By this point in time, I am confident that most everyone has tasted an energy drink, if not heard of them. If you aren't aware of what an energy drink is, it is a magical beverage filled to the brim with caffeine and vitamins that are supposed to give you an extra punch of energy. Unfortunately, in excess, this mix of chemicals is likely to give you a stroke and/or a multitude of heart conditions. With this in mind, I have a confession to make: I am addicted to energy drinks. If you hand me one, there is no chance that I wont drink it. Every day there seems to be a new study coming out about how energy drinks are seriously detrimental to your health but nothing seems to stop me. Now, its no like I drink multiple drinks per day, and not even one a day. Its more around 1 or 2 a week, which actually isn't a lot compared to what others may drink. The problem is, whenever (and I mean whenever) I am faced with an opportunity to consume one, the outcome is me drinking up.
So what is it that makes me like energy drinks so much? At this point I believe it is slowly becoming a physiological addiction, but what draws me even more is the taste. Most people, when asked to taste an energy drink, say the taste is just awful and accuse me of only drinking it because it makes me feel cool. But I legitimately love the taste of most any energy drink. Some of my favorites include Red Bull (however overly priced it is), Monster, and Amp. They have a sour taste unlike any other soda, and when served cold go down very smooth.
Now that we have gotten over the embarrassingly short list of good things about energy drinks, we can talk about the bad. The first thing that would seem to belong on the good list is the energy these drinks supposedly give you. In my experience, the drinks either have absolutely no energy effect on me (caffeine resistance?), or they make me feel nervous and jittery. Another huge downside to drinking energy drinks is that simple fact that they are so expensive. If you want a large Red Bull, you will be down around 5 dollars. Though Red Bull is the most expensive one, an average drink is around 3 dollars, which is way to much money to be paying when all you get is a tiny can. The final downside is that energy drinks are simply bad for you. Multiple studies have shown the adverse affects that these drinks cause, the worst being serious heart problems.
Energy drinks have become a burden on me, and my wallet, but for some reason I refuse to stop drinking them. So this time, my message is don't try energy drinks; it may turn out that you like them.
I used to like Red Bull and tried five hour energy for awhile; in my experience, they taste decent (contrary to what other people think), but don't really cause me to turn Super Saiyan. I crash pretty quickly on 5-hr energy. Red Bull isn't too expensive if you get it at Sam's Club. I sort of agree with your last line; then again, energy drinks could be used kind of like a vaccine, so that people drink a can, then never try again.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried energy drinks, but I think that people get misconceptions about them when they see articles in the newspaper and stories online of kids who have died or have serious health problems from excessive use of energy drinks. These kinds of things spread like wildfire. I know that 5 hour energy advertises a ridiculous amount on ESPN, and I've always found Red Bull ads to be witty.
ReplyDeleteI can say from experience that energy drinks are addictive. At first the taste was weird and chemical-y but after a while it tasted good and I was craving it. For me the main appeal of energy drinks the ability to focus, and achieve superhuman productivity. At a summer camp I drank a Rockstar a day, slept three hours a night and felt like I finally had enough time for living. Then I started feeling nauseous and had to ease down the caffeine to coffee, then just tea. The withdrawal was awful. I hope my story also educates people about the syrupy sweet temptation of energy drinks.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I'm at Grainger, I always see at least one person there with either a Red Bull, Monster, or Rockstar. Nowadays, as we get a lot more busier and active in life, we depend a lot on these energy drinks to give us that boost we need to get what we need to get done.
ReplyDeleteGood article. I'm glad you brought up this topic.
i remember how we used to go to Walgreens all of the time and you would always wanna get an energy drink. There was that one time that we went to subway after, and when you finished your drink you crashed and then you refused to leave because you didnt wanna ride your bike since you lost all energy. im glad i didnt buy energy drinks with you haha. otherwise i might like them too.
ReplyDeleteI find that the taste of energy drinks is a little more crisp than soft drinks. Whenever I get one for free it is well enjoyed, but I'm really stingy so I refuse to buy one for myself. I'd rather have the 12 pack of soda than 1 can of energy drink. But for those that can afford quality over quantity, go for it
ReplyDeleteWhen my dad first purchased our donut shop, he sold Amp energy drinks. Let me say I had a fair share of those until they got too expensive to sell for profit. Amp, in my opinion, was the best tasting (like mountain dew with a tang). I liked this post and hope you can escape the lure of energy drinks one day.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have never personally enjoyed the taste of energy drinks, and rarely drink other forms of caffeine except for tea, I have seen first hand the negative aspects of being addicted to caffeine. I know people who have to have caffeine in the morning otherwise they will have a bad headache the rest of the day. Nice post!
ReplyDeletewow, this sounds just like me and... hot tamales. i dont consume that many energy drinks, but i do have way too many sodas to help me wake up throughout the school day. good luck in your quest for unaddiction!
ReplyDeleteI have had three energy drinks in my entire life. I guess I am lucky that I never got hooked to them. To me, energy drinks are just nasty and weird tasting. The more of it I drunk, the thirstier I became. I agree with Claire: they all taste chemically. Plus, I didn't seem to get that much energy. The drink just made my eyes uncontrollably widen for a few seconds, and then it made me have to go to the bathroom really badly. Oh, and BTW, you're probably addicted to caffeine (you probably know that by now). I remember that our health textbook Freshman year said that caffeine is pretty addicting. It is above Cocaine and below Heroin, Meth, and Nicotine.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried an energy drink before, and I don't intend to. I have a really addictive personality, hence the insane coffee addiction, so I fear that my body would become dependent really quickly. As far as I can tell, energy drinks are marketed as a replacement for getting enough sleep and maintaining healthy habits that will keep you feeling awake and focused during the day. Which is pretty sad. Good luck kicking your habit!
ReplyDeleteAs chops said you are probably addicted to the caffeine. In order to cease from drinking sweet drinks I have found myself drinking a lot of tea. I get home fro school and make a pot of chi tea (it has caffeine). When ever you want something to drink simply drink it iced, it tastes better than water and it has that caffeine you so crave.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! great post. however some energy drinks are sooo disgusting they look all nice with their visually appealing cans with delicious flavors but then you taste it and it taste like garbage I don't understand how you like them
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