There is no single, official definition for energy drinks, says Asantewaa Ture, MD, an internal medicine physician at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. But as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes, energy drinks are beverages that typically contain large amounts of caffeine and other legal stimulants (such as taurine or L-carnitine), as well as sugar and other compounds like the medicinal herb ginseng.
“What sets energy drinks apart from coffee and tea is not just caffeine, but this multi-ingredient stimulant complex, often including taurine, ginseng, sugar, guarana, and B vitamins,” says Katherine Brooking, RD, a registered dietitian in New York City, noting that these ingredients are intended to increase alertness, attention, and energy, in addition to elevating blood pressure and heart rate.
The stimulant load is often high even in “natural,” caffeine-free energy drinks, Dr. Ture says.
“These typically rely on vitamins or [stimulant] herbal ingredients to provide energy,” she explains. “And ‘natural’ energy drinks that are plant-derived, with green tea or guayana, can still have high levels of caffeine.”
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