I received this email from a customer. Below is my response.
Red bull / rock star drinks— is there anything you carry like that? Or something to make up??… That is healthy??
There are drinks that are healthier, but healthy? Let try to explain. Red Bull type drinks contain large amounts of caffeine as you know. Some as high as 120mg. Caffeine will speed up the heart and raise blood pressure as well as act as a thermogenic. The half life of caffeine is 12 hours so that means if you have 120mg in a drink at three in the afternoon, there is still60mg in your system at three in the morning. Consequently, you will need MORE caffeine to get through your next day. Most people who use the drinks also drink coffee causing some people to proclaim caffeine the most abused substance in our society.
I do drink coffee, so I’m not totally down on caffeine. The other problem with the drinks are the ingredients that keep them creamy (which is fat, I think), the sugar content (or artificial sweetener content), and then the chemicals used to keep everything in suspension.
The natural alternatives are drinks made from Yerba Mate. Mate does contain caffeine and they usually add sugar for taste (caffeine is a bitter compound), but they are usually low in fat. I don’t currently carry these types of product mainly because traffic through my store doesn’t currently create a demand for them. Cones, Trader Joe’s, and Lassen’s, I believe, all carry these types. My recommendation would be to look at the ingredients list. The fewer ingredients the better the product and you should be able to pronounce all the ingredients ;>)
One last thing: If you’re looking for an afternoon pick-me-up we have Korean Ginseng. Packaged in individual foil packets this product contains granules that dissolve like instant coffee (instead of a tea bag). It does not contain caffeine but can act as a mild energy booster. It’s great to use in the afternoon because it won’t be hanging around in your system 12 hours later. I used it extensively when I had Valley Fever back in 1991. The drawback is that you do have to make it with hot water (not as convenient) but the positive is it does not contain any preservatives, stabilizers, or emulsifiers. And, you can sweeten it any way you like (like with Stevia).
