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Best Energy Drinks that are Healthy (Are They?)

Owing to their high doses of caffeine and sugar, energy drinks are not often viewed as the healthiest beverages in the world.

And that’s fine since energy drinks aren’t health supplements, but instead primarily provide an energy boost that’ll keep you awake and alert.

To be fair, energy drinks are only regarded as harmful if you continuously abuse their purpose. This is why it’s best to choose brands that have minimal caffeine, sugar, and calories. It’s also good if the ingredients are naturally-derived, especially if you aim to drink energy drinks regularly.

In this article, I’ll be showing you what you need to know when choosing the best brand for your health and I’ll even recommend a few of my top picks!

Let’s dive in.

What You Need to Consider in Picking Healthy Energy Drinks

The ingredients of an energy drink are what make or break its overall quality. With that in mind, here are a few ingredients to keep an eye on:

Caffeine

Despite its reputation as a nasty thing, caffeine can be beneficial if taken in moderation. Caffeine is the most commonly utilized ingredient in energy drinks that may help you focus and stay awake during long hours of work.

Another benefit of caffeine is that it can aid in weight loss or prevent weight gain. Caffeine pushes you to move more and it can also temporarily suppress the desire to eat and, therefore, can stop you from gaining weight.

Even Harvard agrees that caffeine can bring the following benefits:

Artificial Sugars 

Sucralose is a sweetener often found in sugar-free energy drinks. Since it is 600 times sweeter than sugar, the FDA controls how much of it can be included in energy drinks.

And in addition, they can help with many sugar-related problems such as diabetes and obesity. Aside from that, there was even a study on this where they assessed the different artificial sugars and agreed that artificial sugars do have benefits such as dental health care and many others.

Taurine

Taurine is an excellent addition to energy drinks. It is a naturally occurring amino acid in your body that can be found in your heart, brain, and muscles, all of which are considered vital to your body’s functions.

On the plus side, it is safe for up to 3000 mg per day, so you shouldn’t be concerned unless the energy drink suddenly has 1000mg of taurine, which is an uncommon occurrence.

Taurine can stimulate your brain and improve nerve growth, making it a popular component in energy drinks. And don’t believe the rumors that Taurine is from bull sperm either! The Taurine that is added to the drinks is synthetically-produced.

For a closer look at Taurine and its benefits, check out this video

Ginseng

Ginseng has been shown to enhance the immune system, combat fatigue, and raise energy levels, to name just a few of its benefits. 

The name “Ginseng” is derived from the Chinese term “renshen,” which means “ginseng root.” Ginseng is found mainly in North America and eastern Asia, such as Korea, Bhutan, and East Siberia.

Although Ginseng might have minimal side effects, you don’t need to be concerned. They might be anything from restlessness to anxiety, to be more precise.

However, this is only applicable if you take them in large doses or for an extended period. Still, personally, I don’t find the side effects to be too bothersome.

A man wearing a gray shirt who is masaging his forehead.
The most common adverse effects of Ginseng include headaches, dizziness, and an upset stomach, which isn’t as awful as that can come out of some other ingredients.

Effects of Energy Drinks on Your Body

Pros

There are several advantages that energy drinks may bring, and the following are a few of them.

  • Energy booster
  • Improves mood
  • Good source of B vitamins
  • Improves focus and alertness

Energy drinks can give you a boost when you’re feeling down since they’re mostly filled with sugar and caffeine. These two ingredients are responsible for giving you that much-needed kick for the day.

To add to that, you should consider picking out an energy drink full of B vitamins. Since your energy metabolism is greatly aided by the presence of B vitamins, this makes it possible for energy drinks to include far more than the recommended daily quantity without posing a risk to its consumers.

 Cons

Energy drinks might be regarded as harmful if they’re taken in excess instead of in proper amounts. This indicates that you will be ingesting more than indicated based on caffeine, sugar, and several other ingredients.

Excessive consumption of energy drinks may lead to some rather severe adverse effects such as:

Those are just some of the minor side effects but there are also more serious complications because of prolonged and excessive consumption of energy drinks, such as:

  • Kidney stones
  • High blood pressure
  • Death
  • Miscarriage
  • Caffeine overdose

With these dangers in mind, make a mental note of how much you are drinking and make sure not to exceed the maximum amount of allowable caffeine or sugar each day.

What is the Cleanest Drink for Energy?

Naturally-sourced ingredients are often included in clean energy drinks and they are designed to boost mental and physical performance, which is precisely what the Yerba Mate brand wants to accomplish.

In addition to caffeine, it has a variety of other nutrients, like antioxidants, that may help keep you awake and alert throughout the day.

Yerba mate tea contains roughly 90% more antioxidants than green tea, making it one of the cleanest drinks you can have when you need a little more power.

Which Energy Drink is the Least Healthy?

I’d have to say that the high sugar level of Full Throttle makes it a less-than-healthy option for an energy drink.

When it comes to sugary energy drinks, Full Throttle has the most sugar per 16 fl. oz. can at 55g. For instance, 55g of sugar is around four teaspoons of sugar, which is not something you want to take daily since sugar can cause various health complications.

In addition, a single can of Full Throttle exceeds the AHA’s recommended daily sugar consumption. With this, it’s also possible that its high sugar content can cause a sugar crash, which might leave you feeling weary and depleted after consuming a can of this drink.

Caffeine-containing beverages like Full Throttle should be used sparingly. If you’re watching your sugar intake, I suggest limiting yourself to no more than two or three cans each week.

The ingredients label on the side of a Full Throttle energy drink.
This photo shows the complete list of ingredients included in Full Throttle energy drinks.

Best Energy Drinks that are Healthy

Now that we have that all covered, here are the best energy drinks that I think would not negatively affect your health. Make sure to check out REIZE, my personal go-to beverage.

Energy DrinkCaffeine SugarCalories
Zipfizz100 mg0 g20 cal
Advocare Spark120 mg0 g15 cal
REIZE (10 out of 10)50 mg0 g11 cal
A table of the best healthy energy drinks with their caffeine, sugar, and calories.

Zipfizz

Zipfizz has just 100 milligrams of caffeine and no added sugar, making it a better alternative to other energy drinks. The best part is, it comes in those cute little tubes that are easy to take anywhere.

With a lot of vitamins in it, Zipfizz is an excellent addition to your regular vitamin consumption. For $2.25 per serving, it isn’t the cheapest, but it’s not the most pricey, either.

Advocare Spark

Another powdered energy drink, Advocare Spark, is pretty healthy in terms of ingredients and overall taste. It is slightly more potent in caffeine with 120 mg of caffeine. However, technically the amount of caffeine is still alright and well within the recommended limit.

This is because the maximum amount of caffeine that an individual can drink each day is 400mg, and 120 mg is slightly more than 25%.

Also, Advocare Spark is sugar-free and made use of some artificial sugars such as sucralose.

For pricing, even though it is more potent than Zipfizz, it is actually cheaper, costing about $2.20 per serving excluding shipping. That makes Advocare Spark a pretty good deal for an energy drink. 

REIZE (10 out of 10)

REIZE, I say, is the healthiest option in this list. This is due to the numerous benefits and advantages it offers.

For one, it only contains 50mg of caffeine, that’s perfect for anyone as it is just the right amount, not too much, not too little.

Not to mention that you would have to drink 8 cups of REIZE for you to exceed your caffeine limit of the day. That’s equivalent to the amount of water you should drink each day, so I doubt you would be drinking that much.

REIZE is also sugar-free, which is great because you never have to watch your sugar. To add to that, it also contains some pretty great ingredients, including Ginseng and taurine, which I had already mentioned above.

And the best part? It is only $1 per sachet and you can even have your orders shipped straight to your door. Talk about an energy drink that is a practical value for your money!

What are you waiting for? Get REIZE now!

A pack and a glass of REIZE energy drink.
A cold glass of REIZE energy drink by the beach is all you need for the summer.

Other energy drinks you should try:

Verdict

While energy drinks are not exactly what you define as “healthy,” they do provide you the advantages you need for that healthy lifestyle. Still, you must be aware of the suitable dose for your age and health situation to prevent eventual regrets.

The trick is to look closely at the ingredients of the energy drinks and their amounts. Caffeine, sugar, and calories should be as minimal as possible to avoid negative side effects. It’s also a plus if the ingredients are organic!

Of course, out of all the drinks I’ve tried, nothing can beat REIZE as it ticks off all the boxes in my checklist. But nevertheless, moderate your intake and maintain proper diet and exercise for a true healthy lifestyle!

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