What is the best energy drink?

caesar

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May 30, 2010
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After a long, hard day of work, I crave coming out on the tennis court and hitting some balls. But I usually need a cup of coffee to get my feet to move as well as Nadal's!:) And if I'm out until 2:30 am drinking and listening to live music, I need a Red Bull.

Is there a more healthy, better alternative?
 

Gregadd

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Apr 20, 2010
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Magnesium suppements.
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Magnesium and Sports
Magnesium Is Required for Optimal Performance

No serious athlete or trainer can afford to overlook the benefits that magnesium brings to athletic performance and the recovery process. Research suggests that even a small shortfall in magnesium can lead to greatly reduced performance and stamina.

Increased (inefficient) oxygen consumption and reduced metabolic efficiency will often result when an athlete is deprived of proper magnesium levels. Compounding the issue is the challenge to eat large amounts of magnesium-rich foods such as pumpkin seeds, nuts and whole bran on a consistent basis. Often this proves difficult and unrealistic, as an athlete's requirement of magnesium intake far surpasses that of an average person.

Studies have shown that daily supplementation of 450 mg of magnesium and 30mg of Zinc can increase testosterone levels up to 30%.

Confirming this assertion, Dr. Lorrie Brilla of Western Washington University has found that magnesium and zinc supplementation of their NCAA football players results in increased testosterone levels and muscle strength. Dr. Brilla reported that during an eight-week spring training program, athletes receiving the magnesium had 2.5 times greater muscle strength gains than a placebo group.

Dr. James Thor, National Director of Extreme Sports Medicine says "Magnesium is essential to a diet for people who are under a lot of stress or want to experience the ultimate rush". Dr. Thor also added that athletes under continual stress produce excessive amounts of lactic acid in their muscles, which has been linked to higher levels of anxiety

http://www.magnesiumdirect.com/sports.aspx
 

treitz3

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Dec 25, 2011
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I have recently become a believer in that the best energy drink, isn't actually a drink at all. It's all part of proper nutrition, exercise and eating the things that boost your energy and not drag you down. When this is properly achieved, energy drinks are no longer a "wanted" thing. That said, no more energy drinks for me but one. That being Spark by Advocare.

It's the only energy drink that actually gives you short term and long term energy without any hint [at least to me] of any crash. I used to drink Red Bull after trying out just about all of the mass market energy drinks. It started out as maybe one or two a day. As my body got used to the effects, it didn't work as well so I upped the anti and went to 3-4 a day. Then I dropped back down to 1-2 a day but started getting the larger sizes instead but the cycle repeated itself....back up to 3-4 a day of the largest of Red Bulls. I only really needed energy during the week, so I only drank it on the weekdays.....only to find myself crashing and crashing hard on the weekend. I would just waste my life sleeping in on the weekends or taking a nap in the afternoon [a long one]. When my belly started to hide the fact that I had feet while standing up, it was a wake up call. Time for a lifestyle change. Not a diet, a lifestyle change.

So, I quit Red Bull "cold-turkey" and at the advice of my wife's professional personal trainer I started using a product called Spark. Now what's funny [actually it's awesome!] is that the exact opposite is happening when comparing it to Red Bull. I started out at 3-4 packs a day at less than the cost of the smallest Red Bull per drink and the more time that goes by, I have noticed that I'll drink one, maybe two a day now. This, along with the lifestyle change and I have lost 4 belt sizes now [in about a month and a half], I'm not crashing on the weekends or any day for that matter and I have more energy than I can shake a stick at. So, while there may be better out there that I may not know about? From personal experience, my nod has definitely got to go to Spark. It's available in the following flavors but I would not recommend the Grape.....not my idea of a good tasting drink. I love the Mango Strawberry and the Fruit Punch but unfortunately, I have not tried the rest of the flavors. Here's what's available;

A4096 - Mango Strawberry
A4095 - Pink Lemonade
A4094 - Mandarin Orange
A4093 - Fruit Punch
A4902 - Grape
A4091 - Cherry
A4071 – Citrus

They can be found, researched on and ordered here on Advocare's main website >>> http://www.advocare.com/products/active/A2094.aspx BTW, I am not affiliated with this company in any way. Just wanted to answer your question and offer my own observations/experiences. The best thing is that not only is it healthier for me, it's costing much less and working much better. The main thing is that now I have energy and I don't "seek out" an energy drink. About one a day is usually all I need now at a total whopping cost of a little over a buck sixty-three a drink.

Tom
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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I won't dispute how you feel with that energy drink, but from a nutritional standpoint I'd say good coffee is a much better bet.
 

treitz3

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Dec 25, 2011
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I won't dispute how you feel with that energy drink, but from a nutritional standpoint I'd say good coffee is a much better bet.

Rbbert, I do understand where you may come from. I have had many a coffee and when my teeth turned a different color, I had to make a choice. This choice I made about a decade ago. Now keep in mind that I still drink coffee but I do so only on the weekend mornings and only if I have to wake up early now. Even then, it's limited. I would however, invite you to clink onto this link and scroll down to the "Compare AdvoCare Spark".

I am in no way challenging or being confrontational. I am just asking that if you look at the same information about the coffee you drink and compare it to Spark, would you come to the same conclusion?

Here's the link again for you to check out, just scroll down to the chart... [the only chart on the page linked]...

http://www.advocare.com/products/active/A2094.aspx

Tom
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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Yes, it was after looking at that table that I made my comment. Remember, there's quite a bit of antioxidants in coffee, which may not affect how you feel right this minute but which has demonstrable long-term health benefits. This of course assumes moderate consumption (about 12-20 oz/day). I'm a little skeptical about all the carbs in Advocare Spark coming from inositol, and if you're going to exercise the potassium in coffee is beneficial as well.
 

treitz3

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Dec 25, 2011
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Please allow me to ask you this, rbbert. Do you perhaps drink your coffee black?

Tom
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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Nope, I usually have about 20-25 cal sucrose and 10 cal of non-fat milk in ~14 oz of coffee. So in that sense fewer calories and more caffeine, which may or may not be "good", but then again I don't really drink it for energy per se. However, I think it would work very well for that purpose.
 

JackD201

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Apr 20, 2010
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I don't know if this is an energy drink but I do take mine in liquid form. 20ml of L-Carnitine. I always take this for serious practice and when playing tournaments (Golf). I get less winded and as a result helps greatly with focus and concentration. Good for about 8 hours.
 

treitz3

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How does it taste, Jack?
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
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It's tart. Probably because there's 500mg of Vitamin C per 20ml of the syrup. Think sucking on a piece of lime after a shot of tequila. No after taste.
 

treitz3

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Dec 25, 2011
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So I take it that you can't drink it as a pleasure drink [something that you would actually yearn to drink]....or am I incorrect in this assumption? I'm just going off of what you wrote above, so please don't slap me silly.

Tom
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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You could mix the 20ml with anything I guess. I drink it from a little cup that goes over the bottle's cover Nyquil style. You could mix it with the water or gatorade in your sports bottle I guess. It rather tastes like Sunquick orange concentrate in a way just nowhere as thick or strong. The instructions say however not to refrigerate. I take it that it should be taken at room temperature.
 

TheMadrat

New Member
Mar 2, 2014
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Healthy Energy Drink

After a long, hard day of work, I crave coming out on the tennis court and hitting some balls. But I usually need a cup of coffee to get my feet to move as well as Nadal's!:) And if I'm out until 2:30 am drinking and listening to live music, I need a Red Bull.

Is there a more healthy, better alternative?

Our family was looking for the same thing and we decided to create our own. One of the main things we wanted to acheive was lower calories with natural, safe sweeteners. We beleive that most low calories sweeteners are too controversial or dangerous to use in the long run. So we opted for Stevia leaf a natural alternative. We also discovered that the B-12 source most energy drinks use is called cynacobalamin, which is not optimal. Methycobalamin is known to be the better source. So thats what we used as well. Overall I think we hvae acheived a unique and safe drink. We get our caffeine from sources like green tea, and maca root which also helps with more antioxidants.
 

Tecknik1

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2017
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Being an active cyclist at 56 yr riding 400 + km per week I need all the help I can get. I start my morning at 4 am with a cup of water with a lemon squeezed in then heated for 20 seconds at which time I add 1/4 tsp of baking soda followed by 2 raw eggs for protein and a cup and a half of black coffee to get me going. For my energy drink while riding I use one large coconut juice with one large scoop of PERPETUEM Ultra Endurance Fuel in my camel pack with the remains filled with water and all the ice that well fit.

I have found this to be just right for me to keep up with all the young weekend warriors riding in the morning.

Red Bull has way too much sugar and I found it ways me down rather then energize me.
 

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