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What’s Magic about this Ingredient in Energy Drinks?

| Bonnie Patten

Shocking news flash: the “energy” from energy drinks comes from caffeine, and not the other fluffy ingredients, such as the “B vitamins and nutrients” mentioned in the ad by the 5-hour ENERGY sheriff. These are simply added for marketing hype and to jack up the price of the drinks. Don’t believe me? Try this little experiment: pop all the vitamins, herbs and minerals that you think are beneficial tomorrow morning but don’t consume any caffeine from any source. Odds are that the “hours and hours of energy” touted by products like 5-hour ENERGY will be missing from your day. Next day, skip the vitamins, herbs and minerals, and ingest some caffeine – as a coffee lover, I’d recommend a nice hot cup of Joe. Wow, what a difference a caffeine day makes.

As to exactly how much caffeine most energy drinks contain, well, that’s a secret the companies aren’t disclosing. However, a chemical analysis of 5-hour ENERGY revealed that it contains at least twice as much caffeine as a typical cup of coffee (207 mg v. 80 to 100 mg for a cup of coffee). Should have stuck with your latte, boys!

Bonnie Patten

Bonnie, executive director of TINA.org, is an attorney and mother of three. Her commitment to educating the public about deceptive marketing stems from her belief that education is the only…

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