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Moose Juice: Fact Check on its Impact on Health

Moose Juice: Fact Check on its Impact on Health

Moose Juice Extreme Energy is a line of citrus-flavoured energy drink products from Muscle Moose, a company based in the UK.

Its main target market is athletes, bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts.

Moose Juice energy drink apparently contains many nutrients that are thought to improve performance, whether it’s at the gym or at work.

If you’re an avid consumer of Moose Juice energy drinks I’m sure you’d also like to know about the impacts Moose Juice might be having on your health.

Well, I’m here to take a closer look at the contents of Moose Juice that promise to provide you with more energy and focus and what the possible effects of those ingredients are.

But, if you’re in a hurry here’s the short answer: Moose Juice can be beneficial for your health if consumed in moderation as a weekly drink.

Now, let’s get started

What ingredients are in Moose Juice?

A 500ml (17.6 fl. oz) can of Moose Juice Energy contains:

  • 15 calories
  • Carbonated water
  • D-Glucuronolactone
  • Branch Chain Amino Acids (Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine)
  • Taurine
  • Caffeine Anhydrous
  • L-Tyrosine
  • L-Carnitine
  • L-Tartrate
  • Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6)
  • Nicotinamide (Niacin)
  • Sucralose (Artificial sweetener)
  • Cholin Bitartate
  • Acesulfame Potassium (Artificial sweetener)
  • Cyanocobalomin (Vitamin B12)
  • Folic Acid
  • Flavourings
  • Malic Acid (Acidity regulators)
  • Citric Acid (Acidity regulators)

To get a better understanding of what these ingredients are or what they do, head over to this article I wrote on energy drink ingredients and their functions.

What flavours does Moose Juice have?

Moose Juice comes in 5 flavours:

  • Berry
  • Green Apple
  • Mojito
  • Blue Raspberry
  • Passion Fruit

How much caffeine is in Moose Juice?

Each can of Moose Juice energy drink has 200mg of caffeine, making it one of the strongest energy drinks on the market.

Note that the caffeine amount is specified in a small print on the back of the can. I found this quite odd and slightly confusing as it can be easy to miss.

There is a warning on the drink’s high caffeine content with the fine print 40mg per 100ml in brackets.

In my opinion, this could cause confusion among consumers, especially those who are new to Moose Juice and want to try it.

How much caffeine is too much?

According to the guidelines from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the recommended caffeine intake for healthy adults is 400mg of caffeine in a day.

This includes caffeine from all sources in your daily diet. Unless you’re keeping track of how much caffeine you’re having in a day, it’s a good chance that you’ve consumed caffeine from other drinks and foods too.

Tea, coffee, soft drinks and even chocolate all have some caffeine in them.

You also need to make sure that your caffeine intake in one serving doesn’t exceed 200mg.

Excessive caffeine consumption could lead to some undesirable side effects like:

  • diarrhea
  • dizziness
  • increased thirst
  • headache
  • insomnia
  • fever
  • irritability
  • breathing troubles
  • vomiting
  • chest pain
  • irregular heartbeat
  • convulsions
  • death (this is rare, but it could happen)

With regards to the caffeine content in Moose Juice, I advise you to keep your consumption to just one can in a day.

There’s even a warning on the nutrition label that says to ‘consume responsibly – one can per day’.

More than one can of Moose Juice and you’ll be hitting the maximum daily caffeine intake for the whole day.

You must also consider if you have a low caffeine tolerance or caffeine sensitivity. I wouldn’t recommend Moose Juice if you have those conditions.

You’re better off sticking to energy drinks with lower amounts of caffeine.

coffee beans
Too much caffeine does more harm than good

Is there sugar in Moose Juice?

Moose Juice is completely sugar-free.

Instead of using normal sugar, Moose Juice relies on the addition of artificial sweeteners, which I’ll cover below.

Artificial Sweeteners in Moose Juice

There are artificial sweeteners in Moose Juice although it’s advertised as aspartame-free. Sucralose and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) are alternative sweeteners added to substitute sugar without compromising the taste.

If you look carefully, you’ll notice that many of your favourite food and drink products contain artificial sweeteners nowadays. This is mainly because these sweeteners are low in calories, and therefore considered healthier choices compared to sugar.

Unlike sugar, artificial sweeteners don’t affect blood sugar levels as sugar does and can even be consumed by diabetics or if you’re trying to keep your sugar and calorie intake low.

Although both sucralose and ace-K are approved for use and considered safe, there are many conflicting opinions on their benefits and possible side effects.

However, there’s too little data to make any concrete conclusions on this yet.

In my opinion, like everything we eat and drink, you should take anything with artificial sweeteners in moderate amounts to avoid health risks, including energy drinks like Moose Juice.

Too much of anything is not beneficial to your health.

If you want to know the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for these artificial sweeteners, here’s a guideline:

Artificial SweetenersAcceptable Daily Intake (ADI)
Sucralose15mg/kg of body weight
Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K)9mg/kg of body weight
Follow these guidelines to stay on top of a healthy diet

What’s the effect of L-Tyrosine in Moose Juice?

L-Tyrosine is a naturally-occurring amino acid in your body and can be taken as a dietary supplement. According to Healthline, L-Tyrosine can stimulate important brain chemicals that help improve alertness, mood, focus and attention.

Tyrosine plays a role in producing important brain chemicals like dopamine and adrenaline, substances that regulate your mood and perception of stressful situations.

One 2007 study discovered that L-Tyrosine might be able to reduce stress.

Other studies reported that cognitive performance increased after tyrosine supplementation. Though, evidence that tyrosine can improve physical performance has yet to be found.

However, whether L-Tyrosine in Moose Juice energy drinks will benefit you cognitively or not is hard to confirm since we don’t know the precise amount of this amino acid in one can.

It may be wise to assume that there actually isn’t a huge amount of amino acids in Moose Juice based on my past experience of lab testing other brands to verify their claims.

But, L-Tyrosine is known to cause side effects, particularly if you’re on levodopa as it can interact and affect the effectiveness and absorption rate.

Thus if you’re taking any sort of medication, it’s better to proceed with caution and ask your doctor first if you can have Moose Juice energy drink in your diet.

Is it safe to drink Moose Juice every day?

Like most energy drinks, Moose Juice is safe to drink every day if consumed in moderation and if you don’t have any pre-existing medical conditions. But, in my opinion, depending on your body, you should consume Moose Juice once a week rather than making it your daily pick-me-up or casual beverage.

The reason that I’m saying this is because a can of Moose Juice contains as much caffeine as the amount you can take in a single serving.

By the time you’re done with your first can, you’ve already had half of the recommended daily caffeine intake.

Plus, you’ll need to consider the possible side effects of finishing one can of Moose Juice.

If you space out your consumption by drinking it once a week and switching with other brands of energy drinks, you probably won’t experience severe negative effects.

Though, this is something you’ll have to test out for yourself as everyone has different levels of caffeine tolerance and responses to caffeine.

The warning on the can states to consume one can in a day. Moose Juice energy drink is also definitely not recommended for children, pregnant, and breastfeeding women as mentioned on the label.

Can you get sick from drinking Moose Juice?

Although unlikely, there is the possibility that Moose Juice may cause you to become unwell after consumption.

This is far more likely if you go overboard with your consumption or combine Moose Juice with a cocktail of other substances.

Caffeine Overdose

Since Moose Juice contains 200mg of caffeine per can, caffeine overdose is a possibility. Caffeine overdoses happen when you consume more than the recommended amount.

On a side note, the specific amount of caffeine it takes for an overdose to occur depends on you and your body weight. The less your weight is, the higher the chance caffeine could lead to an overdose.

The symptoms of a caffeine overdose are:

  • fast heartbeat
  • shakiness
  • feeling sick or vomiting
  • confusion
  • panic attack

In some cases, too much caffeine can lead to cardiac arrests and even death (this is quite rare but it does happen).

That’s why it’s important to always stick to the recommended daily caffeine intake.

Vitamin Overdose

Vitamin overdoses can happen when you have concentrated doses of vitamins, which can lead to adverse effects. It’s difficult to determine how much B vitamins are in energy drinks, so you should be careful with your consumption.

Moose Juice contains four B vitamins, namely niacin (vitamin B3), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), folic acid (vitamin B9) and cobalamin (vitamin B12).

The side effects of consuming too many B vitamins are:

  • excessive thirst
  • skin conditions
  • blurry vision
  • abdominal cramps
  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • increased urination
  • skin flushing
  • diarrhea

Allergic Reaction

Some people might have allergic reactions to caffeine especially if you have high doses of it. When your body mistakenly perceives caffeine as a harmful substance, your immune system will create antibodies to counter it, resulting in caffeine allergies.

If you’re allergic to caffeine, you might get symptoms like:

  • mouth, tongue or lip itchiness
  • hives
  • swollen lips or tongue
  • difficulty breathing
  • wheezing
  • coughing

For those who are allergic to caffeine or develop allergic symptoms after having caffeine, you should completely avoid caffeinated foods and drinks.

It can be hard to give up something you enjoy, but it’s for your own good.

If you need help quitting caffeine, I’ve written a helpful guide that you can check out.

WATCH & LEARN: Symptoms of Caffeine Allergies

So…is Moose Juice bad for your health?

In my opinion, Moose Juice can be good for your health in some ways, but only if consumed in moderation. It’s only when you go overboard that it might lead to undesirable consequences.

Energy drinks are beneficial in moderate quantities. Moose Juice is no different.

A 2013 study found that consuming energy drinks improved physical and cognitive performance among trained cyclists.

When consumed in proper amounts, you’ll surely benefit from the caffeine in Moose Juice.

Remember:

Moderation is key.

Alternatives to Moose Juice

Here’s a list of some other energy drinks you can have if you’re looking for alternatives to Moose Juice:

You can try giving powdered energy drinks a chance too:

REIZE energy drink (10 out of 10)

REIZE
Try REIZE!

REIZE contains a very sensible 50mg of caffeine, a smaller amount compared to the hefty caffeine content in Moose Juice. I find 50mg of caffeine can still nicely boost your energy levels without any crashes later on.

Plus, REIZE is also sugar-free and contains a smart mixture of ginseng, taurine and B vitamins to go along with the caffeine that will benefit you in many ways and is in my opinion healthier than Moose Juice.

REIZE is also super convenient as it comes in sachets, meaning it’s easy to carry around without adding extra weight to your bag. You can even put a couple in your pocket to have fresh when you want them.

I also like REIZE because it’s incredibly versatile and can be mixed with any beverage that you like, whether it’s tea, juice or plain water.

Best of all, REIZE only costs around $1, including delivery right to your door. That’s great value for money.

Give REIZE a try and you might find that it’s more beneficial to your health and gives you a better energy boost than Moose Juice.

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