RULES FOR ENERGY DRINKS

Alternative Fuels
We've debunked taurine and guarana for years. But energy drink makers have found new ways to entice you. Don't be fooled
By Laura Roberson

AMERICA IS IN THE MIDST OF AN energy crisis. We're guzzling energy drinks and shots at record rates but feeling more lethargic than ever. Sales of these products have more than doubled in the past 5 years, with 35 percent of men ages 18 to 24 drinking them regularly, a new Mintel survey reveals.

"Guys create an up-and-down trap with energy drinks and with whatever they take at night to help slow down," says Matthew Edlund, M.D., author ofThe Power of Rest. "They never feel completely rested." Or, even scarier, they end up on a gurney in the ER. Hospital visits related to energy drinks have surged more than tenfold since 2005, reports the U.S. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. And most of those amped-up patients are men.

"Energy drinks emphasize vigor, power, all the things that appeal to men," says Cecile Marczinski, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology at Northern Kentucky University. Guys willingly swallow the bottled boosters' claims, when they should really be asking, "Why am I so damn tired?"

"We don't use our bodies the way they're built to be used," says Dr. Edlund. "We guzzle energy drinks and then can't sleep at night. We sit all day and then read e-mails at 3 a.m." It's no wonder we walk around like zombies—and treat these drinks like liquid life support. As sales and heart rates spike, it's a good time to question the trends and find healthier ways to power up.

YOUR MOVE: For a caffeine-free boost, sip on FRS Healthy Energy drinks. They're free of folic acid and contain reasonable levels of the other B vitamins. What makes FRS effective is quercetin, an antioxidant that can help you fight fatigue during exercise, a 2010 University of South Carolina study found. Like caffeine, quercetin also blocks brain receptors for adenosine—a chemical that makes you sleepy—to make you feel energized, says study author Mark Davis, Ph.D. "Over time, it can also increase the number of mitochondria in your cells," he says, "which provide energy for your muscles."

ENERGY SPIKE 1

Decaf energy drinks
Marketers of energy drinks are clever—they remove a well-known, often worrisome compound and then tout the resulting drink as a "healthier" version of the original. The first vilified ingredient was sugar. Now it's caffeine. Hydrive and 5-Hour Energy have both unveiled decaf options. Makes sense: Some 38 percent of men who buy energy drinks now look for low caffeine content, the Mintel survey found.

So what's the alleged alternate energy source? Most often, B vitamins. A decaf 5-Hour Energy shot, for example, packs several thousand times your daily recommended B12 and B6, plus 100 percent of your folic acid. But here's the thing: You won't feel a B-induced boost, since the energy provided by B vitamins isn't stimulating like caffeine. "They simply help extract energy from your food, and you need only a little bit," says Tod Cooperman, M.D., president of ConsumerLab.com, an independent tester of health and nutritional products. "The science is misused to lead people to believe that a megadose of B vitamins will somehow energize them. It won't."

ENERGY SPIKE 2

Coffee energy drinks
Herbal ingredients may trigger a guy's skepticism, but coffee appeals to the average Joe. "Coffee is a commonly consumed, relatively safe product," says Marczinski. "So people may assume coffee energy drinks are safe, too." But even if the label says "coffee," you may still be downing an alphabet soup of ingredients. Java Monster, for example, which claims to contain "premium coffee and cream," is actually a blend of coffee extract, milk, taurine, panax ginseng, caffeine, and guarana.

"Panax ginseng has been linked to pretty significant side effects, including abdominal pain and headaches," says University of Massachusetts toxicologist Richard Church, M.D. And guarana is just an herbal guise for an extra shot of caffeine—its seeds pack about four times the caffeine of coffee beans.

YOUR MOVE: Fire up the coffeepot instead. "In addition to the caffeine boost, coffee can lower your risk of depression, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease," says Dr. Edlund. "Plus, it has a healthy social element. You're often with others when you drink coffee." If you're brewing at home, opt for light-roast blends, such as the new Starbucks Blonde Roast; these offer significantly more antioxidants than dark roasts, a 2011 Portuguese study found.

ENERGY SPIKE 3

Energy shots
Red Bull recently introduced giant cans, but the bigger trend is toward shrinking drinks. According to a Mintel estimate, Americans dropped about $1.3 billion on energy shots in 2011—more than 17 times the $73 million they spent in 2006. What's the lure? The promise of crash-free energy in just a couple of sips—in other words, the very effect that makes these drinks dangerous. "Shots contain all the stimulants of large energy drinks," says Marczinski. "But because they're only a couple of sips, people often drink more than one. They're using energy shots to stay up all night."

YOUR MOVE: There's a better way to fuel up before a night out. "Drink a lukewarm cup of coffee really quickly, and then close your eyes for 15 to 20 minutes," says Michael Breus, Ph.D., a sleep specialist in Virginia Beach. "You'll get enough rest to decrease your sleep drive. Then after you start moving again, the caffeine will kick in to keep you awake." Before you head out, grab a protein-rich snack, too, like a handful of almonds. "Protein helps increase insulin production, and insulin can have an alerting effect," he says.