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Energy Drinks Energy drinks are generally a newer product here in the United States, but they were first introduced in Europe in 1987. Red Bull was this drink that was launched in Europe, but then in 1997 it was familiarized here. The general target audience for all energy drinks is approximately teenagers or people aged sixteen to twenty-five, because most of the names for these particular drinks are projecting an appeal for this group. For example, Rock Star Energy Drink, Full Throttle Energy Drink, Amp Energy Drink, and Monster Energy Drink. These names convey certain themes or feelings that can easily relate to strength, vigor, liveliness, and power. An energy drink is a beverage that is sold as a canned beverage from places like a grocery store all the way to a nightclub. Each drink contains great amounts of sugar and caffeine, but there are many other ingredients that go into the making of each drink.

Amp

Looking into a specific energy drink, we can further analyze the ingredients and effects that it has on the body. Most researchers have a difficult time analyzing what effects energy drinks will have, because they do not know about the combination between certain ingredients. It is manufactured by the makers of Mountain Dew and gives off a different flavor that separates it from other energy drinks. Mountain Dew has been around for so many years, but they recently produced this specific brand in 2001 and put it on the market. Amp energy drink contains carbonated water, sodium benzoate, caffeine, taurine, and ginseng in a single eight ounce can. These ingredients are common in most energy drinks. Amp is not an energy drink that is “good” for your body, but it also is not bad, unless large quantities are consumed. Having too much of this product can mean a large amount of caffeine intake and this may cause irritability, increased heart rate, nervousness, and even in some cases it has lead to nausea and vomiting. Also, because there is a lot of sugar it could cause weight gain. It may provide the consumer with a temporary boost of energy, but it is not a healthy alternative. There is a big difference between sport drinks like Gatorade and energy drinks, because sport drinks are meant to re-hydrate the body while energy drinks may do the opposite and have an unhealthy effect on one's body. It has become popular for these drinks to be mixed with alcohol, and this often alters the taste and dulls the taste of alcohol, which makes the consumption of alcohol greater.

Monster

Monster is manufactured by the Monster Beverage Company and it sells in a sixteen ounce can which is twice the size of the normal marketed energy drink. They also manufacture three other Monster brand energy drinks that are called Monster Assault, which was introduced in 2005; Monster Khaos, which was introduced in 2005 as well; and Lo-Carb Monster Energy, which was introduced in 2004. Monster Energy was first put on the market in 2003, and these drinks also come in larger cans like twenty-four ounce size cans. This drink also has the same health concerns that were mentioned about in the last paragraph, but an interesting fact is that Monster Beverage Company took Vitamin C out of their beverage in 2006, because the FDA thought that this would increase the level of benzene in the can. Most energy drink products contain the ingredient of taurine. “Taurine or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid is an acidic chemical substance found in high abundance in the tissues of many animals, especially sea animals.” It is often referred to as an amino acid and has multiple uses including being used as a dietary nutrient, therapeutic treatments, a cat's health, anabolic steroids, and lastly, energy drinks.

Full Throttle

The energy drink Full Throttle was originated in 2004 in the United States. Its manufacturer is the Coca Cola Company. Some people say that Full Throttle is a cross between rival energy drinks Red Bull and Monster, it has a similar logo to monster and its ingredients and flavor are pretty much the same as Red Bull. This energy has a citrus flavor and comes in a sixteen house can. The common ingredients for Full Throttle, which are similar to most others are: Taurine, sodium benzoate (to protect taste), ginseng extract, and caffeine. One serving of Full Throttle is half a can, which is eight ounces. There are five calories per serving and zero grams of fat. In a whole can of Full Throttle there is four times the caffeine than there is in a can of Coke, which means that there is 144 milligrams of caffeine in one can of Full Throttle. There are no known side effects of this energy drink.

Sobe Sobe is a drink brand that makes many types of drinks, but one of its major drink styles is energy drinks. The drinks are produced and distributed by Pepsi. Some of the major energy drinks that Sobe makes are Sobe Adrenaline Rush and Sobe No Fear. A can of Adrenaline Rush is served in an eight ounce can and has 140 calories and a zero total grams of fat. It also has thirty five grams of sugar and 100 percent vitamin c. The good thing about this energy drink is that it is very high in vitamin c and the bad thing about this energy drink is that it is very high in sugar. No Fear is very similar to Adrenaline Rush, but it has minor differences. No Fear is also served in an eight ounce can, but only has 130 calories and zero grams of fat. Compared to Adrenaline Rush's thirty five grams of sugar, No Fear only has thirty three grams of sugar. Like Adrenaline Rush, No Fear has 100 percent vitamin c. Both of the energy drinks that the same good and bad things, they are both high in vitamin c and are both very high in sugar.

Red Bull

To some, an energy drink improves the ability to concentrate, increases alertness, and improves reaction time and stamina. It is said that Red Bull is known to do all of that and “Give You Wings”. Dietrich Mateschitz was the creator of the drink. He actually got the idea for from a Thai beverage called Krating Daeng. He got a local pharmacy to manufacture the beverage in 1984, and it was out on the market in 1987. Red Bull in many ways is used to fight weariness and exhaustion. There is 80 mg of caffeine and 1000 mg of taurine in a standard 250ml can of Red Bull energy drink. This is the same amount of caffeine as a cup of black coffee, or over three times as much caffeine as many leading cola drinks. With all of these beneficial ingredients, Red Bull helps enhance sports performance among many athletes which has been proven many times. Not only does Red Bull aid to all these enhancements, but it also comes in many different varieties. There is the original Red Bull which is most common among athletes and in bars. There is also the sugar free Red Bull. It's basically the diet version of the original Red Bull. The difference between the original Red Bull and the sugar free Red Bull is basically nothing. The only exception is that in the sugar free Red Bull has artificial sweetener, not really making the flavor any different. The only difference is the nutritional facts. Red Bull seems to be inventing bigger and better things rapidly! Although there are many benefits of this seemingly miraculous energy drink, with the good always follows the bad. Red Bull is often mixed with alcoholic beverages such as Vodka or Jagermeister to reduce drowsiness that comes with drinking. Studies have shown that this can lead to an irregular heart beat and heart failure later in life. Also, in certain countries, Red Bull is huge. Athletes tend to rely on this energy drink to enhance their performance greatly, but it has been know to lead to many deaths, such as in a basketball player who drank four Red Bulls before a game in 2000, and numerous football players at half time. Also it has caused miscarriages in pregnant women, although there is a warning advising pregnant women not to drink it. There are many benefits and risks that come with drinking Red Bull energy drink.

Rockstar

Rockstar is another energy drink similar to Red Bull. The catchy way that Rockstar draws people into buying their product is the idea that if you drink Rockstar, you can live your life like one. Famous rock stars are always on the go and they need a little energy boost sometimes to keep up with life. Rockstar Energy Drink is supposed to do just that. Its flavor has been said it's hard to put into words but most describe it as a vanilla, bubble gum, and citrus flavor that has a strange apple-like aftertaste. It says that it strays away from the medicinal flavored energy drinks so it's thought of as a better choice. Rockstar contains most of the same ingredients that all of the other energy drinks contain such as: Taurine, and Caffeine, but the odd ingredient is Milk Thistle. Some studies have proven that Milk Thistle does wonders with a hangover! Along with the unique ingredient, Rockstar is also known for being the first energy drink to feature the larger 16oz can. Rockstar is extremely popular among many college campuses, because it is twice the size of Red Bull, at the same cost! There are many health risks in Rockstar, as well as many other leading energy drinks. However, Rockstar is a little different. Since it's a 16 oz can, it's twice the serving so people aren't recommended to drink a full can in one sitting.

Gatorade and Powerade are sport drinks, but also act like energy drinks because they replenish and re-hydrate the body, providing more electrolytes to the body.

Gatorade

Gatorade is another very popular energy drink around the world. Gatorade first originated in September of 1965. Four doctors at the University of Florida named Robert Cade, Dana Shires, Alex DeQuesda, and Jim Free invented the drink. Gatorade was invented for the Florida Gator football team because of the harsh, one hundred-degree weather they had to play in. The doctors realized fatigue was a problem for the players so they sought out a drink that would re-energize them. The drink was first tested using the freshman squad as guinea pigs. The drink happened to be very successful so it was then used at the varsity level. That is how Gatorade received its name, after the Florida Gators football team. Gatorade has over thirty different flavors on the market since it came out in 1965. Gatorade is usually consumed before, during, or after aerobic activity. During aerobic activity, your body sweats and you lose water because of it. Gatorade is made to replace those fluids back and add electrolytes back into your system. Drinking Gatorade will help your body recover from physical activity quicker than water.

Powerade Powerade is yet another energy drink that is worldwide. Powerade was first launched as a fountain drink before it was sold in 1992 as a thirst quencher like Gatorade. Powerade also comes in a variety of flavors such as Mountain Blast, Fruit Punch, Black Cherry Lime, Lemon-Lime, Arctic Shatter, Green Squall, Jagged Ice, and Orange. Powerade contains many of the same ingredients as Gatorade with some minor differences. Like Gatorade, Powerade contains carbohydrates that provide energy and a great taste for the consumer. Powerade also features vitamins B-3, B-6, and B-12, which play a key role in energy metabolism. Electrolytes are also found in Powerade, which improve taste, drive thirst, and add fluid retention. Electrolytes assist in re-hydration of the body and help maintain effective hydration of the body. Like Gatorade, Powerade does not have any health risks. These drinks are made to help the human body recover quicker from physical activity by replenishing the essential vitamins and nutrients lost during physical activity.

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