FitFluential - 10 Things No One is Telling You About Energy Drinks

Let’s play a game. If I say “energy drink,” what comes to mind? Extreme sports athletes? Teenagers in the hospital? Green tea? News outlets often portray energy drinks as dangerous concoctions of sugar and caffeine but this isn’t the whole picture. While some energy drinks are loaded with sugar and caffeine, the truth is there were over 200 different energy drink brands in the US as of 2009, and some of those are more like green tea than the sugary caffeine-loaded product portrayed. Since many popular energy drink ingredients are also popular in fitness/health supplements, it’s time to consider the energy drink facts no one is telling you.

 Read the Rest: FitFluential.com

Learn the 10 things no one is telling you about energy drinks at FitFluential.com

Energy Drink of the Month -- April 2014

Could you pick an energy drink out of a line-up? Every so often, I read a news story that makes me either laugh or grit my teeth because of how energy drinks are portrayed as dangerous concoctions of sugar and caffeine. To me this portrayal seems like saying all water tastes exactly the same. Ocean water, bottled water, carbonated water etc. While some energy drinks do contain extreme amounts of sugar and caffeine, condemning all energy drinks without addressing the specifics is both folly and counter-productive to safe caffeine consumption. To combat this grievous over-generalization, each month I try to highlight an energy drink that breaks the mold and counters the stereotype.

The Energy Drink of the Month for April 2014 is Avitae ("ah-vee-tay") caffeine+water.

"Energy Kick" with 45 mg caffeine

"Energy Boost" with 90 mg caffeine

"Energy Blast" with 125 mg caffeine

There are currently no flavored versions (and thus ends, temporarily, the pomegranate theme I've had going since January's pick). There are three caffeine levels of this Avitae line available: 45 mg, 90 mg and 125 mg.

As far as energy drinks go, it doesn't get much cleaner or simpler than this. With the three levels of caffeine available, this product line is suitable for Level 2, 3 and 4 of the 5 Levels of Fatigue.  Also note that since it comes in a bottle, you can sip it and reseal it, regulating your caffeine intake in ways that aren't possible with an open can or a hot coffee.

For more, see:

Redefining "Energy Drink" -- 5 Qs with Avitae

Redefining "Energy Drink" - 5 Qs with Avitae

Are you a big fan of caffeine but not a fan of added sugars or artificial colors/flavors? Are you looking for an energy drink with a clean label and a simple ingredient line? Pronounced "ah-vee-tay", Avitae's line of caffeinated waters might be your solution.  

Wandering through the halls of the 2014 Natural Product West Expo, I was looking for something to grab my attention. With over 45,000 booths of products all chasing the same consumer trends ("natural", "gluten-free", "non-GMO", "Vegan") I was looking for something unusual. As a food scientist, I love reading labels, especially when it comes to anything caffeinated or supposedly ergogenic. Unexpectedly, it was one of the simplest products that captivated me most: water, caffeinated.

Food Science in the News -- Death and Freggies

Would you believe eating 7 servings of fruits and vegetables ("freggies") a day can reduce your risk of death by 42%? This stat comes from research by the University College of London and, while it bugs me when news headlines use extreme terms like "death" to catch attention, this research on mortality and freggies is worth discussing.

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Thought this was an art display. Nope, just vegetables...from outer space?

Combating Obesity in Professional Baseball Players - The Onion

To celebrate April Fool's and to help you Angels fans get over that horrific 10-3 loss to the Mariners on Opening Night, I thought I would share one of my favorite nutrition and health pieces from The Onion:

“Michelle Obama Introduces Exercise Program to Combat Obesity in Professional Baseball Players”

Enjoy and remember, if you're going to pull your own April Fool's Day tricks, make sure the mean doesn't outweigh the funny.

What are YOUR favorite April Fool's Day tricks?

Related Posts
15 Ways to Convince Your GF Baseball is the Best Sport

Food Science in the News - Food Spoilage Red Light Green Light

Food waste is a major problem and expiration date confusion is one of the contributing factors. At a meeting of the American Chemical Society one scientist proposed smart-tags which could indicate whether food is spoiled. This innovation could alleviate some of the expiration date confusion and subsequent food waste. My only concern is that red means "fresh" and green means "spoiled".

For the full story, please see "Knowing whether food has spoiled without even opening the container" http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2014/march/knowing-whether-food-has-spoiled-without-even-opening-the-container-video.html

For more on food waste and stability studies, see previous blog: Stability Studies - Food Scientist Life

When Granola Bars Roam Free

Perhaps it's because I'm a food scientist or perhaps it's because I have an odd sense of humor, but I always get a kick out of products labeled "natural." Let me share the 5 "natural" anomalies that amuse me the most.

Green-Eyed Insight on the Most Unnatural "Natural" Food Products

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100% Natural Water with Added Caffeine

This brownie is just naturally muscular, okay?

I'm sure it would say "natural" if it had a label.

 

Energy Drink of the Month -- March 2014

Planning for spring break or for bikini season? Feel sluggish and off-schedule due to Daylight Savings Time? Want a healthy energy boost without the sugar, the long lines at the coffee shop, or the concerned stares of your friends and colleagues?
If so, I’ve got the perfect energy drink for you. Yes, such a thing does exist, but this product is another energy drink in disguise so you don’t have to conceal your can or worry about those “(all) energy drinks are dangerous” lectures. (I’ve had 5 of those incidents thus far this year, anyone else?)

The Energy Drink of the Month for March 2014 is FRS Healthy Energy Citrus Pomegranate.
 
Read more for 5 Reasons to Pick FRS Healthy Energy-->

1. Alternative Energy - what makes this product different than other energy drinks
2. Quercetin - what it is and what it does
3. Sweetened by Fruit - what the sweetener system means to the consumer and to The WHO
4. Championing the Consumer-Friendly Label - 10 reasons to love this label
5. Level of Fatigue - where this product belongs on the scale of fatigue

Read more for 5 Reasons to Pick FRS Healthy Energy--> 

The Linger - A Food Science Horror Story

I tried swishing with water and carbonated water, even alcohol when I got home; I tried brushing my teeth several times but it was still there.

This is a series of posts in which I share snippets of what it's like to be a food scientist. As a product developer for dry powder shakes, there are some lessons I never learned in school and some challenges I never saw coming.

Green-Eyed Insight on The Linger

It all started when we decided to screen different brands of stevia to improve Cost of Goods. Stevia is stevia is stevia, right? Oh, so wrong. One of those brands didn't seem as pure as the others and gave me a hint of a bitter metallic taste that just wouldn't go away. This is called The Linger, and it's a fairly common experience among food scientists and product developers. 

When I asked my colleagues if they'd ever had a taste that just wouldn't go away they all smiled and laughed with a look of nostalgia on their faces. Enduring The Linger is not a fun situation to find yourself in but eventually it does go away. The experience is a rite of passage, a badge of honor, like the first time you have to spend the night in your lab during Grad School.

Side note – if you ever have to spend the night in your lab during Grad School the key is to find three padded roller chairs and line them up so the seats make a soft elevated bed. Point the backs of the outer chairs in opposite directions as the chair in the middle so you can lie down atop the line of seats and have a makeshift wall on either side. If these padded chairs are on wheels (and they usually are) make sure the wheels are locked or that the outside chairs are pushed up against a desk or a wall. If you're taller than 5' 1.5", it might take more than 3 chairs, but the key is to alternate the directions the backs of the chairs are pointing. This alternate pattern keeps the chairs stable and keeps you from falling onto the floor. 

Eventually The Linger does go away but since it's not always caused by the same ingredient, the solution won't always be the same. A good tip to remember is "Like dissolves like" so in order of increasing hydrophobicity/decreasing water-solubility, try carbonated water, coffee, peppermint flavored gum or toothpaste, oyster crackers, peanut butter and olive oil. You may even find that alcohol works but please don't drink on the job unless your boss says it's okay. Until The Linger goes away, everything you put in your mouth will taste like the ingredient that caused The Linger. Don't panic and don't be tempted to over-eat to make the flavor go away. Rest assured it eventually goes away and you'll be able to tell the Newbie your Linger experience one day. 

Got your own Linger experience? Please share it. 

Related Posts in "Food Science Life" series:

The Xanthan Gum Disaster

Stability Studies May Lead to Instability

Oyster Crackers, Carbonated Water and Spitting

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Stay tuned for more lessons from the lab. 
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I Ate the Whole Thing -- Food Label Hypothetical

Have you ever eaten a whole can of soup or a whole pint of ice cream? How about a whole bag of popcorn? These are just some of the products that are often consumed per container instead of per serving recommended on the label. But what if the label matched what we actually normally eat?
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You mean a serving ISN'T one whole roll?