The Lincoln Log

You see people drinking them everyday -whether it’s Vitamin Water, Rock Star, Monster, or Red Bull – there’s no denying the booming popularity of energy drinks. Overly sweet, slightly sour, and occasionally carbonated, energy drinks are sold everywhere. My question though, is this: Do they really work?

A quick look at Red Bull’s nutritional label reveals a typical energy drink has these ingredients: carbonated water, sugars, salts, caffeine, a few vitamins, taurine (One of few energy-minerals), artificial flavoring, and food coloring. Our bodies usually burn protein, carbohydrates, and fat for everyday energy, but why is it that the main ingredients in energy drinks are sugar and caffeine?

Sure, the caffeine and sugar in coffee provides me with energy – but that’s caffeine and sugar. I suppose there are vitamins and minerals at work in energy drinks, but drinking tea would probably have the same effect.

I don’t believe in all of that energy drink hype, but I occasionally drink them. If it happens to be on sale, or even taste good, why am I to refuse my cravings? When I’m in a crazy mood, a few energy drinks (Rock Star or Monster XXL) might even have an effect on me. Its strange how when I believe in the powers of a Rock Star, I’m somehow able to feel its effects. Perhaps it’s just the belief in this new religion of energy drinks that allows a person to become energized.

When I see others drinking energy drinks, I can’t see a difference at all. They are neither energized nor tired, and the only effect I could really determine was their urge to go to the bathroom. Some people drink energy drinks for the “look.” If you were superficial enough, you would probably say that people look cool when they hold a bottle of vitamin water to their mouths, sipping their colored water for an elongated four seconds.

My point is just this: if you want energy -make that need energy – just eat a sandwich. Eat a meal, a Poptart, a breakfast for all I care. If you’re lacking energy, it’s probably because you have skipped a meal, or have not gotten enough nutrition from your last meal. All you really need for energy is food, and I don’t know how much I can stress this but food is energy – not some artificially flavored drink.

Those carb-free diets may be part of the reason why people trust energy drinks to solve all their energy problems, but the truth is that carbohydrates are the real energy. Cereals, bread, rice, and many foods out there have carbohydrates, and yet people still turn to energy drinks as their source of energy. Stop drinking energy drinks! I personally don’t think that they are good for you, and I hate it when I see little kids being drawn into this craze. Why are people falling into the obvious energy-drink trap that advertisers work so hard on?