Vegan diets are gaining more popularity as people are becoming more aware of the environment and unethical practices against animals in certain industries.
You may a big fan of energy drinks and might be curious to know if there are any good vegan-friendly energy drink options that you can get your hands on.
The good news is there are many vegan energy drinks! In this article, I’ll walk you through my top recommendations and tell you why they might be a good fit for your lifestyle.
This article will answer some questions you may have about energy drinks and veganism, from whether the ingredients in energy drinks are vegan-friendly to whether they’re actually healthy or not.
Let’s get started!
What Is A Vegan Diet?
A vegan diet, or a plant-based diet, is a type of diet that involves the consumption of foods made from plants. Following a vegan diet means avoiding all animal products, including meat, fish, dairy, and eggs.
Vegan diets usually consist of foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and beans.
Though these foods can supply sufficient vitamins, minerals, and protein, there are certain nutrients like iron, calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12 that vegans need to obtain from supplements as these nutrients are only available in animal-based products.
Some of the many benefits of following a vegan diet include:
- Improved heart health
- Reduced risk of heart diseases
- Promotes lower blood sugar levels
- Weight loss
- Maintains overall nutrition and health
Is A Vegetarian Diet And Vegan Diet The Same?
Vegetarian diets and vegan diets might seem similar, but in truth, there are a few differences that separate the two from each other.
Generally, a vegetarian diet means that you avoid consuming meat, poultry, fish, or any by-product of animal slaughter. You follow a diet consisting of vegetables, fruits, grains, and nuts, including dairy and eggs.
On the other hand, a vegan diet concentrates on the intake of plant-based ingredients, completely avoiding all animal by-products including eggs, dairy, gelatin, honey, whey, and others.
A vegan diet is often adopted for ethical reasons, health purposes or to protect the environment.
In terms of similarities, both diets are low in fats and cholesterol and involve consuming a lot of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
A vegan diet is often believed to be more of a lifestyle rather than just a dietary choice, while vegetarian diets gravitate toward health purposes, though it isn’t wrong to adopt a vegetarian diet for ethical reasons as well perhaps as a stepping stone before you transition to a vegan diet.
Are Vegan Energy Drinks Healthy?
Vegan energy drinks can be healthy, but that’s not always the case. It depends a lot on the ingredients found in energy drinks.
You might be following a vegan diet for health reasons or weight loss purposes and are looking for a vegan-friendly drink that can boost your energy levels without sabotaging your health efforts.
While drinking energy drinks every now and then offers wonderful benefits, drinking them every day may cause more harm than good.
The biggest factors that go into what makes an energy drink healthy or not are the sugar content, caffeine content, and amount of calories. I’ll cover these in more detail in the coming sections.
Make sure to stay within the recommended daily intake guidelines for caffeine, sugar, and calories and you’ll be fine.
Can Vegans Have Caffeine?
Caffeine is a natural stimulant that can be found in certain plants, thus caffeine is suitable for vegans.
In certain plants, caffeine occurs naturally, though the caffeine you consume every day mainly often comes from coffee beans. As for other caffeinated sources like tea, chocolate, cola drinks, and energy drinks, they’re made using caffeine from different plants or produced synthetically in a lab.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that all types of coffee, tea, and chocolate are vegan-friendly. Cappuccinos and café au lait aren’t vegan-friendly as they contain milk and other non-vegan products, so you might have to resort to selecting coffee with milk alternatives instead.
Some teas tend to have small quantities of honey for added flavor, and this is something vegans would like to avoid, especially if you’re an ethical vegan.
However, caffeine by itself is vegan-friendly, so the caffeine in energy drinks is suitable for vegans.
But like all things that you eat and drink, caffeine should always be consumed in moderation. The FDA recommends a maximum daily caffeine limit of no more than 400mg for healthy adults. Any more than that and you might experience side effects like:
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Dehydration
Even though caffeine is vegan, you should still consume it in moderation.
Of course, the amount that works for you may differ from your friend. This is because your caffeine tolerance depends on your caffeine metabolism, so you might need a lower dose of caffeine if you’re new to caffeine compared to someone with a higher caffeine tolerance.
Is Sugar Vegan-friendly?
Sugar by itself is vegan-friendly, but the refining process that sugar goes through may negate its vegan property. This is because the process uses powdered animal bones as a filter.
According to the American Farm Bureau Foundation, sugar can be derived from a few sources like sugarcane, sugar beets, corn and sometimes honey. But most of the sugar you consume usually comes from plant-based sources.
These plant-based sugar sources become an issue when the process utilizes non-plant-based materials.
Based on this post from PETA, sugar made from sugar cane typically goes through a refinement process involving the usage of bone char to achieve the white color.
However, this practice is exclusive to sugar cane sources as sugar made from sugar beets and coconuts is not processed with bone char.
As a vegan, it can be difficult to know where and how the sugar you consume is processed.
The same post by PETA, also states that you shouldn’t stress too much if you aren’t sure how the sugar you consume is produced as you’re already doing a whole lot by minimizing animal exploitation simply by being vegan.
If you want to know more about sugar and whether it’s ethical or not, take a look at this video:
When you’re selecting the kind of sugar you want from supermarkets or stores, vegan-friendly sugar brands are widely accessible and easily available.
For energy drinks, you can go for sugar-free energy drinks instead since these types of energy drinks use artificial sweeteners instead of sugar.
Regardless of the type of sugar you consume, you must always have them in moderation.
As a rule, the recommended maximum daily sugar intake is 25g for women and 37g for men. Excessive sugar intake could lead to a sugar crash and eventually, more serious diseases like diabetes and obesity.
Even when you’re following a vegan diet, you must ensure that you aren’t consuming more sugar than you’re supposed to. As long as you stay within the daily sugar limit, you should be fine.
Is Taurine Suitable For Vegans?
Taurine is generally suitable for vegans since nowadays taurine is synthetically made.
Taurine is an amino acid that’s produced naturally in your body and can also be found in animal-based products like meat, fish, and eggs.
Though taurine comes from non-vegan sources, most of the taurine in your everyday products is synthetically made. There was some controversy surrounding taurine before that claimed it was made from bulls’ semen, but it was quickly disproved.
In short, if you happen to find taurine listed on the label of your energy drink, you can rest assured that it’s synthetic and therefore vegan-friendly.
Are Vitamin B’s In Energy Drinks Vegan-Friendly?
The vitamin B’s in energy drinks are considered vegan-friendly as they’re produced synthetically.
If you’re following a vegan diet, you may realize that you aren’t getting enough vitamin B12 in your diet. This is due to the fact that vitamin B12 can only be obtained from animal products, which vegans avoid.
You may also be wary of the vitamin B12 content in energy drinks.
However, there’s nothing for you to worry about as most energy drinks contain cyanocobalamin, which is the synthetic version of vitamin B12.
Hence, the vitamin B content in energy drinks is generally suitable for vegans. If you’re still skeptical or unsure, you can always contact the manufacturer of your preferred brand of energy drink for confirmation.
Are All Energy Drinks Vegan-Friendly?
In general, most energy drinks are vegan-friendly, but that’s not always the case. It depends on the ingredients that are used, the origin of those ingredients whether they’re from ethical sources.
On the topic of energy drinks, some energy drink companies will label their products vegan if they’re suited for vegan diets whereas other energy drinks don’t usually bother certifying them or labeling them as vegan-friendly, so it’s sometimes hard to tell if they’re vegan or not.
It’s simply a matter of doing some research on the ingredients of your favorite energy drink online.
Popular brands like Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar are confirmed vegan.
On an interesting note, Red Bull was once tangled in a few controversies regarding its ingredients. If you’re interested to learn more, you can read about it in my article on whether Red Bull is vegan or not.
A few energy drink brands I know of that may raise concerns among ethical vegans include Adrenaline Shoc and Game Fuel. These drinks may contain ingredients and colorings that are either animal-based or have been tested on animals.
These concerns may be a troubling issue for some vegans, so whether a particular energy drink is vegan or not would depend on your reasons for adopting a vegan diet.
Can Vegans Drink Red Bull?
Vegans can certainly drink Red Bull without any guilt or concern because Red Bull is vegan-friendly.
On the company’s website, you’ll find a statement that (Red Bull) “does not contain any animal products or substances derived from animals.”
For a detailed look at all of the ingredients in Red Bull and how vegan they are, check out my other post.
Which monster energy drinks are vegan?
For the most part, Monster energy drink uses plant-based ingredients, therefore, all of its lineups are Vegan. All except their Java Monster which contains milk is considered an animal byproduct, therefore, not vegan.
The company themselves confirmed that despite certain ingredients potentially being from animals, they are not. Ingredients such as taurine and L-carnitine are synthesized rather than coming from meat.
Similarly, food coloring is added in some lines but still uses plants for the color. There is however the concern of whether this coloring was tested on animals.
Nevertheless, Monster energy seems to be vegan friendly. Despite concerns about its ingredients, the use of meat or other animals seems to be non-existent for the most part.
Best Energy Drinks For Vegans
Red Bull Energy Drink
| Standard Values | Red Bull (8.4fl.oz) |
| Caffeine Content | 80mg |
| Sugar Content | 27g |
| Price | About $2 |
| Is It Vegan-friendly? | Yes |
With its famous slogan ‘Gives you Wings’, Red Bull is the world’s most well-known energy drink brand. Plus, it’s certified vegan-friendly as it contains zero animal products.
With 80mg of caffeine, Red Bull will surely give you an efficient energy boost that’s not too overwhelming. However, the sugar content in Red Bull is fairly high and might not be ideal if you’re trying to cut down on sugar.
Red Bull makes a great occasional drink but I don’t think it’s wise to drink Red Bull every day given its high sugar content.
You can read more about whether Red Bull energy drinks are actually bad for you in my other article.
Guru Energy Drink
| Standard Values | Guru (per 16 fl.oz) |
| Caffeine Content | 100mg |
| Sugar Content | 21g |
| Price | About $2 |
| Is It Vegan-friendly? | Yes |
Guru may not be as well recognized as Red Bull but personally, I think that it’s a way healthier choice.
Guru contains 100mg of natural caffeine and 21g of sugars derived from cane syrup. The ingredients in Guru Energy are mostly organic plant-based and synthetic products.
Guru is definitely an energy drink that’s suitable if you’re a vegan, especially if you’re watching your diet too.
Reign Energy Drink
| Standard Values | Reign (per 16 fl.oz) |
| Caffeine Content | 300mg |
| Sugar Content | 0g |
| Price | About $1.50 – $2 |
| Is It Vegan-friendly? | Yes |
Though Reign isn’t vegan certified, it doesn’t contain any animal by-products. Besides, Reign is also sugar-free so you don’t have to stress over how the sugar is produced.
But I must warn you, that Reign has a lot of caffeine, so Reign may not be suitable for you if you have a low caffeine tolerance. If you regularly consume caffeine and require bigger doses of caffeine to feel the effects, Reign might just be the drink for you.
If you’re interested to find out in more detail about the nutrition facts and ingredients in Reign, check out this article where I cover everything you need to know.
REIZE (10 Out Of 10)
| Standard Values | REIZE (per 8.4 fl.oz) |
| Caffeine Content | 50mg |
| Sugar Content | 0g |
| Price | About $1 |
| Is It Vegan-friendly? | YES! |
Personally, I prefer REIZE if you’re on a vegan diet because it ticks all the boxes.
With a sensible 50mg of caffeine, REIZE is a great powdered energy drink that’s sugar-free and has only 11 calories per serving. Plus, since REIZE has zero sugar, you don’t have to worry about where your sugar comes from or how it’s processed.
REIZE is packed with a smart blend of vegan-friendly ingredients like taurine, ginseng, and B vitamins that work together to provide you with a smooth energy boost without any crash later.
Furthermore, REIZE comes in convenient 4g sachets making it really easy to take anywhere you might need an energy boost. REIZE can also be customized to suit your preference and tastes.
The best part?
REIZE costs only about $1 per drink and you can get it shipped straight to your door.
Talk about amazing value for money.
Try REIZE today, and I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a great energy drink if you’re following a vegan diet.