Energy Drinks

[GregC]

I've never even tasted an energy drink, they smell awful. I've never had a taste for coffee either, nor has my wife. We keep some around with a French press for guests.

My only caffeine source is Coke Zero, but I learned years ago I'm better off limiting my consumption. 1-2 12 oz. cans a week is plenty, the rest of the time I drink water and the occasional Gatorade.

 

[knumbskull]

In my old band a while ago, we went through a phase of drinking these (I don't know why for the life of me).

i remember one day we read the ingredients list, and all i remember is that one brand contained most of your RDA ...of salt!

just terrible for you all round.

Oh and our only album was recorded about 15% too fast mainly thanks to those things

 

[garp]

My coworker right next to me just cracked open a monster energy drink. I can smell it from here. It smells like nothing anyone should ingest.

Thanks for that additional info. Gives me even more impetus to stay away. Given the olfactory system's linkage to taste, I imagine the bouquet to be something like, well, an ol' factory.

I drink coffee. It'll be here as long as I am.

Me, too. One day it causes cancer, the next day it lowers my sperm count; and tomorrow it will be claimed that coffee drinkers' net worth is on average 16% lower than people who don't drink coffee. At least it's predictable.

 

[two fingers]

Thanks for that additional info. Gives me even more impetus to stay away. Given the olfactory system's linkage to taste, I imagine the bouquet to be something like, well, an ol' factory.Me, too. One day it causes cancer, the next day it lowers my sperm count; and tomorrow it will be claimed that coffee drinkers' net worth is on average 16% lower than people who don't drink coffee. At least it's predictable.

Actually, coffee is in that small club with eggs. One day coffee will kill you. The next day it cures cancer. The next day it will kill you again.

 

[Gorn]

Coffee has been around for hundreds of years? Thousands? We know exactly what it does right? Or as much as we can. These energy drinks have been around for a few decades. I look at artificial sweeteners the same way.

 

[FilterFunk]

My coworker right next to me just cracked open a monster energy drink. I can smell it from here. It smells like nothing anyone should ingest.

I've noticed that about energy drinks, too. They even smell artificial. The smell alone tells me, "This is not compatible with my insides."

 

[bass12]

I'm always stunned by how much refrigerator space is allotted to energy drinks at most gas station convenience stores. I've drunk energy drinks in the past on very rare occasions but I haven't had one in years. They don't do anything for me energy-wise and they never sounded like a very healthy option to me. The success of these drinks is baffling to me but I guess I really shouldn't be surprised anymore by what people are willing to consume.

As for soft drinks: I used to enjoy them as a kid but they're just too sweet for my palette these days (I say that as someone with quite a sweet tooth). It would be a struggle for me to drink an entire can of, say, Coke or 7-Up. They just taste like sugary syrup to me (which I guess is essentially what such drinks are).

 

[ONYX]

Actually, coffee is in that small club with eggs. One day coffee will kill you. The next day it cures cancer. The next day it will kill you again.

I always laugh at those "studies"----seriously, who are the idiots that fund these things?

Common sense says that 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day is fine---23 cups of coffee a day will probably have some type of detrimental effect. Same with eggs.

 

[bluesblaster]

I tried one once, maybe a red bull , couldnt stand the taste.

 

[Samatza]

My brother-in-law is an electrician. After a particularly long hot day of working he got home and found two energy drinks that my nephew had left in the fridge, he thought they were sodas, he was thirsty so he downed them in quick succession.

He ended up in hospital with heart palpitations, he thought he was having a heart attack. Never have them myself, water is the order of the day for me, my body can't handle that level of sugar and caffiene.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I voted never on both but I will on very rare occasion have a mini coke - typically around the holidays.

I'm actually trying to cut out coffee. I only add half and half but I do find the caffeine to cause more harm than good. Then again, I drink unsweetened iced tea like it's going out of style so I'm not sure how much the coffee is really hurting if at all.

 

[jchrisk1]

I drink them occasionally. I drink coffee every morning, and during the summer if I want more caffeine, I will drink an energy drink. Hot coffee during a hot day doesn't work for me, and cold coffee is disgusting. I don't drink soda. Are energy drinks bad for me? I don't really care. I'm pro-choice when it comes to what people do, as long it doesn't negatively affect people around them. I used to be a drug addict, and I'll take an unhealthy energy drink every now and then over what I used to do, any day of the week. I remember someone telling me white bread was the worst thing I could do to myself. Ha! They didn't know me very well.

 

[Downunderwonder]

I may get to find out the 'nutritional' content of a Monster vs a sweetened coffee today.

 

[fhm555]

The first time i saw an energy drink, it was a NOS imported from California by a magazine writer who flew out to cover a big indoor r/c car race for the rag he wrote for. When we got to my truck he tossed his bags in the bed and got out three cans attached to a six pack ring. They were ambient temp so i declined his offer to try one. He jumped in the truck, popped a can and chugged it. In seconds the red in his skin began to rise from under his shirt and up his neck, through his crew cut all the way to the top of his head. It was a red not unlike a fresh from the pot boiled lobster as sweat began to pop out of his entire head and his breathing became labored like he'd just finished a set of wind sprints. I was honestly afraid he was going to stroke out.

 

[Indiana Mike]

I used to drink them for a boost , not necessarily daily , but often enough.

a month ago I drank a BANG , then went outside and continued my backyard remodel project , a half hour into it I thought I was in serious trouble. I seriously considered calling an ambulance. Profuse sweating , chest hurt , breathing hurt, felt sick and all tingly, vision was affected as well. I went inside (AC) and laid down with a fan blowing in me. It was not a panic attack , I know what those are.
Immediately lost interest in them altogether.

 

[PWRL]

They are the crack cocaine of fizzy drinks.

I wonder what the equivalent caffeine and sugar stuffed long black coffee would taste like?

I can say what it looked like, kind of. I worked with a guy who drank the largest Monster drink he could find, about every day. After I showed him what that much sugar looked like, he was a lot more reluctant to drink one.

 

[Alkali Ike]

Speaking of energy drinks and alcohol

 

[Downunderwonder]

What's the standard can serve size in the US? Most sodas come mainly in 330ml here. 440ml I think is the tall one that Monster et al inhabit.

 

[BadSanta1281]

When I was GM at a car dealership I had a 3-can-a-day RockStar habit along with coffee all day, too.
It looks like anti-freeze and makes your pee glow in the dark. I had a monkey on my back.

16 hour workdays?... no problem. 36 straight days of work... no problem.
Work all day then drive to Vegas? Heck, yeah! I'll sleep when I'm dead.

My doctor upped my dosage of blood pressure meds three times in two years.
He didn't ask and I didn't tell what my bad habits were.
My wife reported heavy grinding of teeth if and when I finally slept.
Had weird dreams and talked in my sleep, too.

I survived, kicked the habit and have been RockStar free for over ten years.
I still drink too much coffee. A guy needs at least one vice.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Marketing is a powerful thing. I drink a mugomug two of coffee per day, but because I like the taste of good coffee.