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13 Energy Drinks In 3 Sessions
circletimessquare writes "As a member of the cult of caffeine, as I suspect many Slashdot readers are, I was pleasantly amused by this story in The New York Times entitled Opening 13 Cans of Whoop (reg req). Our brave reporter sucks down a number of energy drinks of various parentages and gives us the lowdown on their taste, appearance, ingredients, overall effect, and dubious appeal. Example: 'At this point, my energy level was not only elevated, it was speeding toward the red line. I felt myself staring holes through my computer screen, typing at five times my normal rate and thinking far too creatively about life questions like how many AA batteries I needed to buy when I went to the drug store. My mood was chipper. Too chipper.'"
Here's a registration free link thanks to Google.
I think at some point its much healthier to switch to cocaine.
I put instant coffee in the microwave and went back in time.
Thanks Steve Wright..
While it's real great to be awake and theoretically able to do something productive until the wee hours of the night, there is no substitute for honest to goodness sleep. It's a lot cheaper than a $2 eight-ounce can, too.
Sleep when you can. You won't regret it.
Sigs are like bumper stickers.
I felt myself staring holes through my computer screen, typing at five times my normal rate and thinking far too creatively about life questions like how many AA batteries I needed to buy when I went to the drug store.
Whatever! You'd think the guy was smoking crystal meth or something. Anyway, if you want to feel healthy and alert, try:
(a) Eating nutritiously and sparingly,
(b) Exercising every day, and
(c) Sleeping regularly (same time every day) for 8 hours.
[Someone didn't have anything to write on this sunny saturday night] A sunny night? Where do you live? North Pole or something?
Hey, man - Caffeine may be bad for you, but it's sure as hell necessary for my survival. Which, in itself, may be bad for you...
Red Bull wasn't the first energy drink. Remember, Coca-Cola used to contain cocaine.
that people spend that kind of money on this stuff. Give me a bag of coffee beans and stand back. If needed I will make it stiff enough to stand on it's own, you don't drink it, you chew it. Who needs a mug.
Of course I don't understand Starbucks either. $4 for a cup of coffee? I like mine plain black, not that sissified crap.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
Bah. I can quit any time I want.
/usr/games/fortune
If you need energy drinks to stay alert, you either aren't getting enough sleep (which is dumb) or you're utterly insane.
Normal people in normal sleep routines should be able to get by without caffeine. Hell, I've stayed up all night on nothing more than water before.
By summer it was all gone...now shesmovedon. --
jolt cola was limited to 72mg dose of caffine per 12 oz soda do to food laws. (at least in the USA)
which ironicly is less then coffee can be (normally 65-175 mg per 8 oz serving) and less then espresso (100mg per 1.5-2oz)
http://www.freshcoffee.com/html/caffaq-1.html
these energy drinks are not "soda" to get around the limit.
LD50 for caffine is 150mg/kg
(take your weight in kg * 150mg of caffine = a dose that has a 50% chance of killing you)
200 pounds = 90.7 kilograms => 13.6 grams
100 pounds = 45.3 kilograms => 6.8 grams
um, I know this is kinda blasphemy here on slashdot, but my tip is actually to reduce your dose of caffeine. I used to drink *lots* of coffee and other caffeinated beverages earlier, but decided to try a little break and watch the difference. My conclusion is as follows (beware: these are my personal experiences, your might be completely different)
:P
1. If you are going to be doing a lot of intensive work, in need of intense concentration (such as coding), you shouldn`t pour down coffee like you never saw it before. The coffee dehydrates your body, leading to less-than-optimal body functionality and can actually make you less suited to do the job intented.
2. If you, as we all do once in a while, drink buckets of coffee - remember to drink lots of water or other beverage to compensate for the water loss brought on by the caffeine. It`s important to have enough water in your body, we're water creatures after all ^^.
but, who am I kidding - Coffee is G-O-D
Doolittle :
Bomb no.20 : To explode of course.
Ritalin combined with caffine is by far the most productivity inspiring legal cocktail one can imagine.
Hey, don't say it like that. For food manufacturers to actually produce something that does what it claims really IS a discovery!
"Studies have shown that people who eat peanuts live longer than those who do not eat."
Slashdot is a device that turns coders into posters of caffeine jokes.
Reminds me a lot of this (funnier!) column from Computer Language magazine.
Is he in soviet russia or something? in the rest of the world, computer screen stares holes in you!
Caffiiineeee yeah yeah yeah! uhuh! im good to go! hey i can quit! i can quit anytime!
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
the interesting thing to me is, that while caffeine is probably the worlds most widely used drug, it's effects (on spiders, albeit) actually seem to be more detramental than that of even marjuanna.
Yes, I know this is a spider and not a human; but it's still some food for thought....
Fry: Fancy cigar why don't you smoke it already? Puff puff go go go go go!
I don't see how this evaluation of energy drinks means anything, because he had more than one per sitting. Who's to say which one did what, or how they cross-reacted?
This is a 'Science' story???
The NYT article itself is a lark, and a poorly written one at that. As one who consumes espresso regularly and *energy drinks* occasionally, I can assert, experientially (corroborated by several friends & coworkers with whom I've discussed this in the past), that the defining active ingredient in Red Bull and its myriad spawn is Taurine, not Caffeine.
Conduct the experiment yourself: get a double espresso one night, followed the next night by an 8oz *energy drink* (adjust qtys. for your tolerance). Note the differing effects of the caffeinated espresso vs. the taurine+caffeine *energy drink*.
I spent a month of awful headaches giving up a 5-7 Dr. Peppers a day habit about 2 years ago due to acid reflux and stomach aches and found to my surpise that I'm actually more alert and energetic without the caffeine. Caffeine put me in a perpetual up and down mode, swinging between being too lethargic to work to having an extremely short attention span for the hour after drinking a soda. The only downside is that I still crave soda whenever someone pops the top on a can of soda.
I do cheat if I have a really bad headache or if I'm going on a long drive by drinking Adrenaline by Sobe and Amp by 7up. That always does the trick but with being unaccusomed to caffeine these energy drinks are like taking speed or something.
Real men drink Bawls...
God made the natural numbers; all else is the work of man - Kronecker
Why not get actual Caffeine or pure Guarana? Of course, I once saw a girl who ate roughly 1 gram of caffeen in a night stay up for 4 days straight while crying and dribbling at the mouth, so don't overdo it.
And as for straight coffee beans... Try instant. Just shovel a few spoonfuls into your mouth, and wash it down with water. 10 seconds and you're super caffinated.
Of course the other secret is to eat 20mg of caffeine immediately before falling asleep. You will awake totally refreshed in about two hours, as if you had a full night's sleep. You do have to make very sure you fall asleep before the caffeine kicks in, or you just won't sleep at all. Long-term effects include improved GPA and complete cardiopulmonary collapse.
The ______ Agenda
What's the most caffeine you've had, anyway? My above experience with SkyRocket spiking (plus spiked OJ and Coffee in the morning) resulted in about 1g (not mg, mind you) of caffeine intake over a period of about 6 hours. First time I've ever noticed my heartrate go up from caffeine. With my weigh of about 115 lbs, the LD-50 for me is around 7 grams.
(-:Stephonovich:-)
"Who needs reincarnation when we've got parallel universes?" -Me
Honestly folks, out of all of us nerdy caffeine freaks, who hasn't tried the suculant taste of Bawls energy drink? I have sampled all of the major drinks on the market, and Bawls ranks in the top three on Taste, Power, and Look (Come on, the bottle is awesome). Do they not sell this stuff in New York? It would have been the one of the top three I'm sure.
Raise your hand if you have any recollection of this swill (or any recollection the day after comsuming it).
Caffeine is actually benefical, it can help reduce asthma attacks, it helps prevent stone formation, it can help reduce the risk of colon cancer and it's an anti-oxident. There are a lot of others which I won't post here, but a quick googling will turn them up, but sure, too much caffeine like anything is bad for you.
If you want to achieve the effects described in this article, why beat around the bush. Just get some cocaine. Compared to what these things cost, you might even be saving money.
But, for those who can't give up drinking their high.. there are new coca enhanced energy drinks coming out of Peru. Not coming into America any time soon, but still..
Quitting is easy. I've done it thousands of times.
What?
this is probably meant to be "blå", which is the norwegian word for "blue". Never seen it in the stores here though..
:>
From negative to postive in one day - neat
Doolittle :
Bomb no.20 : To explode of course.
would be a "scientific study" of the respective disolving powers of each drink. Since teeth vary, I guess we would initially need to establish,the parameters of the "average tooth" of the consumer in terms of its resistance to:
A: Carbonic acid
B: Phosphoric acid
C: Sodium Benzoate
D: Sugar activated plaque
E: Anything else in a drink including colours (colors), flavours, (flavors), preseratives etc.,
Once we establish the "average tooth", we need to obtain sufficient samples which are sufficiently similar in size, type and quality of dentyne layer.
Incidentally, we also ought to test fillings and see what happens to them. We could look for loosening due to tooth decay or the disolving of metal amalgum, (or whatever filler they use).
I'd be particularly interested in the gases liberated from metal fillings and glues/resins by the corrosive action of the acids.
While we are at it, IF these drinks are made from
domestic water, what effect does the fluoride have
on the tooth. Fluoride is added to water supplies so that poor unfortunate people who apparantly don't buy toothpaste don't have to worry about their teeth falling out.
Obituary: J Bloggs croaked on Friday due to liver failure as a result of Fluoride overdose. The Coroner did note however that the deceased had a lovely set of teeth.
While we are at it, where are MY RIGHTS? I didn't demand fluoride in the water. If you brush your teeth with toothpaste containing fluoride AND drink copious quantities of water containing Fluoride (BECAUSE SOME MF SOB DECIDED IT WAS IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!) they can get stained black. Whoopee! Might as well issue black crayons. Why are polititians and tooth fairy campaigners so IGNORANT of long term health issues. They wouldn't have shares in fluoride mines perhaps now would they???!!!
Colours, sweeteners and preservatives are used to make products attractive to look at and cheap to produce. Medical help and therapy costs millions, maybe billions$. WHO PAYS IN THE END?
Sorry for the soapbox moment but some stuff has to be said.
My hyperlinks aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
OT, but like he points out: "sale of Red Bull, the leading energy drink in Europe, has been restricted to pharmacies in some countries there because of its high caffeine content." Here in Norway they actually outlawed it completely (which can be done because we think are to good for the European Union and it's free trade...) Of course we are used ridicolous legislation regarding to anything remotely stimulating, after all I live in a country which has about the same maximum punishment for possession of larger amounts of cannabis as for murder in the first degree (21 years, (while rape typically gets you 3...))
By Heath's calculation, the amount of ecgonine [an alkaloid in the coca leaf that could be synthesized to create cocaine] was infinitesimal: no more than one part in 50 million. In an entire year's supply of 25-odd million gallons of Coca-Cola syrup, Heath figured, there might be six-hundredths of an ounce of cocaine.
So, yes, at one time there was cocaine in Coca-Cola. But before you're tempted to run off claiming Coca-Cola turned generations of drinkers into dope addicts, consider the following: back in 1885 it was far from uncommon to use cocaine in patent medicines (which is what Coca-Cola was originally marketed as) and other medical potions. When it first became general knowledge that cocaine could be harmful, the backroom chemists who comprised Coca-Cola at the time (long before it became the huge company we now know) did everything they could with the technology they had available at the time to remove every trace of cocaine from the beverage. What was left behind (until the technology improved enough for it all to be removed) wasn't enough to give a fly a buzz.
There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.
Although it is cheaper ($0.00 vs $2.00 = $2.00 cheaper, or #INF%), there is the flip side as well.
Not to denounce the fact that sleep is a Good Thing(tm), but...
Let's say that drinking the content of the $2 can allows you to stay up and awake, productive, etc. for 1 more hour.
At $40/hour pay, you just 'made' $38.
I know a few people who wouldn't mind making that trade-off if they could.
I experimented with a few energy drinks prior to my trek out to new mexico from new jersey. I found that SoBe Adrenaline worked best for me. I never drink caffine and always get at least 8 hours sleep so I knew this would be system shock. My brother, on the other hand, who has ADD could find nothing that worked.
Just on Adrenaline I made it out there in under 40 hours only stopping for gas/bathroom. Not a huge accomplishment for most, but a triumph for me. When I got to the pan handle I was downing one almost every 30 minutes.
I did try Red Bull and some others on the way back but they didn't have close to the same kick. I really think the effectiveness of these drinks depends on the person.
Whoa deamn!
Just keep in mind LD-50 is the point where HALF of the HEALTHY subjects are dead. Many die well before that, many also get ill. I don't know about YOUR particular physique, but most slashdotters I know in real life (myself included) are not exactly healthy.
Careful man, you could suffer short or long term health effects.
Anywho, I gotta stop typing, my BAWLS with guarana is nearly 45 F, I gotta finish it now.
Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
If only the product had been available to Keith Richards, he might be wrinkle-free and rosy cheeked today.
Who is this guy trying to kid? Keith Richards has done every drug there is and he's still alive. You just can't seem to kill the guy. I'm pretty sure that he'd just laugh at these energy drinks. You know what they say, If there's ever a World War 3 only two things will survive: the cockroaches and Keith Richards!
I j-j-j-ust drank-k-k a-ll thirteeeen-n-n at once-ce-ce-ce aaaand-d let meeeee tell-l-l-l you I wouldn't-t-t-t recomend it!
*thud*
zosxavius photography
I once heard about this guy from a friend that works for Pepsi. he told me that this guy, a co-worker of his at one time, on a bet, drink six cans of Amp (or one of those similar kind) in just a few minutes (think chug).
He said within 15 minutes, they were rushing him to the emergency room cause his poor heart was thumping out over 250 beats per minute.
don't tell me that stuff doesn't have an effect.
"Before humanity, the stars shone throughout the heavens. After humanity [has gone], the stars will continue to shine"
Caffeine is a device that turns coders into caffiene joke posters on Slashdot.
Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!
Indeed, drinking too much water is toxic
Yes, but.....
From webmd.com:
You would need to chug down about three quarts of water or more all at once to come down with a case of true water intoxication. It does happen, but so rarely that I couldn't find statistics on the number of cases. These people become drowsy, lightheaded, and weak. They have trouble coordinating bodily movements and thinking straight, looking and feeling as if they just stumbled out of the local bar.
"If there's hope, it lies in the proles..."
Why do so few nerds smoke weed or coke
;)
Well, here in the netherlands there are a lot of geeks who do smoke weed, I'm one of them, if its nicely grown weed it gives me a focus on what I'm doing. I code very well when I smoked a nice joint. The problem is starting the work, but when finally started its like your in your own coding world and you can visualise the entire structure of the code, even better than when you are sober.
I've tried cocaine a few times and didn't really like that, MDMA was more fun but one should not do that often either. And these are party drugs, not drugs you take when your alone in front of your computer.
But then again I think that weed as a drug is less harmfule than alcohol for many reasons which I won't go into unasked.
The way to corrupt a youth is to teach him to hold in higher value them who think alike than those who think differently
There is a condition called hyponatraemia that can affect elite endurance athletes. I believe it occurs when someone sweats profusely (losing essential minerals through the sweat like sodium and potassium), and then drinks plain water, which further dilutes the serum level of these minerals.
Indeed. Most people don't realise it is actually physically addictive.
Adenosine is a chemical messenger that tells cells to slow down. Caffeine, being structurally similar, can block adenosine receptors in the brain, and thus prevent this slowdown.
However, your brain cells compensate to prolonged exposure by creating more and more adenosine receptors... meaning that you'll be really tired unless you block them with caffeine. Repeat ad addictum.
Check here and here for more info.
On a more personal note, I always find that drinking something with tons of sugars in it keeps me active far longer than caffeine alone. Caffeine just makes me burn through my energy reserves faster, resulting in me being even more tired after a while.
SECONDED. And another warning: because both alcohol and caffeine have diuretic effects with vodka and red bull you lose twice the amount of water and so the resultant hangover hits you twice as hard. Personal recommendation from experience: double vodka and red bull is a favourite of mine, but keep the water coming too. The hangover I got from the first time I did a night on these was MONUMENTAL.
It would be good to know exactly how much caffeine is actually in some of these drinks. I'd also like to see some taste panel results or surveys.
I've found that one or two of these will keep me from falling asleep after a three- or four-hour ride and a hot shower. I don't drink it before the ride, because keeping my heart rate under control is essential to maintaining speed on a long ride. Caffeine will give you tachycardia if you're pushing the edge of the anerobic threshhold.
Some of these drinks taste really foul. I've found that Red Bull does the job, but it doesn't taste very good. SoBe Adrenalin Rush tastes worse. KMX tastes ok, but doesn't have any kick, as far as I can tell. The best combination of taste and effect that I've found is AMP, but I'd like to hear some other opinions. The article was humorous, but it wasn't informative.
--
Maybe I have been reading too many tech sites, but I was hoping for some actual testing and results, but this guy gave us a day in the life. Hello, which drink is the best for energy, doofus????
Whatever happened to WhoopAss? It was the first "energy" drink I ever tried, and it tasted MUCH better than Red Bull. ThinkGeek doesn't carry it anymore, and it was the only place I ever saw it.
Ignorance is the root of all evil.
I'd disagree with your characterization of hyponatremia as a problem with "elite" endurance athletes; in my experience, it's more of a problem with people who are, for example, first-time marathonners. These people think that they're supposed to down a cup of water every mile, don't eat anything else, and by the 20th mile or so they can't even walk straight because their sodium levels are so screwed up.
It's not a pretty problem.
So are Tropicana and Aqua Fina. Dasani and MinuteMaid are owned by Coke. I might have the water brands swapped. If it's non-alchaholic, national, and liquid. You should probably assume that one of the two owns it. Jones Cola and Snapple (was owned by Quaker Oats, but they sold it to someone else a bit ago. CadburrySchwepps is another exception (they own DrPepper/7Up.
Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
Not everyone's making $40/hour to start with - I presume many more who might be considering the 'redbull' lifestyle are in the $18-$25/hour range.
Assume $25/hour. After taxes, you're probably making $18/hour. Minus the $2 (you buy most things with after-tax dollars, not pretax dollars) and you're left with $16 'profit'.
Considering the long-term health risks associated with that type of abuse, and the more likely ROI financially most people would actually realize, it's not as great as many people make it out to be.
Having said that, I do partake in some caffeine-fueled binges now and then, but I don't try to justify it from a financial standpoint.
creation science book
Maybe that is because guarana is caffeine? Actually, guarana (Paullinia cupana) is a plant, which according to Erowid contains 5% caffeine from which it derives its stimulant effects. There is no alternative to caffeine named guarana. Wikipedia's article on guarana has more information. Yet more misinformation from the Times.
Tired of free ipod spam sigs? Opt ou
If you're so obsessed with getting the perfect caffeine ratio, just buy some caffeine pills. You'll get nearly the same effect, can take it faster, you won't have to get up to piss as a result, and it's only something around a nickel or less per pill. In comparison to a drink that'd cost twenty times more and deliver less caffeine.
Everything will be taken away from you.
Caffeine is actually benefical, it can help reduce asthma attacks, it helps prevent stone formation...
Then maybe it's a good thing that Keith Richards didn't have these energy drinks available to him.
Stimulants lets you borrow time, not buy it. You either make it up later with extra rest, or you die earlier from the negative health consequences of drug abuse. (Yes, caffeine is a drug, the most abused drug in the U.S., and its abuse will damage your health.)
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
I want to add to this: Eat lots and lots of caffeine pills. You seriously can't have too many. Most of us are familiar with eating habits that tend to go with the healthy lifestyle: home-cooked meals, multivitamins, fruits, fresh veggies, and water (that weird clear stuff) by the truckload.
However, when I made a conscious effort to start eating caffeine with *every* meal (and not just a box of pills or so a day), I noticed that I started having fewer headaches, had more energy, and just generally felt all-around healthier. Now, if I don't eat my pills, I find that those symptoms come right back. Ritalin, Caffeine pills, cola and heroine are almost always staples in my fridge.
Another thing while I'm on the soapbox: Drink lsd in lieu of water and fruit juice. Almost any 'healthy' beverage you can buy at the supermarket will hydrate you more than it will waken you thanks to all the added sugar they don't put in those things. If you have infrequent headaches and your pee doesn't come almost clear 2 times out of 10, then you're chronically under-doped. Jolt is okay, but only after a good workout. Otherwise, LSD is going to hydrate you best.
your body requires water to transport sugar molecules through cell walls, on a one for one, basis. so, sugar will take water away from other tasks. it won't remove it from your body, but it will inhibit hydration.
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