Caffeine: Good Thing?

Josh “Red Bull” BennettRob “Rockstar” Flynn

Steele “Full Throttle” Taylor

Or Great Thing?

Rough Timeline of Caffeine in America Tea Gains Prominence

CoffeeDr. Pepper

Coca Cola / PepsiJolt Cola

Red BullRed Bull Rip-offs

5 Hour Energy!6 Hour Energy!!8 Hour Energy!!!10 Hour Energy!!!!

The Staples: Tea and Coffee

• Backbone of many Americans mornings.• Coffee 80-200mg caffeine per serving.• Tea 15-60mg caffeine per serving.

Black Tea vs. Coffee

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Black TeaHouse Brewed Coffee

Energy Drinks

• Besides differences in flavor, packaging, and ‘image’…

THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY ALL THE SAME!!!

• Similar amounts of caffeine• Similar Caloric value

• Similar additives (taurine, guarana, B-vitamins)• Same theme of bogus proprietary blends

(extracts from exotic sounding herbs)

The Originals… ….And the Imitators

Rip-offs Spawn Spinoffs

Most Caffeine Under a LidAND (believe it or not)

The Best Bang for Your Buck

24 oz Jolt Cola420 mg Caffeine

0.89 cents per mg caffeine

18 oz Starbucks Coffee405 mg Caffeine

0.92 cents per mg caffeine

What is the Best Bang for your Buck?(Bulk Purchase)

384 Tea Bags for $24.30Amounts to .13 cents per mg caffeine

100 mg (typical dose) = 13 cents!

By Comparison:16oz 24 pack for $47.50

Amounts to 1.20cents per mg caffeine100 mg (typical dose) is still $1.20!!!

What is the Worst Bang for your Buck?

8 oz Red Bull3.06 cents per mg of Caffeine

5 Hour Energy(and basically all energy shots)3.36 cents per mg of Caffeine

How HFCS Came To be•In 1973 Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz

•“Fence Row to Fence Row" policy•Government subsides reversed for corn growers.

•Made it profitable to make HFCS

Why HFCS?

• HFCS is cheaper than sugar• Saving passed on to consumer• Low cost may increase consumption

Energy Drinks: Positive Aspects

• Increased productivity of workforce• Increased productivity of students• Increased alertness of drivers• Increased alertness of workers in high risk

scenarios (pilots, air-traffic controllers)• Helpful to night shift and military personnel• Contain Antioxidants and B-Vitamins

Energy Drink Concerns• Marketed to young people and athletes• Regular Consumption: long term effects unclear• Overall stimulant dosage impossible to know• Interactions with prescription drugs• Metabolites: potential false positives on drug

tests?• Diuretic effect is dehydrating for athletes• Gastro-Intestinal upset• Herbal ingredients not regulated/standardized

Contraindicated Populations

• Pregnant Women• Elderly• Individuals with Cardiovascular Complications• Individuals Prone With Anxiety Disorders• Infants!

Taurine

• “Carninutrient”• Cardiovascular Benefits• Anxiolytic (Calm, yet alert)• Protective to electrical tissue (brain, heart,

muscle)

Party Wisdom: The Red Bull Myth

• “Dude, Red Bull is made from bull’s testicles”

• Taurine: first isolated from bull seminal fluid

• But: Easy to synthesize in the lab…fortunately!