An Energy Drinks Roundup?

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?"

Comments

No More Sugar!

[TheOtherAgentM]

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.

Re:No More Sugar!

[Ykant]

I recommend buying this in bulk and using it to brew your coffee.

Re:No More Sugar!

[arivanov]

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.

Re:No More Sugar!

[hords]

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.)

In the UK

[MentalMooMan]

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 there was an offer on - they're usually £1 each) for a small LAN party I was hosting. Certainly did the job well, and at a great low price.

I can't really say anything about the taste, as they're all about the same to me - a sort of fruity, fizzy flavour.

My favorite..

[burgeswe]

is BAWLS. 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.

H2O

[chrismcdirty]

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

[misleb]

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

None of them

[Gulthek]

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

[Evangelion]

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

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

Re:None of them

[level_headed_midwest]

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.

Re:None of them

[nizo]

No problemo.

I drink Google Gulp

[okmnji]

You only wish you had some of this... http://www.google.com/googlegulp/

Bawls Guarana

[GuanoBoy]

Definitely Bawls...

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."

The best deal

[mnmn]

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

[TheWanderingHermit]

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

[The-Bus]

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) and are also important. But it is unlikely for anyone to do anything about it because health and your physical, mental, and social condition is determined usually over a span of decades. So people spend more time on things that are urgent, regardless of whether they are important (paying bills) or not important (catching the most recent episode of a TV series).

But the parent is right. If you're depending on energy drinks more than once a month to make it through basic tasks then you need to get more rest. And that's the only solution. I personally avoid having any caffeine after lunch, as it usually stays in my system for a long time and I'd rather be tired and sleepy than tired and awake when bedtime rolls around.

Since nobody's posted it yet

[Marxist Hacker 42]

A lot of the choices are available Here!

H2O

[saskboy]

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.

Iced Tea / Lemonaid

[Anonymous Monkey]

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.

Re:Iced Tea / Lemonaid

[Anonymous Monkey]

Yes, I do boil my own tea.

I brew 1/2 gallon at a time, using two tablespoons of lose leaf tea (1 TBLSP black, 1TBLSP Jasmin) and a handful of mint if I have it.

half fill the pitcher with water and refrigerate

bring water to boil

once full boil is reached add tea

let steep for 5 minuets (ok, I just let it sit until it's cooled and it doesn't tend to get biter. I think it's because the water reaches saturation point before it can dissolve any of the nasty tasting bits in the tea leaves.

Strain tea considerate into cool water, serve and enjoy.

And a funny story about why I use lose leaf tea. My wife and I have brewed our own iced tea for a long time, going through a good deal of teabags (16 bags for 1 gallon of tea). It was an expensive habit, especially in summer when it's hot. Anyway, one day I had a bit of extra cash and decided it was time to buy us a treat, so I bought a pound of Ceylon tea at the local tea shop. Once I got it home I realized that bags tend to run $2.50 per oz for ones that taste ok good, and bulk Ceylon tea runs $1.00 per oz and tastes much beater. Also Jasmin tea is about $0.50 per oz at my local Asian market. So I converted to better tasting and less expensive and have never looked back.

Enter my cube

[dazedNconfuzed]

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.

Awww Mom,

[hazman]

Why do you always have to embarrass me in front of my friends?

Re:Awww Mom,

[saskboy]

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.

Think of your heart/etc too

[ModernGeek]

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.

Distilled Mountain Dew?

[Short Circuit]

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.

Jack Bauer

[pvt_medic]

Jack Bauer urinates and produces Red Bull.
Sorry just still psyched about 24 being back on.

Re:My Favorite - SOBE No Fear

[merlin_jim]

Just a quick note: Robitussin DM contains guaifenesin, which can cause nausea and vomitting. It's there so you can't guzzle it - the DXM is a strong dissociative / hallucinatory taken in doses larger than .5 mg / kg... and becomes lethal around 25 mg / kg - the idea is to make anyone who tries to get high off cough syrup just vomit it all back up. [Disclaimer: There's no good LD50 information about DXM. Apparently one girl took a dose of about 3 g and died. Apparently an equivalent (per weight) dose used to be given to sick children (with respiratory support) with bronchitis or other chest problems. If I were a user I'd keep myself under 5 mg / kg and then only to infrequent use]

So unless your goal is to have a psychedlic experience, probably best to stay away from guzzling cough syrup to stay awake.

For those that care, there is a pretty easy extraction involving Robitussin DM, ammonia, citric acid, and one other ingredient (I forget what it is - but remember that it could certainly be purchased at any corner pharmacy) Or just get the robitussin gelcaps that have nothing but DXM in them...

Back on topic... robitussin in large enough doses would be a great way to stay awake - it acts as a mild stimulant - but I doubt you'd get any coding done hahaha

Ups and downs

[fungai]

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 protein. It is amazing how much more energy I have late afternoons, where I used to feel tired and peckish. Other than that, eat a high fibre breakfast cereal and a multivitamin in the mornings, a fresh, healthy dinner (no instant meals) early in the evenings (at least 3 hours before bed time).

And get regular excercise - even on a busy schedule, 30 minutes before or after work is not that much compared to how much you'll get back out of it!

150 energy drink reviews

[wastedbrains]

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 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%)

Re:Feel the vibe baby

[Marxist Hacker 42]

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.....

How about this one?

[Rac3r5]

http://www.google.com/googlegulp/

Re:Caffeine content?

[D'Eyncourt]

Here ya go. The energy drink chart even normalizes them to their caffiene content based on 12 oz. of liquid (though note that coffee and tea are not).

Monster Lo Carb

[steveo777]

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...

Here's one that you should maybe stay away from

[Dixie_Flatline]

The original.

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

Cold Turkey

[marcushnk]

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.

Plenty of low/zero carb energy drinks out there

[Andy Dodd]

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 the ones I've tried, one or two are missing - all of these are only the low/zero carb variants (I'm diabetic, so the high-sugar versions are out of the question):

Bawls - Tastes great, but it's very expensive, hard to find, and doesn't give me any more boost than Mountain Dew (that is to say, almost no boost at all.)

Rockstar - Works, but tastes like crap.

Red Bull - Actually, I've only had a small amount of the normal non-low-carb version once at a bar. It tasted like crap and I didn't go near energy drinks for over a year because I assumed they all tasted like crap. From what I recall, it was the same taste as Rockstar.

Von Dutch - UGH HORRIBLE. Even worse than Rockstar and Red Bull. The only energy drink I haven't even been able to finish an entire can of. No wonder it was on clearance where I bought it.

Full Throttle - One of the easiest non-RedBull energy drinks to find, it has a sharp citrusy taste that is somewhat (but not very) similar to Mountain Dew, except with a bit more bite to it. Probably my third favorite as far as taste goes.

MDX - One of the more readily available energy drinks, and typically cheaper than most others. Taste is very similar to Mountain Dew, except a much smoother taste with less bite. My second favorite in terms of taste.

Monster - Also a fruity/citrusy taste, but extremely smooth. Not even remotely close to Mountain Dew though. By far the most delicious of the energy drinks I've tasted (even if it didn't give me any energy, I'd probably continue drinking it just because it tastes so damn good.), and it also does a good job of making me feel human in the morning.