports drink (not energy drink) and I was good to go.

      If hydration is the problem, caffeine can actually make the problem worse because it is a diuretic. I advise anyone who is having energy or concentration problems to try drinking more water and do some stretching.

      -matthew

  • My steps for success:

    1) Coffee
    2) Code (while sipping coffee)
    3) Coffee
    4) Coffee (thinking about code)
    5) Code
    6) ???
    7) Profit!!

    No wonder I'm not yet independantly wealthy...
  • Fiji Water -- get it cheap at Trader Joe's. The stuff tastes amazing, and it energizes me every time I drink it.

    Half hour of strenuous working out helps, too, of course.

    If you haven't tried Fiji, though, get some today. It is the only bottled water I buy, and it is the tastiest I've ever had. Water + body fat = energy waiting to be taken advantage of.
  • Ok, I'm sure most folks on Slashdot have something they eat or drink that helps you stay awake far beyond what your body wants you to for, whatever reason:
    Maybe coffee, maybe some hot tea... But usually just concentration. Only young whippersnappers used to constantly reaching for a drug to solve whatever ails them need these drinks.
    • I tend to like the black teas (Earl Grey is nice), but I find that coffee and most energy drinks have too sharp a spike in the energy rush/crash cycle to be worth anything for marathon sessions.

      That said, rockstar and wired are my choices for twitch gaming sessions.

      -nB
      • When driving up I5 at 4:30am after a marathon weekend, my routine is 16oz of strong coffee to start, followed by a 16oz RockStar, followed by 24oz of am/pm coffee, liberally intermixed with bottled water to keep from going into total shock. Served with interesting audiobook or music and some beef jerky, and I'm good to go.

        Yes, I crash mightily when I get home. Fortunately, I only do this 2-3 times a year, so I'm really not concerned.

        Why RockStar? Well, you get 16oz, instead of 8, to start. I haven't tas

  • None of them (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gulthek ( 12570 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:45PM (#14609029) Homepage Journal
    Exercise.

    Take your vitamins.

    Stick with coffee and drink it in moderation (1-2 cups per day).

    Drink water when not drinking coffee.

    We computer people already spend hours sitting relatively motionless at our desks. Adding calorie intensive drinks to that habit isn't the smartest thing to do.

    • Re:None of them (Score:5, Funny)

      by Evangelion ( 2145 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:59PM (#14609181) Homepage

      Stick with coffee ... (1-2 cups per day).

      I think I'm going to need a bigger cup.

    • Re:None of them (Score:4, Interesting)

      by level_headed_midwest ( 888889 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @03:24PM (#14609457)
      We computer people already spend hours sitting relatively motionless at our desks.

      That's why you feel so sleepy and sluggish. You need to get up and around to get the blood flowing every once in a while. It is very hard being a desk jockey. I always make a point to keep the temperature cool (67 degrees) if I can and always have a jug of plain water nearby. The cool temps plus the water makes for a full bladder and that entices me to get up periodically. I also exercise quite a bit and after a while of doing it, you get more energy all the time. I do my running and weightlifting in the evening so that I am not tired during the day as exercise does wear you out after you do it.

  • I drink Google Gulp (Score:5, Funny)

    by okmnji ( 791276 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:46PM (#14609043)
    You only wish you had some of this... http://www.google.com/googlegulp/ [google.com]
    • Cute, hadn't seen that before.

      Scary to think that it will probably be a practical product in 30 years.
    • I love the fine print for Goole Gulp:

      From time to time, in order to improve Google Gulp's usefulness for our users, Google Gulp will send packets of data related to your usage of this product from a wireless transmitter embedded in the base of your Google Gulp bottle to the GulpPlex(TM), a heavily guarded, massively parallel server farm whose location is known only to Eric Schmidt, who carries its GPS coordinates on a 64-bit-encrypted smart card locked in a stainless-steel briefcase handcuffed to his right

  • Bawls Guarana (Score:2, Interesting)

    by GuanoBoy ( 196948 )
    Definitely Bawls [bawls.com]...

    It tastes good, comes in a pretty, decorative blue bottle, and the name can inspire an endless stream of juvenile humor.

    Plus, mixed with orange juice, tastes just like a mimosa.

    I have NO idea if it actually "works."
    • Guarana is just an alternative source of caffeine. Bawls doesn't have any of the other vitamins usually found in energy drinks. While they haven't been proven to actually do anything, my general experience is that Bawls is no more effective than any normal run-of-the-mill caffeinated drink such as Mountain Dew. (At least in terms of energy. It DOES taste really good, but not enough to warrant the significant difference in price given its lack of performance energy-wise.)

      If you're going to spend the mone

  • The best deal (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mnmn ( 145599 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:47PM (#14609055) Homepage
    The best deal is red rain/rave. It goes awesome with vodka. Its well less than $1 CDN per can. Give it a shot. Doesnt taste as well as red bull but the caffine is there. What the heck...

  • None (Score:5, Interesting)

    by TheWanderingHermit ( 513872 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:47PM (#14609057)
    I stopped taking all medications and all caffeine a few years ago. I find that I have more energy now and generally feel better than I used to. I will now take aspirin and if I were in need of medication for a serious issue, I'd take it, but I found that once I gave my body time to get used to healing itself for most things, I felt better. For example, I had problems with back pain and congestion/allergies and a runny nose. I found I adapted and was more likely to keep moving in spite of back pain when I stopped taking meds. I also found it was possible to focus and mentally relax many of the needed muscles and "release" the pain.

    As for the sinus problems, when I went off meds, I had the "usual" problems a few weeks later, and just gave myself more time to rest. It took a few days, but then I felt fine. About a month later, I had sinus problems again, but they went away faster this time. That happened two or three more times, each time effecting me less and less and lasting less and less. My body had seemingly become conditioned to receiving meds to heal and soon learned to work the natural way. I started feeling better overall and found I had much more energy.

    So I'd say my answer is what you don't want to hear: balanced diet and exercise, don't spend all your time in front of the computer (or only at the computer then the pub!), and don't continually push your body beyond what it tells you it can handle. If you do that, then when it comes time for those 48 hour coding sessions, you'll do fine and probably have more energy than most of your co-workers. You can be dependent on energy drinks and such or dependent on good health. I've picked the the latter. I'm not saying you should or have to, but I've found it is easier and works better all around.

    • Re:None (Score:3, Informative)

      by The-Bus ( 138060 )
      I'm usually wary of people who don't trust doctors or medicines or seem a bit "New Agey" -- which I thought was where your post was heading. But what you say certainly makes sense. As much as I hate referencing Flavor-of-the-Month self-help guides, I did read a passage in one that was very revealing.

      It basically broke down tasks like this: A task is either important or not important. Then, a task is also either urgent or not urgent. Things like taking care of your health are not urgent (until it's too late)

  • Since nobody's posted it yet (Score:3, Informative)

    by Marxist Hacker 42 ( 638312 ) * <seebert42@gmail.com> on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:48PM (#14609066) Homepage Journal
    A lot of the choices are available Here! [thinkgeek.com]

  • H2O (Score:5, Insightful)

    by saskboy ( 600063 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:48PM (#14609070) Homepage Journal
    Don't abuse your body. If you're too tired to stay awake, then go to sleep. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture [sorry, "information rending"], and it makes you a dangerous driver too. Drink water, it's good for you [if it doesn't have a lot of THMs] and it will keep hangovers away. It will also keep you up if you have to go pee.

    Unless you're trying to stay up to entertain a woman [or man if you're a woman I guess], then staying up really late using drugs just isn't worth it.

    • Awww Mom, (Score:2, Funny)

      by hazman ( 642790 )
      Why do you always have to embarrass me in front of my friends?
      • If more Moms had done their jobs, I wouldn't have to be lecturing you and the hordes looking to poison themselves for minimal gains in life.

  • Iced Tea / Lemonaid (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Monkey ( 795756 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:51PM (#14609103)
    1/2 strong iced tea 1/2 lemonade (preferably with made with honey, not white sugar). I drink it because it tastes good, but I discovered it makes a great energy drink.

    I didn't even think about this until one time at work I bought one for a coworker that moonlighted as a teacher at the fire academy. The next day he said he was running circles around his cadets, and he said the only thing he did different was to drink 32oz of what he called my "monkey brew." He started drinking one every afternoon before he went to teach and swore it was the best energy drink he ever had.

  • V (aka vitalize) originally came from New Zealand, but I know you can get it in the UK and Australia now too. It has caffine and gurana, and it gives you a really nice kick. I don't know any sales figures, but walking down the street you see more people with V than with coke, or anything else.

    You can get V Black now, which has a yummy cola taste, and double the taurine. Gives you a real kick.

    www.v-energydrink.com [v-energydrink.com]

  • Enter my cube (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dazedNconfuzed ( 154242 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @02:55PM (#14609140)
    Current count is 30 different energy drink cans on display in my cube, from an ongoing sampling of every kind I can get my hands on.

    Best:
    - Venom: best tasting of the bunch, actual flavor balancing quasi-bitter with sweet (but not sickly sweet).
    - Amp: essentially "Distilled Mountain Dew", good flavor with strongest keep-awake effect I've found.
    - Source Burn: a fine general energy drink with a few vitamins.
    - Monster Khaos: actually contains 70% juice, tastes good.

    Of note:
    - Avoid the 16 oz. cans; they tend to have more "stuff" than some bodies can comfortably handle. Von Dutch has the strongest unpleasant aftereffect feeling (tastes pretty good though).
    - RockStar is reportedly made by the/a son of Michael Savage (nutrition expert and political pundit) claiming it's the best balance of "energy" ingredients.
    - Red Bull is the standard to measure all others against.

    So far my collection includes in no particular order:
    Large cans:
    - Raw Energy Fuel
    - MDX
    - Extreme Energy Shot
    - Lost
    - Von Dutch
    - Rooster Booster
    - Horse Power
    - Hansen's Energy Delux
    - Full Throttle
    - Monster
    - Monster Khaos
    - Monster Assault
    - Rip It
    - FirePowerEX
    Small cans (preferred size):
    - Crunk
    - Donkey Kick
    - Rush
    - Amp
    - Rooster Booster
    - Hansen's Energy
    - KMX
    - ROX (Austrian)
    - Red Bull
    - RockStar
    - Hair of the Dog
    - Source Burn
    - Diablo (Canadian)
    - Sobe Adrenaline Rush
    - Liquid Z
    - Glaceau SmartWater

    SmartWater is actually the best: just water, distilled & selected electrolytes - just what your body ACTUALLY needs.
    • When I was helping my dad with his on-site telecom jobs, sometimes I'd be able to use the soda fountains there.

      Well, at this one site, they had mountain dew, but the CO2 and water weren't hooked up. Mmm....Mountain Dew syrup. That was a buzz.
    • This ID created purely to suppress JonKatz's articles.

      Had that .sig a while, have you?
  • I don't drink coffee, I drink the occassional tea, and very little pop (or soda). I do drink 7-11 Slurpees....but I also drink lots of milk and water.

    I've never had the need to drink some sort of stimulant to stay awake. Even in university when assignment deadlines were looming, I wouldn't bother drinking anything to stay awake - I knew I had to stay awake, so I did. I've always had the ability to stay awake (and alert, within reason) when I've needed to. It's a useful talent!

    I do remember one guy in U
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Rockstar, Red Bull, Monster, Hansen's, Jolt, Red Jak, Lost, Sobe, Bawls, Amp, MDX, the list goes on

    I'm sure these drinks may be fun to drink once in a while, but don't fool yourself-- most of these "energy drinks" are pretty much the same thing --- sugar water with varying levels of caffine. There are other ingredients for taste. Sometimes they have ginsing, ginko-biloba, or some other herb-of-the day as an extra stimulant, but largely the herbs are there for show, and that extra energy boost is from the su
  • not "energy drinks" per se, but I like these to keep me going for all night coding sessions:

    1) Coffee - use Millstone Foglifter or Columbian Supremo beans

    2) Cherry Vanilla Coke

    3) Tropicana Twister - various flavors

    4) plain old h20

    Of the actual "energy drink" brands, I like the taste of the Monster stuff, but I rarely drink 'em.
  • Why would you need energy drinks? You underweight or something? Drink some body building protein shakes then.

    If you want to stay awake, then so far modafinil appears to work for many people. But I'm not sure of the side effects. Use at your own risk.

    Japanese green tea keeps me awake (too well sometimes), and it doesn't seem to be causing significant premature deaths among the Japanese.

    Do note that not getting enough sleep is hazardous to your health.
  • I find that plenty of sleep helps keep me up.

    But seriously, I had serious problems waking up in the morning until I decided to give up caffeine. After a few days of headaches, I found that I didn't have as much problems with my energy. I've read that using caffeine to keep awake ends up hurting in the long-run. For me, it seemed to be true (but who knows due to a large number of variables), so it mightn't hurt fo you to try.
  • If you want to stay constantly awake and avoid the ups and downs then you need to eat less refined food. The refined food gets digested fast and your body's blood sugar levels rocket then plummet shortly after making you feel tired.

    Foods which are digested slower will keep your blood sugar more constant.

    This is largely the basic of the Gi diet and I've tried it and it works.
    • I experimented with eating tins of mackerel.

      Mackerel is packed full of omega 3, protein and lots of good stuff.

      I can get tins of mackerel in a mustard sauce, reasonably inexpensively, with a pull lid. It's a *fantastic* snack.

      One time at work I got to work in the morning, hadn't had any breakfast and I was sitting in the corner wimpering, and the guys around me decided to do an IQ test; I was feeling dumb as a rock, but after a tin of mackerel my brain was really zipping and I scored 159 (normally I s

  • Jack Bauer (Score:2, Funny)

    by pvt_medic ( 715692 )
    Jack Bauer urinates and produces Red Bull.
    Sorry just still psyched about 24 being back on.
  • These drinks remind me of the good old days in the late 90s rave scene. Parties often employed kiosks selling freshly blended energy drinks of varying capacities. The most popular vendors in Toronto were Liquid Ecstasy and Liquid Adreneline. These vendors, offering drinks ranging from $5 to $25, would blend legal stimulants (red bull, ephedra, caffeine, etc.) with fresh fruit. These smoothies were really delicious and invigorating, and would wake you up with the combination of the stimulants, natural su
  • My drink of choice is Diet Pepsi with some Emer'gen C Raspberry mixed in. It's really good. Seriously!
  • I don't know about energy, but if you're the typical geek who doesn't eat right, check out Emer'gen-C packets. I tend to mix the Strawberry with the Super Orange. Tastes pretty good too.

    Strawberry: http://www.alacer.com/cgi-bin/dbsearch.exe?mdb=/pr oducts.mdb,tbl=products,DB_code=107,DBCOMP=ABS,tem plate=/products/returntitle.htm [alacer.com]

    Super Orange:
    http://www.alacer.com/cgi-bin/dbsearch.exe?mdb=/pr oducts.mdb,tbl=products,DB_code=46,DBCOMP=ABS,temp late=/products/returntitle.htm [alacer.com]
  • I wish caffeine-containing drinks were forced by U.S. law to put their caffeine content on the package, so we as consumers could make intelligent choices.

    in lieu of that, does anyone know a definitive place where one can find that information? Ideally it'd be a web page with a simple "Name / Serving size / mg Caffeine per serving" table.

  • Ups and downs (Score:2, Interesting)

    by fungai ( 133594 )
    I have a 1 year old son (second one coming soon), a busy job and in the evenings study further part time. Needless to say I have to be wise about how I get and spend my energy. Although there's always room for improvement, I think I'm pretty happy with a couple of simple "tricks" I've learned through experimentation and time.

    The so called energy drinks might give you a high for a short while but you'll be crashing down soon enough. I've recently switched my usual carb loaded lunch with a glass of whey prote

  • Hey, you left out Coke's new product, Tab Energy [tabenergy.com]!

    It's as if millions of Y-chromosomes suddenly cried out in terror...

  • 150 energy drink reviews (Score:3, Interesting)

    by wastedbrains ( 588579 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @03:28PM (#14609506) Homepage Journal
    If you google energy drink reviews my site comes up, whoopie something i can actually post about with knowledge on slashdot. http://www.bandddesigns.com/energy energy drink reviews [bandddesigns.com] Which I have run for years and it reviews about 150 energy drinks. I have tried about 175 and my thoughts My favorites overall: Go Fast, Monster Khaos, Monster Assualt, Rockstar, redbull sugar free There are tons of horrible drinks out there... avoid ones that are just high in sugar if you want energy your looking for caffiene, taurine, b vitamins, and perhaps some of the other herbs... I would warn to avoid most of the powers or tablet based drinks which tend not to be as effective, and many of the redbull knock offs are very good and half the price, but you need to look around because I have tasted some drinks that are like goat urine. I liked the flavor of guarana based drinks like bawls, but have found them to not give you as much energy, they do seem however to have a smoother effect that doesnt have a sudden crash like many of the other drinks like redbull. I also like some of the more natural and harder to find drinks like gorilla juice which is like a pumped up lemonade, which tastes nothing like the overly sugar added drinks that many of the others go for. I have even got to do some fun consulting for some small energy drink companies and was written up in investors business daily for an interview about the energy drink market. (Hansens makers of monster has done very well in the stock market earning up 300%)

  • How about this one? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Rac3r5 ( 804639 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @03:37PM (#14609615)
    http://www.google.com/googlegulp/ [google.com]
  • Most energy drinks are a mixture of the following:
    * Caffeine
    * Sugar
    * B-vitamins (1: Thiamin, 2: Riboflavin, 3:Niacin, 12, )
    * 1 more substance (at least in the can I most recently looked at). I can't remember the name, but it's normally produced in the body unless you are an infant (where the normal source is breast milk).

    The concentration of B vitamins can be between 50% to 200% of the RDA, depending on the drink.

    Check out the Vitamin facts [askdrsears.com], B-vitamin groups [vic.gov.au], or check out a nutrition textbook.

    Energy drinks
  • This'd be a baaaad idea at work, but try sparks - orange syrup, carbonation, caffeine, ginseng...and malt likker. Wakes ya up and gets ya drunk, all at once. It's the definition of a pregamer.

    Probably makes yer testicles shrivel up like raisins, but what the hell. S'tasty.

  • It's somewhat amusing (or perhaps disturbing?) that the top scoring comments on this thread are mostly people saying: don't drink that crap, do/drink something healthy!

    Well, let me join them. I've been doing some contract work at a place that happens to have a Whole Foods conveniently nearby. I sometimes stop by there and check out their juice. So far I've found that Arthur's 'Green Energy' smoothie works best for me. (I'm not sure how widespread this brand is; it may or may not be fairly local.)

    So, yeah, y
  • VPX Redline [vpxsports.com]. Just don't drink it. I thought it is just another energy drink, but it really screws you up. If you wanna try it, make sure it is a friday night. Don't drink it on an empty stomach. This drink just makes you shivering.
  • For those who aren't aware MDX comes in a sugar-free version which tastes much better, in my opinion, than the version with sugar.
  • What about this synthetic hornet drink? Saw this on a National Geographic special on giant hornets in Japan - Hornets from Hell. The substance is produced in giant hornet larvae saliva for the adult females so they can gather food. Adult giant hornets (and maybe hornets in general, I don't know) don't eat solid protein because they cannot digest it--they only eat VAAM. http://www.vaam-power.com/ [vaam-power.com]

  • Monster Lo Carb (Score:3, Interesting)

    by steveo777 ( 183629 ) on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @04:14PM (#14610074) Homepage Journal
    It tastes very pleseant. I don't like drinking a lot of sugar, and this stuff has only 6g per can (16oz). Usually it can be found for 1.99/each, but you can buy fourpacks that are discounted by a total $.50 to $2.00. Gas stations around my area (Twin Cities, MN) have jacked the prices to $2.29, so I don't often get it, but it's still better for you than getting super-sugared up lattes and mochas at coffee shops (and much cheaper in the long run).

    I've actaully been able to pick it up by the case. Go to their website and call them, they'll tell you who is the local distributor. I've gotten cases for paintball tournaments that I've hosted for $32.00 (24pack).

    I'm not addicted, I can stop any time I want...

  • Like others have said, get out of your chair and exercise. Doesn't mean you have to join a gym you can always go for a 1-hour walk, ride a bike for a couple of hours, or whatever you like to do EVERY DAY. Just get off of the couch.

    For those days when I feel like my arse is dragging (we all have those days), I like Xcess Energy Drinks. All they are is liquid vitamin B12 with flavoring (the rootbeer is great!). No jitters from caffine or herbal additives, you don't feel burned out afterwards, and it is ab
  • The original [energyfiend.com].

    Here's the text of the review of Redline, though.

    Quite Possibly the Most Powerful Energy Drink Ever
    October 7th, 2005 3:34 pm

    Seriously, the drink may mean the end of this blog. In the before time, conversations generally went a little something like this:

    So, whats a good energy drink in terms of strength?

    Well theres a lot to choose from, based on caffeine content, taurine, ginseng, green tea extracts

    Well what if Im just interested in caffeine content?

    Well just go to The Caffeine Database and look around!

    The point, probably lost, is that theres a lot of drinks, in varying sizes and caffeine contents, that also contain a lot of other things.

    So then this new thing came out. Its called VPX Redline Fat Burner. Amazon is lacking a little information, so heres a little more:

    Check out this freaky scientific VPX breakthrough: RED LINE®: is the only matrix ever developed to shred fat through the shivering response in the body. By shivering the body burns huge amounts of stored bodyfat for energy in an effort to keep the body warm. Thats not all! In addition to shivering, youll also be sweating up a thermogenic storm. The combined mechanisms of these two processes results in unparalleled fat loss!

    What fun. Now, its pretty obvious looking at the ingredients that theres caffeine. But get this: all of the aforementioned goodness, and the serving size is FOUR ml. About one TENTH of an ounce. The whole bottle has 240 ml, or 60 servings. Basically, a bottle of this, less than the size of a normal can of coke, WILL kill you. This is nothing to be playing around with.

    I have friends. Not just normal friends, mind you. The kind of friends that voluntarily live on the streets. The kind of friends who, when drinking, race to forgetting. The kind of friends who take caffeine pills, ephedrine pills, and asprin.. all at once. One, in particular, drinks and consumes over a gram of caffeine daily, to stave off the headaches. So you know this is a serious review:

    oh yeah, its definately 90% caffeine. the aftertaste is unmistakeable. the best part is that since i didnt have my normal dose this morning, i probably wont actually feel sh*t.

    [10 minutes later]

    the caffeine kicked in a lot faster than i expected. though in retrospect, it normally does when its in syrup form and tastes like ass.

    feel oddly cold too. took me a minute to realize that while i still was warm, it was that shiver reflex kicking in. its a lot like when
    you get a chill at the back of your neck, but somewhat continuous.

    So whats in this magical bottle of awesome? Caffeine, Green Tea, Yerba Mate, 5-HTP (5 hydroxy-1-tryptophan), cAMP, Yohimbe, Evodiamine, and Vinpocetine. And a few other things.

    I know, I know, so heres some more info:

    cAMP is cyclic adenosine monophosphate. It supposedly sparks many intercellular processes. Whatever that means. Increased concentrations supposedly raise thyroid horomone levels, and help fat burning (would help explain why its in a fat-burning supplement).

    Yohimbe is a bark extract from a tree in Africa. Its considered a natural aphrodisiac, and sold here to treat imotency, dialate pupils, and stimulate fat loss. It can also mess with your blood pressure, so watch out.

    Evodiamine is derived from some Chinese fruit called Evodia Rutaecarpa. Supposedly burns fat.

    Vinpocetine is an alkaloid derived from some periwinkle plant. It is used in Europe, Japan, and Mexico to treat crebrovascular and cognitive disorders. Some people claims it elevates metabolism, but with no proof.

    And the interesting one in the group: 5-HTP. I made sure to spell it out, so the smart ones in the group have already figured out the key: Tryptophan. It

  • that is japanese green tea, with a great taste and quite a load of caffeine.

    the only drawback is the insane price
  • First of all, which energy drink is my fave? I occassionally enjoy a Red Bull because of the taste. But for purposes of caffeine input, it's plain old coffee.

    The weird thing is, I have no problem staying awake all day without coffee. But I develop a strange craving for some by mid-afternoon. Not because I feel worn out or sleepy, I just crave it. I never use coffee to stay awake when I should be sleeping, like a lot of people do, and I hardly ever drink it after 3:00 PM.

    I'm obviously addicted to it in s

  • There's a review of various energy drinks on Slate.com: http://www.slate.com/id/2126591/ [slate.com]
  • It will kick your ass into next week. http://www.lightningdrink.com/ [lightningdrink.com]

    Chuck Norris needs to come out with a competing product.

  • Cold Turkey (Score:3, Interesting)

    by marcushnk ( 90744 ) <senectus@nOSPam.gmail.com> on Tuesday January 31, 2006 @06:00PM (#14611047) Journal
    I went cold turkey on caffeine about a year ago.. I became way to reliant on it and at one stage I even had a "fit" because of a Caffeine overdose.
    It contributed massively to my continuing downhill hill slide in the general health area.
    Coffee is a diuretic, diuretics cause you to lose water from your system, the less hydrated you are the more sluggish and lazy you feel, after a while (if your lucky) you wake up and realize that you stopped exercising a long time ago and now your an unhealthy fat fucker.

    You can do one of two things..
    Sue Starbucks (not gonna win)
    Get up off your lazy fat arse and go exercise _every_ day

    Bet ya most people sue :-(

    The stuff is subtle and dangerous, consumers beware.
  • I drink XS on a regular basis, which around one can per day in the morning. Only brand that I know of that comes in 8 different flavors, two of which are caffeine-free. It's not sold in stores, so the only way to find it is to come in contact with someone who does.
  • Why not just jump right to amphetamine? I mean its why figher pilots use to stay up?

    As a side bonus, depending where you live, its probably easier to get then bawls.

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