Coffee vs Energy Drinks

ClintZA said:
Does it not concern some of you how you become reliant on these things to get you going? Ages back when I used to be involved in retail there was a client who would come in every morning to buy a Red Bull. Should you not just be taking the healthier alternate of getting more sleep and possibly eating better?
Click to expand...

Once a day Red Bull is still healthier than coffee drinking throughout the day, which most people do...
 
mercurial said:
Perhaps you didn't read my post properly. I don't use the sugar loaded variant. I use the "low carb" version, which has almost no sugar and just contains stimulants, such as caffeine, taurine and guarana.
Click to expand...

Exactly,take note of the bold part cause thats the important part....largely ignore the taurine and gaurana marketing hype they have a minimal effect(just enough to use for marketing hype/distinguish themselves from competing products) the real boost is in the caffeine buddy. ;)

Oh and if they are keeping sugar out of it then what the hell are they using to sweeten it?!!!!That thought is even more worrying for your health in the long run! :wtf:
 
falcon786 said:
Exactly,take note of the bold part cause thats the important part....largely ignore the taurine and gaurana marketing hype they have a minimal effect(just enough to use for marketing hype/distinguish themselves from competing products) the real boost is in the caffeine buddy. ;)

Oh and if they are keeping sugar out of it then what the hell are they using to sweeten it?!!!!That thought is even more worrying for your health in the long run! :wtf:
Click to expand...

Unicorn tears...
 
I only ever drink energy drinks if I'm driving long distance and I don't have access to coffee. I love coffee, but I try to limit myself to one a day (morning).
 
falcon786 said:
Exactly,take note of the bold part cause thats the important part....largely ignore the taurine and gaurana marketing hype they have a minimal effect(just enough to use for marketing hype/distinguish themselves from competing products) the real boost is in the caffeine buddy. ;)
Click to expand...

It's not really a boost at those doses. It will block adenosine receptors in your brain preventing you from falling asleep. It isn't eradicated from the body all that quickly so doubling up can increase perceived energy in that it might up cardiovascular activity, but really it doesn't add much in the way of energy. It might seem as though it does, but it doesn't.

Caffeine is incredibly bad stuff for your body. In terms of addiction, it is on a par with heroine, and the effects are very much the same as heroine too. It is incredibly addictive stuff, it fscks with your sleep cycles in a very serious manner (to the point if being a contributor to depression), closes off blood vessels in your brain and basically screws with you. It might help you to wake up, but that's about its only benefit...
 
DJ... said:
Caffeine is incredibly bad stuff for your body. In terms of addiction, it is on a par with heroine, and the effects are very much the same as heroine too. It is incredibly addictive stuff, it fscks with your sleep cycles in a very serious manner (to the point if being a contributor to depression), closes off blood vessels in your brain and basically screws with you. It might help you to wake up, but that's about its only benefit...
Click to expand...

You almost made me consider giving up coffee... Almost.
 
falcon786 said:
Oh and if they are keeping sugar out of it then what the hell are they using to sweeten it?!!!!That thought is even more worrying for your health in the long run! :wtf:
Click to expand...

Acesulfame K and aspartame have been researched for decades and are safe for human consumption in the quantities approved for human consumption. I wouldn't suggest drinking a case at a time, but at low doses they are perfectly safe. Even bananas are radioactive and toxic. As is chocolate. It is all about dosage...
 
DJ... said:
Acesulfame K and aspartame have been researched for decades and are safe for human consumption in the quantities approved for human consumption. I wouldn't suggest drinking a case at a time, but at low doses they are perfectly safe. Even bananas are radioactive and toxic. As is chocolate. It is all about dosage...
Click to expand...

And Brazil nuts!!
 
The_Unnamed said:
You almost made me consider giving up coffee... Almost.
Click to expand...

Nicotine is on a par. At the end of the day, it's really your sleep cycles that caffeine screws with and is really bad for you. You might be getting enough sleep, but the caffeine (which takes up to 12 hours to remove totally from your system) will block the adenosine receptors in your brain and prevent you from reaching REM sleep. This is the phase of sleep where your body repairs itself and the phase of sleep that makes you feel as if you've properly slept. It is therefore incredibly bad for you on that basis. You then wake up feeling really tired, and then have more caffeine to wake you up. The caffeine addiction cycle is a never-ending one.

If you love coffee, then I'd suggest drinking a very high quality decaf. I say high quality because in order to remove caffeine, they have to process the beans in a sense, and pretty much brew them. This affects the overall flavour when you brew it for a second time. So go for the high-end stuff, where they use a quality bean to begin with. A high quality decaf is often better than a low quality caffeinated version...
 
The_Unnamed said:
Do we get this monster in SA?
http://www.monsterenergy.com/us/en/products/monster-energy/#!/products:zero-ultra
Click to expand...

I don't think so :(

falcon786 said:
Exactly,take note of the bold part cause thats the important part....largely ignore the taurine and gaurana marketing hype they have a minimal effect(just enough to use for marketing hype/distinguish themselves from competing products) the real boost is in the caffeine buddy. ;)

Oh and if they are keeping sugar out of it then what the hell are they using to sweeten it?!!!!That thought is even more worrying for your health in the long run! :wtf:
Click to expand...

Please don't forget about Ginseng :)
 
Doesn't bother me at all using caffeine. I like coffee, it certainly does give a mental boost and of course it may even have long term health benefits (which would just be a happy coincidence). Having spent periods not drinking coffee I know I don't sleep any better. And I know exactly how much I can drink to get the right amount of caffeine. And decaffeinated coffee is truly no substitute. No point drinking something that simply does not taste as good and still has a little caffeine.

Nicotine is really good too, particularly used in small doses. A truly excellent chemical with an undeserved bad reputation deriving from it's primary source having typically been smoking tobacco (which was fun once, but got a bit boring eventually).

Energy drinks do sometimes contain other useful chemicals, but they're overpriced for what is in them. I can do my own mix of guarana, caffeine and whatever else, plus I can completely leave out the sugar (which is a truly horrible thing to combine with caffeine). All far cheaper.

In my misguided youth I worried about using things like caffeine and so on, but I got over it. I no longer waste my time being concerned about some essentially benign chemicals.
 
falcon786 said:
I could've been more specific as per clintza's answer but I was just pointing out that both contain the same ingredients so its becomes obvious that its just a case of whats providing more of the contents depending on brand or coffee/teaspoons added vs brands of energy drink.

At the end of the day its just down to concentration of caffeine and sugar in each.Some people add more sugar or coffe than others and some coffee beans may have more caffeine than others.
Click to expand...

Monster also contains ginseng, guarana and vitamins. I doubt a cup of coffee does. I've also never liked the taste of coffee or the fact that it's hot, so i'll stick to my energy drinks :D
 
Nothing like a strong cup of black perculated coffee to keep me awake. The other drinks are too sweet for my taste.
 
I used to drink Red Bull before exams. I have no evidence it actually physically worked but I figured a placebo effect is as good as a real effect :D
 
STS said:
Monster also contains ginseng, guarana and vitamins.
Click to expand...
Yeah as per my posts above they are there more for the marketing effect rather than "energy" effect.What keeps you awake is the caffeine and the sugar is pretty self explanatory by the term "sugar rush" due to higher blood sugar levels.

I doubt a cup of coffee does. I've also never liked the taste of coffee or the fact that it's hot, so i'll stick to my energy drinks :D
Click to expand...

Coffee doesn't need those marketing gimmicks,the caffeine in a good brand of coffee will do the trick but if you prefer the taste of energy drinks over coffee why not ;) Enjoy, just don't overdo it!
 
falcon786 said:
Yeah as per my posts above they are there more for the marketing effect rather than "energy" effect.What keeps you awake is the caffeine and the sugar is pretty self explanatory by the term "sugar rush" due to higher blood sugar levels.
Click to expand...

The sugar rush/high thing is a myth, debunked by actual science decades ago. Read here and here and all over the net actually. Studies show no correlation between sugar and increased activity. There is no such thing as a sugar rush or sugar high. In fact protein is considered to keep you awake more than sugar does. Sugar can increase adrenalin if you have a massive spike in blood sugar levels but this is offset by sugar being an orexin suppressor. Orexin is one of the chemicals that keeps you awake, and sugar suppresses the release of orexin, so is actually more likely to put you to sleep if you are already tired rather than keep you awake with a short-term adrenalin rush...
 
DJ... said:
The sugar rush/high thing is a myth, debunked by actual science decades ago. Read here and here and all over the net actually. Studies show no correlation between sugar and increased activity. There is no such thing as a sugar rush or sugar high. In fact protein is considered to keep you awake more than sugar does. Sugar can increase adrenalin if you have a massive spike in blood sugar levels but this is offset by sugar being an orexin suppressor. Orexin is one of the chemicals that keeps you awake, and sugar suppresses the release of orexin, so is actually more likely to put you to sleep if you are already tired rather than keep you awake with a short-term adrenalin rush...
Click to expand...

Interesting...so the sugar is just for the flavour and the caffeine itself is the main effect then?
 
falcon786 said:
Interesting...so the sugar is just for the flavour and the caffeine itself is the main effect then?
Click to expand...

Precisely. Sugar does the job of masking other horrid flavours of the preservatives too, although sugar itself is also a preservative to an extent...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X