Taurine and Coffee - Strange Bedfellows
Artificial taurine and caffeine: a deadly mix. Why? Probably because of a coincidence 20 years ago. Someone at Red Bull, for whatever reason, added Taurine to their drink and over time, this became the Bull Standard. Close to 10 billion cans of energy drinks are produced every year (more than one for everyone of the planet!). Surprising when one considers the toxic mix of chemicals contained in this product. We definatley enjoy following the crowd!
Several studies indicate that taurine and caffeine together are a highly toxic mix (see Taurine and Caffeine). So taurine in energy drinks apparently is not only useless, several studies seem to indicate that it is actually damaging for your health, especially when it is synthetic (see Heart Problems with Synthetic Taurine).
Because of these and other studies, taurine is banned in energy drinks in many European countries. Other contries are examining this issue very cafefully.
Energy drinks are great stay alert longer and to get a mental boost. I like to drink them in the morning before my coffee. They help me start my day on a good foot.
The problem with most energy drinks is that, for marketing purposes, they include all kinds of other unnecessary and sometimes dangerous ingredients (artificial sweeteners, High Fructose, artificial vitamins). This increases the likelihood that at some time in the future, some health issues will develop. One could argue that many drugs currently being reviewed by the FDA also have potentially overwhelming side-effects. This is why the FDA reviews and rejects drugs where the negatives outweigh the postives. The FDA does not review energy drinks.
Some of the energy drinks I dislike are the usual culprits: Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar. They are basically carbon copies of each other. Some of the energy drinks I DO like are Guyaki Yerba Matte), GURU Energy Drink), and Sambason Energy. they all contain mostly what you need in an energy drink. A stimulant (natural caffeine, guaranine or yerba matte) plus a minimum of other ingredients, most of them organic.