Article from November, 2014 edition of the Rushville Republican Newspaper Rushville, Indiana
Over the past decade, the energy drink phenomenon has become a multi-billion dollar business. It has also caught the attention of numerous doctors, nutritionists and scientists world-wide. Besides the huge sugar content, the caffeine content is also a real concern. The caffeine in these drinks is also chemically created caffeine, and doesn’t even come from natural sources. One drink contains such a huge amount of it, that there are concerns about, and actual cases of heart attacks, strokes and even death linked to consuming these products. And young people are guzzling these drinks down like water! As if this isn’t bad enough, there is also another little known ingredient that also poses a big question of safety. That ingredient is taurine.
In nature, taurine is a free form amino acid. It is a natural substance that is found in foods like milk, meat, fish and eggs; and is also manufactured in the body from cysteine, an amino acid. Taurine was actually first discovered in the bile of bulls, but it is now synthetically produced for the energy drink market by the truckload. It has been found, that taurine can stimulate the central nervous system, so too much of it could certainly not be a good thing.
Our bodies use taurine during strenuous exercise, and also during times of stress, but what happens if we get to much of it? That question hasn’t even been fully answered by the scientific community. Researchers say they’re curious and puzzled still about the function of taurine in the brain, and have more questions than answers. In a recent article from MedicalNewsToday.com, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical Collegein New York say they were “surprised” to find taurine “extraordinarily active” on brain receptors. They found that taurine works deep inside the brain, in the “regulatory” area of the thalamus, and interacts with the brain’s neurotransmitters. Synthetic taurine has been implicated in illnesses such as high blood pressure, strokes, seizures and heart disease. After causing deaths of several consumers, it has even been banned in some Scandinavian countries.
A healthy organic diet can give you all of the taurine your body needs, without the horrific side effects of its artificial chemical counterpart. You might want to think again about the artificial, chemically created caffeine, taurine and sugar (usually high fructose corn syrup which is also some really bad news) that is in your energy drink. Are you really willing to take such a big risk, or let your children take such a big risk with their lives?
Here is some good news. Recently, a company called Valentus has developed a healthy energy drink. It contains only 4 grams of organic cane sugar, and all natural ingredients (not dangerous laboratory created chemicals). It is in a convenient stick pack that can simply be added to 12 - 16 ounces of water.
