Zero Sugar Energy Drinks
Replies
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neugebauer52 wrote: »When the advertising and promotion industry tries to sell me a new "healthy" alternative (which is constantly), I ask myself: does it grow on a tree? Grow underground or above ground? Can it swim, can if fly? Does it feed itself with whatever nature provides? Haven't seen soft drink cans growing anywhere (and all that other rubbish which we are constantly bombarded with.....) I know, I must be the most boring person in the world - just trying to live reasonably healthy and needing to lose lots of weight.
Neither can water.3 -
Hello everyone,
So a big part of me putting weight on was Energy drinks the other part just not eating right at all but anyways do you have any suggestions on what can give me just as much energy as a can ? Are these suger free energy drinks just as bad as the regular ones? Well besides the surgers.
Additives? Caffeine ? Why do more people not drink them if they’re just craving something sweet?
Me personally: more $$$ and effort than caffeine pills.
ETA:
↑for caffeine
For craving something sweet: way more $$$ than other carbonated artificially sweetened beverages. (such as store brand diet root beer)
Also: I hate hauling heavy loads of what is essentially 99+% water when I have indoor plumbing that brings water straight to my kitchen for me.2 -
Hopefully you've gotten what you need, mate. There's a lot of good stuff in the thread. Folks are on point, in moderation there's little issue with sugar free energy drinks. Be cautious of your caffeine sensitivity and you should be golden. I LOVE coffee but that Monster Ultra Zero is a real gem.
One worthy consideration, see if you can dig a little deeper into why you need the energy from a stimulant like caffeine. Still working on getting your general food intake in order? Not sleeping well? Stressed? Or do you just like a little extra kick?
If it's any of the first three, don't lose sight of that.
And if the sodium is a concern, get a little extra potassium to help balance things out.
I can honestly say it’s an addiction that I will have to one day work my way off. I’ve been drinking coffee, tea, energy drinks from such a young age I get headaches if I don’t have the caffeine throughout the day.
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Lots of "arm chair nutritionists" in here. The amount of caffeine is high in energy drinks. Some folks are sensitive to that. If your blood pressure is okay, probably no need for concern. As for sodium, soft drinks are considered a "low sodium" food. Not a high one. Folks who say that they are high, are simply misinformed. As for salt in the diet, studies are inconclusive that they affect hypertension: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317099.php
They do *not* affect insulin levels. They *may* keep people who crave sweets in a state of craving. Also, they interrupt our "sweetness" detectors by making everything sweet. The sweeter things are, the sweeter we want them to be is the current thought.
Anyway, what one person said, " You do you." Good luck.3 -
Lots of "arm chair nutritionists" in here. The amount of caffeine is high in energy drinks. Some folks are sensitive to that. If your blood pressure is okay, probably no need for concern. As for sodium, soft drinks are considered a "low sodium" food. Not a high one. Folks who say that they are high, are simply misinformed. As for salt in the diet, studies are inconclusive that they affect hypertension: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317099.php
They do *not* affect insulin levels. They *may* keep people who crave sweets in a state of craving. Also, they interrupt our "sweetness" detectors by making everything sweet. The sweeter things are, the sweeter we want them to be is the current thought.
Anyway, what one person said, " You do you." Good luck.
Are you a professional nutritionist?6 -
Lots of "arm chair nutritionists" in here. The amount of caffeine is high in energy drinks. Some folks are sensitive to that. If your blood pressure is okay, probably no need for concern. As for sodium, soft drinks are considered a "low sodium" food. Not a high one. Folks who say that they are high, are simply misinformed. As for salt in the diet, studies are inconclusive that they affect hypertension: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317099.php
They do *not* affect insulin levels. They *may* keep people who crave sweets in a state of craving. Also, they interrupt our "sweetness" detectors by making everything sweet. The sweeter things are, the sweeter we want them to be is the current thought.
Anyway, what one person said, " You do you." Good luck.
if it has carbs in it, it can affect insulin levels. and it doesnt keep me craving sweets if I drink one with or without sugar. a monster java which I do have one once in awhile has 188g of caffeine. one of sugarless drink packets that have electrolytes and caffeine in it is 100g per packet. so not that much more. for those with HBP not everyones BP will raise due to sodium. so people arent sensitive to sodium.sodium for some dose raise BP. they also dont make everything else taste sweet. at least not to me they dont. I think that will vary person to person.1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »
Would be rather odd if they did since several of them drink Diet Coke or Pepsi max themselves.
I've had doctors and nurses tell me to lose weight or drink less.. i am 99% certain they don't follow their own advice!!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Well, yes - and exercise more or whatever.
general advice type of things.
But I dont expect somebody to consume something they are telling others causes brain tumours
how many medical professionals do you think smoke?!
Extremely few doctors in my experience.
constantly amazes me how many nurses smoke, I must admit.
2 -
paperpudding wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »
Would be rather odd if they did since several of them drink Diet Coke or Pepsi max themselves.
I've had doctors and nurses tell me to lose weight or drink less.. i am 99% certain they don't follow their own advice!!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Well, yes - and exercise more or whatever. general advice type of things.
But I dont expect somebody to consume something they are telling others causes brain tumours
how many medical professionals do you think smoke?!
Extremely few doctors in my experience.
constantly amazes me how many nurses smoke, I must admit.
same here .hubbys dr told him to quit smoking. hubby told him I will when you tell your nurses to stop smoking. he laughed and said unfortunately he cant do that.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.14 -
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TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
No they don't. The sugar craving is also not a universal truth - it does cause some people to have cravings, but it does not cause all people to have cravings.2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
No they don't. The sugar craving is also not a universal truth - it does cause some people to have cravings, but it does not cause all people to have cravings.
Plus, I loathe all forms of coffee and love most forms of diet Cola. And need a caffeine buzz. (For whatever reason, tea somehow makes me sleepy, even when caffeinated.)0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
7 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
So you're new to the MFP forums - Welcome! You will find we are very science based, if you are going to make a strong scientific statement, you will need to back it up with reputable sources to make an impact and be ready for others to go into those sources with a fine toothed comb (especially if you are going to assert that something causes cancer :huh:). We have doctors, nurses, RDs, research scientists, archaeologists, molecular biologists, and many other scientific and medical professionals who post here regularly. And we discuss artificial sweeteners ad nauseum.
To catch you up, you might find these previous threads interesting:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10656903/for-those-who-lost-fat-do-you-think-diet-soda-impact-the-fat-loss-negatively/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10537256/artificial-sweeteners/p1
There are many many more
Artificial sweeteners have been all over the food supply since at least the 1970's. There has been no evidence of causation period, and even the correlation data and studies are pretty easy to poke holes in.6 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
No they don't. The sugar craving is also not a universal truth - it does cause some people to have cravings, but it does not cause all people to have cravings.
This study is about the effects of artificial sweeteners that seem to alter the glycemic and hormonal responses to glucose ingestion: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/9/2530 and you are right it is not a universal truth, it is science so it will be challenged and perhaps disproved in the future.
This one is about the long term effect of aspartame on the liver: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691511000639
This one about aspartame on lymphomas and leukaemias (in rats): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225029050_Aspartame_induces_lymphomas_and_leukaemias_in_rats
To be fair there is also a great number of studies that disprove the relationship between sweeteners and cancer. Again, counting the number of (possible) adverse effects vs the positive I personally stick to (carbonated) water with fresh lemon or lime but I can understand that if someone has been drinking sugary sodas all his life it's probably easier and better to switch to artificially sweetened sodas then not switching at all.7 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
So you're new to the MFP forums - Welcome! You will find we are very science based, if you are going to make a strong scientific statement, you will need to back it up with reputable sources to make an impact and be ready for others to go into those sources with a fine toothed comb (especially if you are going to assert that something causes cancer :huh:). We have doctors, nurses, RDs, research scientists, archaeologists, molecular biologists, and many other scientific and medical professionals who post here regularly. And we discuss artificial sweeteners ad nauseum.
To catch you up, you might find these previous threads interesting:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10656903/for-those-who-lost-fat-do-you-think-diet-soda-impact-the-fat-loss-negatively/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10537256/artificial-sweeteners/p1
There are many many more
Artificial sweeteners have been all over the food supply since at least the 1970's. There has been no evidence of causation period, and even the correlation data and studies are pretty easy to poke holes in.
Thank you for your feedback. I will shut up.3 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
No they don't. The sugar craving is also not a universal truth - it does cause some people to have cravings, but it does not cause all people to have cravings.
This study is about the effects of artificial sweeteners that seem to alter the glycemic and hormonal responses to glucose ingestion: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/9/2530 and you are right it is not a universal truth, it is science so it will be challenged and perhaps disproved in the future.
This one is about the long term effect of aspartame on the liver: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691511000639
This one about aspartame on lymphomas and leukaemias (in rats): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225029050_Aspartame_induces_lymphomas_and_leukaemias_in_rats
To be fair there is also a great number of studies that disprove the relationship between sweeteners and cancer. Again, counting the number of (possible) adverse effects vs the positive I personally stick to (carbonated) water with fresh lemon or lime but I can understand that if someone has been drinking sugary sodas all his life it's probably easier and better to switch to artificially sweetened sodas then not switching at all.
For the first study - ok, it affects hormones, so what? There was no correlation in the study to any other effect such as increased desire to eat more sweets.
For the aspartame effects on the liver, the rats were given the equivilent of 1000 mg per kg of body weight - to reach that amount of aspartame, an average sized human (80 kg) would have to drink a minimum of 640 diet cokes (a 12 oz diet coke contains 125 mg of aspartame)... don't think that is going to happen.
The third one was a rat study hidden behind a paywall... so cannot read the original study and look at methodologies, etc.
ETA: I was able to get to the actual text of the third study - biggest flaw they had was using Sprague-Dawley rats, a known strain of rats that spontaneously develop tumors about 50% of the time (even without any experiments being done on them).7 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
So you're new to the MFP forums - Welcome! You will find we are very science based, if you are going to make a strong scientific statement, you will need to back it up with reputable sources to make an impact and be ready for others to go into those sources with a fine toothed comb (especially if you are going to assert that something causes cancer :huh:). We have doctors, nurses, RDs, research scientists, archaeologists, molecular biologists, and many other scientific and medical professionals who post here regularly. And we discuss artificial sweeteners ad nauseum.
To catch you up, you might find these previous threads interesting:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10656903/for-those-who-lost-fat-do-you-think-diet-soda-impact-the-fat-loss-negatively/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10537256/artificial-sweeteners/p1
There are many many more
Artificial sweeteners have been all over the food supply since at least the 1970's. There has been no evidence of causation period, and even the correlation data and studies are pretty easy to poke holes in.
Thank you for your feedback. I will shut up.
I certainly didn't mean it that way, sorry if that's how it sounded. Just wanted you to know what you were wading into, lots of new folks end up kind of shell-shocked when they get into some of these hot button topics on here. If you're up for the argument, go for it!4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
No they don't. The sugar craving is also not a universal truth - it does cause some people to have cravings, but it does not cause all people to have cravings.
This study is about the effects of artificial sweeteners that seem to alter the glycemic and hormonal responses to glucose ingestion: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/9/2530 and you are right it is not a universal truth, it is science so it will be challenged and perhaps disproved in the future.
This one is about the long term effect of aspartame on the liver: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691511000639
This one about aspartame on lymphomas and leukaemias (in rats): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225029050_Aspartame_induces_lymphomas_and_leukaemias_in_rats
To be fair there is also a great number of studies that disprove the relationship between sweeteners and cancer. Again, counting the number of (possible) adverse effects vs the positive I personally stick to (carbonated) water with fresh lemon or lime but I can understand that if someone has been drinking sugary sodas all his life it's probably easier and better to switch to artificially sweetened sodas then not switching at all.
For the first study - ok, it affects hormones, so what? There was no correlation in the study to any other effect such as increased desire to eat more sweets.
For the aspartame effects on the liver, the rats were given the equivilent of 1000 mg per kg of body weight - to reach that amount of aspartame, an average sized human (80 kg) would have to drink a minimum of 640 diet cokes (a 12 oz diet coke contains 125 mg of aspartame)... don't think that is going to happen.
The third one was a rat study hidden behind a paywall... so cannot read the original study and look at methodologies, etc.
ETA: I was able to get to the actual text of the third study - biggest flaw they had was using Sprague-Dawley rats, a known strain of rats that spontaneously develop tumors about 50% of the time (even without any experiments being done on them).
..correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't at least one of commonly quoted by anti-aspartame rat studies have results that bounced all over the place with increasing dose. ...they point to the 2nd? highest dose numbers (really super high dose still) that showed an increase, neglecting to point out that it dropped down in the highest dose, and some of the (still high doses) showed a decrease versus none....in other words- the numbers they got were pretty much just data noise. (this might be that Sprague-Dawley study if memory serves).2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
No they don't. The sugar craving is also not a universal truth - it does cause some people to have cravings, but it does not cause all people to have cravings.
This study is about the effects of artificial sweeteners that seem to alter the glycemic and hormonal responses to glucose ingestion: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/9/2530 and you are right it is not a universal truth, it is science so it will be challenged and perhaps disproved in the future.
This one is about the long term effect of aspartame on the liver: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691511000639
This one about aspartame on lymphomas and leukaemias (in rats): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225029050_Aspartame_induces_lymphomas_and_leukaemias_in_rats
To be fair there is also a great number of studies that disprove the relationship between sweeteners and cancer. Again, counting the number of (possible) adverse effects vs the positive I personally stick to (carbonated) water with fresh lemon or lime but I can understand that if someone has been drinking sugary sodas all his life it's probably easier and better to switch to artificially sweetened sodas then not switching at all.
For the first study - ok, it affects hormones, so what? There was no correlation in the study to any other effect such as increased desire to eat more sweets.
For the aspartame effects on the liver, the rats were given the equivilent of 1000 mg per kg of body weight - to reach that amount of aspartame, an average sized human (80 kg) would have to drink a minimum of 640 diet cokes (a 12 oz diet coke contains 125 mg of aspartame)... don't think that is going to happen.
The third one was a rat study hidden behind a paywall... so cannot read the original study and look at methodologies, etc.
ETA: I was able to get to the actual text of the third study - biggest flaw they had was using Sprague-Dawley rats, a known strain of rats that spontaneously develop tumors about 50% of the time (even without any experiments being done on them).
..correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't at least one of commonly quoted by anti-aspartame rat studies have results that bounced all over the place with increasing dose. ...they point to the 2nd? highest dose numbers (really super high dose still) that showed an increase, neglecting to point out that it dropped down in the highest dose, and some of the (still high doses) showed a decrease versus none....in other words- the numbers they got were pretty much just data noise. (this might be that Sprague-Dawley study if memory serves).
That's the one.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
No they don't. The sugar craving is also not a universal truth - it does cause some people to have cravings, but it does not cause all people to have cravings.
This study is about the effects of artificial sweeteners that seem to alter the glycemic and hormonal responses to glucose ingestion: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/9/2530 and you are right it is not a universal truth, it is science so it will be challenged and perhaps disproved in the future.
This one is about the long term effect of aspartame on the liver: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691511000639
This one about aspartame on lymphomas and leukaemias (in rats): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225029050_Aspartame_induces_lymphomas_and_leukaemias_in_rats
To be fair there is also a great number of studies that disprove the relationship between sweeteners and cancer. Again, counting the number of (possible) adverse effects vs the positive I personally stick to (carbonated) water with fresh lemon or lime but I can understand that if someone has been drinking sugary sodas all his life it's probably easier and better to switch to artificially sweetened sodas then not switching at all.
For the first study - ok, it affects hormones, so what? There was no correlation in the study to any other effect such as increased desire to eat more sweets.
For the aspartame effects on the liver, the rats were given the equivilent of 1000 mg per kg of body weight - to reach that amount of aspartame, an average sized human (80 kg) would have to drink a minimum of 640 diet cokes (a 12 oz diet coke contains 125 mg of aspartame)... don't think that is going to happen.
The third one was a rat study hidden behind a paywall... so cannot read the original study and look at methodologies, etc.
ETA: I was able to get to the actual text of the third study - biggest flaw they had was using Sprague-Dawley rats, a known strain of rats that spontaneously develop tumors about 50% of the time (even without any experiments being done on them).
..correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't at least one of commonly quoted by anti-aspartame rat studies have results that bounced all over the place with increasing dose. ...they point to the 2nd? highest dose numbers (really super high dose still) that showed an increase, neglecting to point out that it dropped down in the highest dose, and some of the (still high doses) showed a decrease versus none....in other words- the numbers they got were pretty much just data noise. (this might be that Sprague-Dawley study if memory serves).
Basicall, if you see Italian names in the authors of an artificial sweetener study, you can ignore it.1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »There are several studies that seem to point in the direction that energy drinks have lots of problems associated:
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19542947/energy-drink-health-effects/
Best 'energy' drink in my opinion: carbonated water with freshly squeezed lemon.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-lemon-water/
did you read that article? its not even talking about sugar free energy drinks to start with?!
The article is indeed about energy drinks in general, but that does not make a lot of the described effects less true for sugar free energy drinks. When it comes to sugar free drinks the biggest issue seems to be that some artificial sweeteners cause cancer and other health risks, plus when the body thinks it's getting sugar (you taste something sweet) it responds to it and when the sugar rush doesn't come the craving for actual sugar goes up. So combining the potential negative effects of the energy drinks plus the negative effects of artificially sweetening I think the overall conclusion is (at least for me) that these risks outweigh any potential short term gain. If you need caffeine buzz, drink a cup of espresso in the morning and stick with water (carbonated) the rest of the day.
No they don't. The sugar craving is also not a universal truth - it does cause some people to have cravings, but it does not cause all people to have cravings.
This study is about the effects of artificial sweeteners that seem to alter the glycemic and hormonal responses to glucose ingestion: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/9/2530 and you are right it is not a universal truth, it is science so it will be challenged and perhaps disproved in the future.
This one is about the long term effect of aspartame on the liver: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691511000639
This one about aspartame on lymphomas and leukaemias (in rats): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225029050_Aspartame_induces_lymphomas_and_leukaemias_in_rats
To be fair there is also a great number of studies that disprove the relationship between sweeteners and cancer. Again, counting the number of (possible) adverse effects vs the positive I personally stick to (carbonated) water with fresh lemon or lime but I can understand that if someone has been drinking sugary sodas all his life it's probably easier and better to switch to artificially sweetened sodas then not switching at all.
the first one says effects of artificial sweeteners that seem to alter the glycemic and hormonal responses to glucose ingestion? so are they saying theres an effect to those who eat/drink foods with glucose? because glucose isnt an artifcial sweetener.0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »chunky_pinup wrote: »If you are looking for a calorie-free energy drink that doesn't taste like blech...try the Zevia ones. They taste delicious and have 150mg of caffeine...a good jolt
https://www.zevia.com/products/energy
Are they better than the Zevia pop because most of those don't taste veey good.
@singingflutelady not sure what Zevia pop means?0 -
chunky_pinup wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »chunky_pinup wrote: »If you are looking for a calorie-free energy drink that doesn't taste like blech...try the Zevia ones. They taste delicious and have 150mg of caffeine...a good jolt
https://www.zevia.com/products/energy
Are they better than the Zevia pop because most of those don't taste veey good.
@singingflutelady not sure what Zevia pop means?
Zevia is a brand of sodas that are sweetened with stevia instead of sugar or the artificial sweeteners.0 -
Personally, I stay away from the yellow, pink & blue packets as to me they taste nasty and most anything that is made with them tastes a little funky to me, that's a personal preference. All this blood sugar or insulin spiking or cancer causing talk with semi scientific studies etc., is scary at best. I'd rather use Stevia which is a real plant rather than something made in a chemical lab. Truth is, there probably isn't a whole lot in life or in nature that is truly good for us.2
-
MotherTruckerKeto wrote: »Personally, I stay away from the yellow, pink & blue packets as to me they taste nasty and most anything that is made with them tastes a little funky to me, that's a personal preference. All this blood sugar or insulin spiking or cancer causing talk with semi scientific studies etc., is scary at best. I'd rather use Stevia which is a real plant rather than something made in a chemical lab. Truth is, there probably isn't a whole lot in life or in nature that is truly good for us.
The catch of this is, not all plants are healthy for us. And artificial sweeteners have undergone a lot more testing than stevia.
I'm not arguing that people should avoid stevia, just pointing out that the "It's natural" argument isn't always a good guide to what we should consume.4 -
Hello everyone,
So a big part of me putting weight on was Energy drinks the other part just not eating right at all but anyways do you have any suggestions on what can give me just as much energy as a can ? Are these suger free energy drinks just as bad as the regular ones? Well besides the surgers.
Additives? Caffeine ? Why do more people not drink them if they’re just craving something sweet?
So in my eyes they are bad for you. I know that there isn’t enough research done out there to prove this but this is all just my opinion. There will be high levels of caffeine in these drinks which can cause restlessness to muscle tremors .. if I were you I would just knock these on the head (or have a very minimal amount) and try to get your energy from having more sleep, exercise, controlling your stress etc.7 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Hello everyone,
So a big part of me putting weight on was Energy drinks the other part just not eating right at all but anyways do you have any suggestions on what can give me just as much energy as a can ? Are these suger free energy drinks just as bad as the regular ones? Well besides the surgers.
Additives? Caffeine ? Why do more people not drink them if they’re just craving something sweet?
So in my eyes they are bad for you. I know that there isn’t enough research done out there to prove this but this is all just my opinion. There will be high levels of caffeine in these drinks which can cause restlessness to muscle tremors .. if I were you I would just knock these on the head (or have a very minimal amount) and try to get your energy from having more sleep, exercise, controlling your stress etc.
A serving of Monster has less caffeine than 8 ounces of coffee (86 mg vs 95 mg). Do you consider a cup of coffee to also be bad for someone?
(Note: a can usually has more than one serving, but it isn't unusual for coffee drinkers to order a coffee larger than 8 ounces either).3 -
There is a ton of research supporting the idea that caffeine can actually be positive for your health, I've heard up to as much as 4-5 cups of coffee per day, assuming you don't have an unusual sensitivity to it (like you get anxious or shaky).
The poor guy just wants to have a couple of energy drinks a week The fearmongering in this thread is strong. 3 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Hello everyone,
So a big part of me putting weight on was Energy drinks the other part just not eating right at all but anyways do you have any suggestions on what can give me just as much energy as a can ? Are these suger free energy drinks just as bad as the regular ones? Well besides the surgers.
Additives? Caffeine ? Why do more people not drink them if they’re just craving something sweet?
So in my eyes they are bad for you. I know that there isn’t enough research done out there to prove this but this is all just my opinion. There will be high levels of caffeine in these drinks which can cause restlessness to muscle tremors .. if I were you I would just knock these on the head (or have a very minimal amount) and try to get your energy from having more sleep, exercise, controlling your stress etc.
A serving of Monster has less caffeine than 8 ounces of coffee (86 mg vs 95 mg). Do you consider a cup of coffee to also be bad for someone?
(Note: a can usually has more than one serving, but it isn't unusual for coffee drinkers to order a coffee larger than 8 ounces either).
I think too much coffee is bad for you absolutely .. I don’t drink it as it makes me get palpitations as does energy drinks so I avoid both of them, I think things like coffee are ok in moderation dependant on your tolerance to it. But energy drinks just seem to be a lot worse due to being carbonated, full of sugar (unless sugar free but then it’ll have sweeteners which aren’t too great) I would always advise to just try and avoid both to be honest .. but that’s just me8
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