NOS Energy Drink is popular for being a high-performance energy drink. While it has been around for quite a while, you may be wondering if NOS Energy actually works?
NOS works well as an energy drink, providing you with the boost you need to stay awake and focused with its 160 mg of caffeine. However, it may not be the best if you are concerned about high sugar and caloric content. To maximize NOS’ benefits, make sure you moderate your consumption.
If you’re curious to know more, stick around as I explore everything about NOS Energy, from its ingredients to just how effective it is as an energy drink.
NOS Energy Nutrition Facts
Let’s start by looking at the nutritional facts of a can of NOS Energy Drink, as shown in the table below:
| Nutrition (Per Serving) | NOS Energy Drink (16 fl.oz) |
| Energy | 210 Calories |
| Protein | 0g |
| Fat (Of which Saturated) | 0g (0g) |
| Carbohydrate (Of which Sugars) | 54g (54g) |
| Caffeine | 160mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 3.4mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 4.8μg |
NOS Energy Ingredients
Before we dive in deeper, let’s go through the ingredients of NOS Energy Drink in the list below:
- Carbonated Water
- High fructose corn syrup
- Citric acid
- Sodium citrate
- Natural & artificial flavors
- Sodium hexametaphosphate (preservative)
- Taurine
- Caffeine
- Potassium sorbate (preservative)
- Sucralose
- Red #40
- Inositol
- Calcium sodium EDTA (preservative)
- Pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6)
- Blue #1
- Guarana extract
- Cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12)
How Many Calories Does NOS Energy Have?
A 16 fl.oz can of NOS Energy has 210 calories, so if you’re focusing on losing weight, NOS probably isn’t the best energy drink to include in your diet.
Considering the recommended daily caloric intake of 1,600 to 2,400 calories for women and 2,000 to 3,000 calories for men, consuming NOS Energy alone would take up about 1/10 of your daily calorie intake.
It’s also important to note that high-calorie intake can be harmful to your health, bringing major health problems like obesity and heart disease especially if you’re not physically active.
Obviously, NOS Energy is safe provided you have a healthy lifestyle. However, if you’re watching your weight, you may want to try some low-calorie energy drinks.
If taken in moderation, the high calorie in NOS Energy will give you lots of energy for you to conquer the day.
That said, you shouldn’t substitute a proper meal with NOS Energy as you still need nutrition from actual food in your body system.
If you’re interested, I’ve also written an article on the best zero-calorie energy drinks, so feel free to check it out if you’re looking for a healthier option.
How Much Caffeine Does NOS Energy Have?
In terms of caffeine, there’s 160mg of caffeine in a 16 fl.oz NOS Energy Drink can, which is a typical amount for an energy drink of its size.
Unlike some of the strongest energy drinks with high caffeine levels such as Bang and Reign, NOS Energy contains a moderate amount of caffeine that’s reasonable for the average adult.
As I personally prefer to have around 50mg to 100mg of caffeine in my drink, I find the amount of caffeine in NOS to fit just right, giving me the energy boost but not so much that it gives me side effects.
That said, caffeine helps improves your attention span, physical performance and even increase satiety hormones, which makes you less hungry throughout the day. This helps with preventing binge eating.
However, keep in mind that caffeine is only beneficial if you control your intake to no more than 400mg per day as recommended by the FDA’s maximum daily caffeine limit for healthy adults.
Going over the recommended limit might potentially expose you to its side effects like:
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Dehydration
- Dizziness
- Abnormal heartbeat
Of course, if you keep your caffeine below the maximum limit and drink NOS Energy moderately, you won’t need to worry about unpleasant side effects.
It’s also best not to drink NOS Energy close to your bedtime as caffeine can keep you awake, which might lead to difficulty sleeping.
If you do plan to have caffeinated beverages, avoid having them within about six hours of your bedtime.
How Much Sugar Does NOS Energy Drink Have?
There’s 54g of sugars in a 16 fl.oz can of NOS Energy Drink, which is a pretty normal amount for an energy drink.
But if you’re trying to avoid sugar in your daily diet, you might want to opt for sugar-free energy drinks because 54g is equivalent to 4½ tablespoons of sugar.
NOS Energy Drink uses high fructose corn syrup, which helps enhance the taste of processed food and drinks. Although it’s used as an alternative to regular sugar, it can be just as unhealthy if excessively consumed.
In this case, NOS Energy Drink exceeds AHA recommended sugar limit, which is 36g for men and 25g for women, and like caffeine, too much sugar can be bad for you as it causes health problems like:
- Tooth decay
- Acne
- Weight gain
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart diseases
While the high sugar level in NOS Energy Drink will give you an energy boost, once the effect wears off, you’ll experience a sugar crash due to the sudden spike and then a fall in your blood sugar levels.
That said, I don’t recommend NOS Energy if you have a medical condition especially diabetes.
Still, if you’re set on having energy drinks in your daily intake, the best option is to look for sugar-free varieties or talk to a doctor.
If you want to do away with the sugar entirely, take a look at the article I’ve written on the best sugar-free energy drinks for some healthier alternatives.
Are There Artificial Sweeteners in NOS Energy Drink?
NOS Energy Drink contains Sucralose, which is a type of artificial sweetener that has zero calories.
Sucralose is used to add sweet flavoring into food and drinks, working like regular sugar without the calories and carbohydrates that come from using regular sugar.
Basically, it has serves no nutritional values other than food flavoring.
While there may be issues concerning the use of artificial sweeteners and how it affects our health, sucralose is FDA approved, so you shouldn’t worry much about that as long as you control your daily intake.
That said, I still think it’s rather surprising that NOS decides to add artificial sweeteners to its energy drink that already has a high sugar level. It’s definitely rare to have an energy drink that uses both.
Does NOS Energy Work?
NOS Energy Drink does a pretty good job as an energy drink, thanks to its high sugar content.
From my experience, NOS Energy Drink (GT Grape) is a relatively effective energy drink as it provides me with a quick energy boost, I would say the effects last for about 2-3 hours.
After drinking NOS, you’ll notice a focus boost that will last for about several hours before the effects wear off. So if you’re looking for that energy boost to get through the day, NOS Energy does a pretty good job.
It’s also important to note that caffeine has a half-life of 5-6 hours until half of it leaves your body system. Although you won’t notice the effects anymore, the remaining caffeine actually takes a little longer to get rid of.
Overall, NOS Energy Drink does its job well as an energy drink. That said, its high sugar and caffeine content is definitely not for everyone, so if you are diabetic or sensitive to caffeine, NOS may not be suitable for you.
How Many NOS Energy Drinks Can I Have Per Day?
| NOS Energy Drink (16 fl.oz) | Daily Max Limit (Female/Male) | |
| Calories | 210 calories | 2400 calories/3000 calories |
| Sugar | 54g | 25g/36g |
| Caffeine | 160mg | 400mg |
In my opinion, it’s best to drink only one can of NOS Energy Drink per day as it has high calories and sugar content.
NOS Energy Drink has a typical amount of caffeine for an energy drink, but the amount of sugar that’s added into a single can is concerning.
So, you might want to think twice before drinking NOS Energy for the second time in a day because you’re already going over the recommended limit by the AHA just by drinking one can.
Not to mention the amount of calories in NOS Energy is also quite high. Unless you’re physically active and have no problem burning off those calories, a zero-calorie drink may be the better option for you.
If you want to try the NOS Energy drink, my advice is to consume it in moderation and limit it to only 2-3 cans per week, and substitute it with coffee, tea, or other sugar-free energy drinks if you need an energy boost.
Alternatives to NOS Energy
If NOS Energy Drink isn’t to your liking, here’s a quick list of other energy drinks you can try:
- Red Bull
- Mountain Dew Kickstart
- Rockstar
- Reign
- 3D Energy
- Game Fuel
- Bang
- Monster
- Full Throttle
- Adrenaline Shoc
- Guru Energy Drink
- Raze Energy
- C4 Energy
Another great option would be powdered energy drinks as they’re more affordable and you have full control of the serving size:
- Zipfizz
- Advocare Spark
- G Fuel
- REIZE (highly recommended)
REIZE (10/10)
REIZE is the perfect energy drink that will surely fit your lifestyle.
NOS Energy Drink works well as an energy drink, but how about try something that is just as great (if not better) and has zero-sugar in it?
I personally think REIZE is a much healthier alternative to NOS Energy Drink.
REIZE is a powdered energy drink that comes in convenient 4g sachets, which you can customize as you like depending on your own preference.
With a sensible 50mg of caffeine, REIZE is also completely sugar-free and has just 11 calories per serving.
REIZE also contains a smart list of beneficial ingredients like taurine, ginseng, and B-complex vitamins that work together to provide you with the perfect energy boost without the sugar crash afterward.
The best part? REIZE ships straight to your door for only about $1 per drink.
That’s great value for money.
Give REIZE a try, and you might agree that it’s a smarter option than NOS Energy.