Energy drinks are created with different effective ingredients, they’re advertised to provide a boost of energy and keep you hydrated. The most common ingredients found in energy drinks are caffeine and sugar, and taurine.
Taurine is an amino acid found in abundance in meat and seafood. It’s one of the prime ingredients in energy drinks, and therefore can be found in fair doses in many drinks.
We know that this FDA- approved ingredient is very essential. However, a few energy drink brands don’t include taurine as an ingredient in their products.
The list is quite short, but some of the energy drinks that don’t include taurine are:
There are more energy drinks without taurine, but the above-mentioned ones are the most well-known energy drinks without any traces of taurine.
Today, we’ll make use of the opportunity to discuss taurine separately as an essential ingredient included and sometimes excluded from different energy drinks.
Keep on reading to find out more about energy drinks that exclude taurine as an ingredient. Let’s dive in!
Contents
Why Do Energy Drinks Have Taurine?
Taurine is as important as any vitamin or mineral, it has several health benefits and the human body requires a dose of taurine every day.
Taurine is found in seafood and meat, but it’s also included in energy drinks because of its hypothesized effects on mental and athletic performance.
See, energy drinks target improving your physical and mental performance so if they don’t include ingredients like taurine, they might lose their charm.
And for the better, they are on a secret mission to discover such new ingredients that can be included in the new formulations that make them outsell them in the market.
Nevertheless, taurine has been used to treat diabetes, epilepsy, and cardiovascular diseases, so let’s check out how.
Diabetes
Besides, taurine takes a major part in regulating cell functions that include osmoregulation and balancing of movement of ions.
Taurine is made in the body during biosynthesis or the intake from the diet can be a source. Production of taurine mainly takes place in the liver and that too is in a very little amount.
Some studies suggest that taurine can play a role in making your body more sensitive to insulin which can help overcome some risk factors for type 1 as well as type 2 diabetes.
Taurine may have several benefits for diabetic nephropathy as well, which is a kidney disease associated with diabetes.
Epilepsy
For those who don’t know what epilepsy is, epilepsy is a neurological condition in which the brain starts acting abnormally causing frequent periods of seizures. Or this can be times of acting unusual.
A study suggested that as taurine has an effect on the release of calcium from cells, it may also have an impact on brain function.
Taurine is present in three areas of the brain which are:
- The hippocampus
- The cerebellum
- The hypothalamus
Furthermore, researchers have also seen some disruptions in taurine balance in the brains of people who suffer from epilepsy. Thus as long as the taurine levels are balanced, there won’t be any risk of epilepsy.
Cardiovascular disease
In Japan, doctors utilize taurine as a treatment option for congestive heart failure.
Besides the production of bile salts, taurine can help in:
- Regulating blood pressure
- Acting as an antioxidant
- Acting as an anti-inflammatory agent,
which can ultimately help in preventing coronary heart disease.
Taurine’s prime function is to combine cholesterol with bile acids and eliminate it from the body.
Lack of taurine can be responsible for making the heart function abnormally, in the sense that it pumps harder than usual. This condition is known as cardiomyopathy.
Moreover, taurine has also been a major factor to prevent the narrowing of blood vessels like arteries causing further heart-related diseases.
As you can see for yourself, that taurine has some significant roles to play, it’s a fortunate thing that many energy drinks include taurine in their recipes.
How Much Taurine Is In Red Bull?
Red Bull is one of the most consumed energy drinks with the largest market share. It comes in several varieties, but all of them contain relatively similar ingredients and one of those ingredients is taurine.
An 8-ounce serving of Red Bull contains only 1 g of taurine, which is neither too much nor too less.
While there haven’t been any side effects of consuming too much taurine, lack of taurine in your body can cause:
- kidney dysfunction
- developmental disorders
- damage to eye tissues
- cardiomyopathy, a risk factor for heart failure
Other than taurine, check out the nutrients that Red Bull contains below:
| Nutrients | Amount per 8-ounce |
| Energy | 110 calories |
| Fat | 0g |
| Sugar | 27g |
| Caffeine | 80mg |
| Sodium | 105mg |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | 100% |
| Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) | 50% |
| Vitamin B6 | 250% |
| Vitamin B12 | 80% |
What Are The Best Energy Drinks?
The list of best energy drinks is different for every individual. However, for me, the best energy drinks are the ones that contain a moderate dose of caffeine, sugar, and vitamins with electrolytes and minerals.
The caffeine levels are the most significant part of any energy drink because too much consumption of caffeine can lead to side effects like:
- Restlessness and shakiness.
- Insomnia.
- Headaches.
- Dizziness.
- Fast heart rate.
- Dehydration.
- Anxiety.
- Dependency.
Today, energy drinks, having the exact right amount of caffeine, sugar and other essential ingredients might sound like a dream because very few brands do so.
Most brands strategically increase the number of addictive ingredients like caffeine (obviously) and sugar to make people buy energy drinks on a loop. Therefore, it’s advisable to choose the best energy drinks for yourself with alertness.
Taurine In Energy Drinks Side Effects
Researchers have said that taurine is tolerable for humans. In fact, a study explored the safety of taurine in several energy drinks.
Despite the fact that the dose of taurine in energy drinks is too low to cause any health conditions, some consumers have experienced mild diarrhea and constipation. However, the researchers say that these side effects could be caused by caffeine or sugar.
Watch this video to know how energy drinks like Red Bull affect your body.
Just like caffeine, taurine can also cause side effects. Ruling out the very idea of consuming too much taurine from energy drinks and not having any side effects is foolish.
Thus, keep taurine consumption in moderation and within the recommended limits. Because folks, anything in excess or more than required can be deadly.
What Foods Are High In Taurine?
Taurine is a regular requirement of your body like vitamins and minerals, and it should be consumed in a moderate amount daily. You can take taurine from energy drinks which are not healthy.
But also, you can consume the same taurine from healthy sources instead of drinking energy drinks for the sake of it.
Check out the list of foods that are high in taurine:
- Scallops.
- Tuna.
- Tilapia.
- Octopus.
- Mussels.
- Clams.
- Turkey.
- Chicken.
- Seaweed.
- Beef.
Alternatives To Energy Drinks
You may think that energy drinks are healthy because they have taurine and vitamins, but that’s not entirely true.
Yes, energy drinks have benefits like boosting your energy and keeping you hydrated, but the sugar and caffeine content can cause some long-term health complications.
Thus, I suggest you ditch energy drinks and try out the alternatives listed below:
- Smoothies.
- Green Tea.
- Green juice.
- Herbal Tea.
- Kombucha.
Conclusion
- Taurine is one example of why energy drinks are in demand.
- There are energy drinks in the market that don’t contain taurines like Nau and Shine.
- The daily requirement of taurine must be fulfilled as a lack of taurine has been linked with several side effects.
- Taurine has been proven to help in treating diabetes, epilepsy, and CVD.
- An 8-ounce of Red Bull contains only 1 g of taurine, while the safe dose should be from 500 to 1000 mg per day.
- There’re many foods from which you can consume your regular taurine dose like mussels or clams.