Energy Drink

They quench your thirst, calm a craving, and give you a much needed pick-me-up when you need it most. What are they? They’re energy drinks.

Energy drinks are very similar to soft drinks. But, the major difference is they contain the ingredients you need to boost your energy after a long day, during a stressful time, or when you need an extra kick to finish a task.

Like soft drinks, energy drinks do contain caffeine. However, that is not the only source of the drink’s energy boosting power. The manufacturers also add their own blend of herbal supplements and vitamins, which often include such ingredients as vitamin B, acai, guarana, taurine, maltodextrin, ginkgo biloba, and/or ginseng. You’ll also find that some brands contain a lot of sugar, although diet version made with artificial sweeteners are also available.

While it may seem as if energy drinks have only been on the market a short time, they have actually been around for quite a while.

Energy drinks may have come into existence as far back as 1901. At that time, a Scottish drink called Irn-Bru, or Iron Brew, was created.

In 1929 Lucozade Energy was introduced in the UK. The drink was originally marketed as a medicinal drink to help with recovery in hospitals, but would later be promoted as a way to help replenish lost energy.

Several years later, in the early 1960s, Lipovitan was released in Japan. However, these drinks do not resemble soft drinks and are sold in medicine bottles made of glass or in cans fashioned to look like these bottles.

An energy drink created specifically for helping sports stars and athletes enhance their performance came onto the scene in the 1960s. Because the drink was created for the University of Florida Gators, it was given the name Gatorade. The drink was designed with ingredients that are used to lengthen performance and aid hydration.

Jolt Cola was released in 1985, followed closely by PepsiCo’s Josta in 1995. It wasn’t long before more brands came into existence and energy drinks became popular worldwide. Today, there is a wide array of energy drinks available, with Red Bull being among the most recognizable.

While some prefer to consume an energy drink as is, others enjoy mixing it with alcohol. Alcohol’s a depressant and energy drinks are designed to stimulate, therefore an energy drink can help with the headaches and dizziness that can occur when intoxicated. Although this sounds like a great concept, the combination of the two can actually be more hazardous than if alcohol is consumed alone. Because the energy drink masks the symptoms that come with intoxication, a person may not realize just how drunk they really are, can consume more alcohol than they can actually handle, and can also increase the risk of injury that can occur when inhibitions and judgment are impaired.

Popular energy drink and alcohol combinations include Red Bull and vodka and the Jager Bomb.

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