Advice on energy drinks

Long story short, I'm interested in trying different energy drinks, but I could use some advice or recommendations. The main problem is potential anxiety. I can handle a 20oz Mountain Dew (90mg caffeine), but I'd rather not drink that regularly as it's so unhealthy.
What are some affordable energy drinks that won't cause me to have anxiety/jitters or panic attacks and that aren't super unhealthy and can be drank daily? I see some advertised and reviewed as not causing anxiety/jitters, and I see some others that have L-Theanine, which is claimed to counteract those. If it matters, the main purpose would be to simply keep myself awake for a few hours while I sit at my desk at work, not to supplement exercise.
I have like zero experience with energy drinks, so I need some recommendations.

a reply to: trollz

You wont like this advice but it worked for me.

No energy drinks, and cut out all caffeinated drinks/foods.
Give it a couple weeks and you’ll be more awake during the day because you’ll sleep
Better at night.

a reply to: trollz

Well, it’s not an energy drink, as Jag mentioned all those are bad like an orange man.

Zipfizz is what I drink every morning. No caffeine, just a bunch of vitamins with the most being B12. In stores, you can only find it at Costco. But those flavors aren’t my favorite. Amazon is where you can find all the good flavors for cheap.

They are a powder in a capsule that you put in a bottle of water. Average about a buck a piece. I feel great with no jitters every day.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: trollz

You wont like this advice but it worked for me.

No energy drinks, and cut out all caffeinated drinks/foods.
Give it a couple weeks and you’ll be more awake during the day because you’ll sleep
Better at night.

^THIS!^

The stuff is poison.

Eat well, nourish your body. Get sufficient rest. Drink plenty of water. Leave it at that.

Energy drinks are poison, and they are a trap. Stay away!
:

Go with the recommendation of JAGStorm. Energy drinks do not contain energy. They have stimulants, mainly caffeine that make you jittery and anxious.

originally posted by: trollz
Advice on energy drinks

Yeah, don't drink them.

If you think Mountain Dew is unhealthy, why are you even entertaining the thought of an energy drink?

Go ahead ... I dare you to compare the amounts of sugar and caffeine in an energy drink to the amounts in Mountain Dew. I think you will be surprised.

Do as others suggest - cut back. Go to tea or coffee. Limit yourself to only allowing it before certain times of the day and make sure get good exercise and sleep. You'll be surprised how much energy you end up with.

I have one coffee in the morning at 7ish and usually nothing but water after that, and I am up to 5 hours of workout every week now, and I have plenty of energy in my mid 40s.

Energy drinks contain caffeine but are offset by other ingredients like l-theanine and taurine, which are actually anxiolytics. Meaning, they relax your nerves while allowing the caffeine to give you a boost.

If someone drinks a starbucks, and people then rally around you to tell you it's just a toxic drink, remember, it's just a coffee. Energy drinks have vitamin b compounds also, but are also - and this is the worst part - loaded with sugars.

Get some taurine, or l-theanine. have a strong cup of coffee with those added. both are liberated by the kidneys so you can't go too overboard if you keep within recommended amounts.

I like to make a smoothie with banana, ginger and other fruits, with guarana, l-theanine, tauring and magnesium. calming stimulation.

But if you listen to everyone else, don't touch it, you'll die a worse death than covid..

a reply to: ketsuko

Coffee is what is in an energy drink. Apart from b supplements and amino acids.

And you can get energy drinks that do not contain anywhere near the amount of sugars you'd get from a red bull.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: trollz

You wont like this advice but it worked for me.

No energy drinks, and cut out all caffeinated drinks/foods.
Give it a couple weeks and you’ll be more awake during the day because you’ll sleep
Better at night.

This isn't correct for me. I normally don't consume caffeine. I've had an issue with tiredness my whole life that isn't connected to caffeine use. On the contrary, it seems to help a little, which is why I'm interested in trying different energy drinks to see if any help keep me awake while at work so I'm not uncontrollably falling asleep at my desk every day.

a reply to: jerich0

I know, but energy drinks are artificially juiced with higher levels of both caffeine and suger than a coffee, but yes, it is the same substance. That's why I said cut back.

a reply to: trollz

It may sound a bit strange, but I have a ritual that works very well.

Rice and eggs.

One cup of Uncle Ben's Instant rice, one cup of water. Bring the water to a boil, dump in the rice, cover and turn the heat off. Let it set for about 5 minutes. While you're waiting for that..
3 scrambled eggs.
2 pieces of toast.

A bit of butter and sugar in the rice and then stir in the eggs. I also have a large glass of fruit juice [ my favorite is Ocean Spray CranApple ]
Carbs, protein and energy that lasts for hours.

a reply to: trollz

Maybe you should see a doctor? Narcolepsy is a thing.

My wife was having some neurological issues (periodic blurred vision, face and hand numbness) so she went in to see a Neurologist. They ran a whole bunch of tests and found that she would benefit from some high dosages of vitamin B12.

When talking with the Neurologist, we asked him what were good sources of B12 in addition to supplements. He gave us some great examples, and he also told us something interesting. He said, a lot of people think energy drinks are a good source of vitamin B12 because it says so on the label. BUT...there's a big problem! While energy drinks are a source for vitamin B12, they also contain massive amounts of vitamin B6 (usually anywhere from 2x-5x more than the B12). So, in order to get a high B12 dosage you also wind up getting a massive B6 dosage at the same time.

Turns out vitamin B12 doesn't really have any upper limits for dosage with negative side effect. The same can NOT be said for vitamin B6. Too much vitamin B6 can cause a whole raft of negative side effects including neurological issues such as tremors, numbness and numerous other things (exactly the opposite of what my wife needed). He also stated that a single can of an energy drink will usually provide a good dosage of B12, but will also provide several times the recommended daily dosage of B6.

We weren't really energy drink consumers to begin with, and this information pretty well sealed our decision not to start.

Bottom line - Energy drinks are REALLY BAD for you! He mentioned several studies where a number of countries are working to either ban energy drinks altogether, or to force producers to label the risks (similar to cigarette packaging).

originally posted by: trollz
I've had an issue with tiredness my whole life that isn't connected to caffeine use.

How frequently do you exercise? How much sleep do you get? What kind of sleep do you get? How is your diet?

There are so many questions you need to answer instead of getting to, "I need to jack myself up with mass produced canned poison".

originally posted by: ketsuko
If you think Mountain Dew is unhealthy, why are you even entertaining the thought of an energy drink?

Go ahead ... I dare you to compare the amounts of sugar and caffeine in an energy drink to the amounts in Mountain Dew. I think you will be surprised.

Do as others suggest - cut back. Go to tea or coffee. Limit yourself to only allowing it before certain times of the day and make sure get good exercise and sleep. You'll be surprised how much energy you end up with.

I have one coffee in the morning at 7ish and usually nothing but water after that, and I am up to 5 hours of workout every week now, and I have plenty of energy in my mid 40s.

I saw a lot of energy drinks with zero sugar. Some are basically just vitamin water with caffeine. I also drink green tea every day, and I think the kind I drink has no caffeine in it.

a reply to: trollz

Just make a pitcher of ice tea. No sugar, just tea water! Add mint, hibiscus tea leaves,, orange peals, fresh or dried ginger root...whatever you like.

They say green tea is the healthiest.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: jerich0

I know, but energy drinks are artificially juiced with higher levels of both caffeine and suger than a coffee, but yes, it is the same substance. That's why I said cut back.

No they're not, they're less than most coffees you'd buy from starbucks.

Drink.......................................fl oz...Calories....Caffeine (mg)...mg/ floz
Red Bull....................................8.46...117.........80.................9.5 ??
Starbucks Bottled Iced Coffee.........48.......240........640...............13.3
Starbucks Doubleshot Energy..........15.......220........135................9.0
Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso........6.5......140........120...............18.5

www.caffeineinformer.com...

The reason energy drinks can be a problem, is because people drink them like bottled water. But then, people also drink multiple coffees in a day also. They just know it, because it makes them bounce of walls, more.

Yes, cut down on coffee. But it's a bug of mine to hear people say energy drinks are worse.

a reply to: trollz

Everyone jumped on the 'anti-sugar' train thanks to the media and the whole low-carb movement. Sugar is the new butter, or new egg yolks. Of course the energy drink companies reacted by coming out with "sugar free!".

The problem here is, the artificial sweeteners they use are many times worse for you than sugar will ever be! It's like the whole butter thing; they made people think eating a tiny bit of butter would kill you dead instantly...only to find out the alternative, polyunsaturated fat (transfat), which was found in all the butter-like spreads was 100x worse for you!

I wouldn't get to wrapped around the axle about sugar in energy drinks. There are a lot of bigger things to worry about than sugar.

ETA - I always chuckle at people who are making a big deal out of going sugar free. It's like they saying..."You're a dummy for eating sugar! Just look at me, I'm sugar free!! I only eat this cyanide stuff on everything!"

The most I do is lightly caffeinated (specifically tea) drinks, and I do not overdo it.

I did a 5 Hour energy shot ONCE! It felt like I was having a heart attack afterwards. I'll not do that again.