Energy drinks are far from the healthiest thing on earth. That’s something we need to accept when choosing our caffeine and sugar options.
It doesn’t need to stop anyone since a few things are 100% good for your diet, but informed decisions are still a must.
That brings us to the next question: Where does NOS stand nutrition-wise?
NOS has high amounts of sugar, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. So, be careful if you do get a can of NOS Energy drink.
While vitamins and supplements can give the body the protection it needs from sickness and other diseases, having too many vitamins in a single drink can be a bad thing.
Here’s a quick disclaimer: This article will focus on NOS Energy’s nutrition facts. Let’s break down its ingredients for another day.
Why? Although nutrition facts and ingredients are closely related, they are completely different things.
Contents
NOS Energy Drink Nutrition Facts
A nutrition label is a list of information needed for nutritional advice. This information can vary from being product-specific to the percentage of your daily nutritional needs that the product offers.
Examples of product-specific information include the serving size, calories, and nutritional values.
“% DV” or Percent Daily Value refers to the nutrients per serving of food or beverage. In energy drinks, this is usually calculated based on a 2000-calorie diet. So in a single serving of NOS, you get 18% of the sodium you need in a day.
Below is a table of NOS’ nutritional values based on what you can find at the back of a can.
| Nutrient | Amount per can (16 fl.oz) |
| Calories | 210 |
| Total Fat | 0g |
| Sodium | 410mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 54g |
| Sugars | 54g |
| Protein | 0g |
| Vitamin B6 | 200% |
| Vitamin B12 | 200% |
According to the nutritional label, you get 2 servings in one can. That means the average serving is 8 fl.oz instead of 16 fl.oz.
Calories in NOS Energy Drink
NOS energy drink has 210 calories per can. That’s 10% of the daily calorie you need.
What are calories? Calories represent how much energy food or drink contains, and whatever calories you don’t use up in your daily activities, get converted to fat.
So to maintain a healthy weight, it’s important to monitor your calorie intake with your physical activities.
Although the recommended calorie intake is 2000 a day, the truth is that it varies depending on factors like gender and age. Metabolism and levels of physical activity can also affect how many calories you burn daily.
NOS having 210 calories per can isn’t a bad thing. That’s only 10% of what you need per day, so there’s plenty of room to adjust the rest of your diet accordingly.
Be careful though, that small percentage can easily pile up with everything else (and very quickly) if you’re not careful with what you eat.
Total Fat in NOS Energy Drink
Each can of NOS has 0 fat.
Does this mean you won’t gain weight from drinking NOS Energy?
Not exactly. There’s a lot more to weight gain than that.
Calories play a big role in weight gain and weight loss. The same can be said for sugars and proteins.
Like sugars and proteins, fat contains trace amounts of calories; these contribute to the energy your body takes from your food or drink.
So by having zero fat, NOS (in theory) reduces the number of calories you can get from drinking a can.
What’s the catch? Food with less fat and sugar tends to be less satisfying, so you find yourself eating more.
Zero fat products are also more likely to have other sources of calories like thickeners, artificial sweeteners, and salt. And if you’re familiar with any of those, you know they come with their own problems too.
Sodium in NOS Energy Drin
NOS has 410mg of sodium per can. That’s 17% of your body’s daily need for sodium.
Sodium is an essential nutrient for the body, which keeps your body hydrated and keeps the muscles and nerves functioning properly.
It’s commonly used in seasoning, curing meat, and as a preservative.
At first glance, sodium isn’t something most people would think they consume much of. However, the opposite is true.
The FDA recommends a daily intake of 2300mg or less sodium a day. Yet most people go over what’s prescribed.
Since sodium works by attracting water, eating lots of salty foods will increase the amount of water in your bloodstream. That results in high blood pressure (hypertension), putting you at risk for various heart diseases if left untreated.
So if high-sodium diets are as common as the reports say, it’s safe to see why heart disease is a common cause of death around the world.
Where does most sodium come from aside from salt?
Surprisingly, most food items with high sodium come from packaged and prepared foods.
As far as the nutritional labels go, the FDA says that 5% DV or lower is relatively low, while anything above 20%DV is considered high.
By this standard, NOS has above average sodium.
Carbohydrates in NOS Energy Drink
A single can of NOS has 54g of carbohydrates. That’s 18% of the amount of carbohydrates you need everyday.
Though carbohydrates often get slammed by people into trendy diets, they’re actually one of the three main ways the body gets energy (calories).
So no, you shouldn’t avoid them if you want a healthy lifestyle. Just make sure you don’t take in too much of them in one sitting.
According to Mayoclinic, your diet should be 45% to 65% carbohydrates. So if you live on a 2000 calorie diet, you should be consuming anywhere between 225g to 325g carbohydrates daily.
That means like with sodium, NOS doesn’t fare too bad in this aspect.
How much taurine is in NOS?
While NOS doesn’t provide a precise range, it’s safe to assume that NOS contains a good deal of taurine. However, if increased alertness is your top priority, caffeine is preferable to taurine.
Caffeine works by directly stimulating the neurological system, making you feel less tired and more attentive. On the other hand, muscle injury and tiredness may be mitigated by taurine. However, there may be a hazardous consequence from taking in too much NOS, and the maximum safe level of taurine is yet unknown. As cardiac toxicity is a potential issue, it’s important to stick to the established moderate dose.
Does taurine count as caffeine?
Contrary to popular belief, taurine is not a stimulant in the same vein as caffeine. In addition, some research suggests that the combination of taurine and caffeine results in enhanced cognitive function. However, further study is required, and the usage of taurine in energy drinks is still debated.
In addition, there are no reported negative effects of taurine consumption by healthy adults. However, if you are on any medicines, you should talk to your doctor before starting taurine.
What kinds of Sweeteners Are in NOS Energy Drink?
NOS has High Fructose Corn Syrup and Sucralose. Its sugar content totals 54g per can.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is an artificial sweetener derived from corn starch. It’s made by mixing enzymes into corn syrup that turns into fructose, which is a form of sugar that’s naturally found in fruits and berries.
It’s called “High Fructose” despite coming from corn starch because the most common formulas are anywhere between 42 to 55 percent fructose.
Unfortunately, this is also the reason why some consider HFCS unhealthy.
See, the human body processes fructose differently from glucose. Instead of being converted to usable energy near-instantly, fructose needs to be converted to fat by the liver before it can be used.
So if you consume foods or fruits with high fructose, you’ll end up with an increased amount of fat in your liver.
Here’s a list of possible consequences to consuming too much fructose or HFCS:
- Increased risk of fatty liver disease
- Inflammation (e.g gout)
- Obesity/weight gain
- Diabetes
Furthermore, HFCS is empty calories; you don’t get anything from taking them, but end up with less space for essential nutrients from eating other foods and beverages.
Sucralose
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener derived from regular sugar (sucrose). You can find this in some of the sweeteners like Splenda. It’s known for being able to sweeten food without adding calories, making it “more healthy” for those diagnosed with high sugar.
Sucralose is also known for being 600 times sweeter than sugar.
Research suggests that it might not be entirely good for your health as it might disrupt the balance in your gut bacteria.
Other studies also show that it might not be a good baking ingredient either.
Though it’s not perfect, I think it’s still a good substitute for normal sugar found in energy drink formulas. Though not enough evidence to confirm their claims
Recommended Sugar Consumption
The American Heart Association (AHA) believes that the ideal daily sugar intake for men is 36g and 25g for women.
That makes NOS Energy’s 54g of sugar per can too much by any standard.
Although sugar is an important property in an energy drink, it’s still important to be mindful of how much you take.
Taking too much sugar can result in type-2 diabetes. When that happens, your body stops responding to insulin and overworks your pancreas. Once that happens, the pancreas breaks down and leaves your body with no way of regulating its blood sugar level.
It’s not all doom and gloom though.
Maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly can help you avoid things like diabetes.
Remember, it’s not just your consumption that affects your health. Your overall lifestyle counts, too.
Vitamins in NOS Energy Drink
Vitamins essential to maintaining good health.
The B-vitamins, in particular, are important for good metabolism.
Even so, they’re measured with the %DV measurement at the back of the nutritional facts label.
And for good reason: you can technically overdose on vitamins.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is a vitamin needed in over 100 enzyme reactions and metabolism. It’s naturally found in many foods including pork, poultry, and peanuts. Other sources of vitamin B6 include supplements and of course, energy drinks.
The benefits of taking vitamin B6 from either drink or supplements include:
- Reduced Cardiovascular Disease risk
- Better Memory
- Reduced Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) in women
According to the nutrition label, one can of NOS provides 200% DV of vitamin B6.
If I had to guess why I’d say it has to do with the amount of serving for each can which is 2 servings. Monster drink also contains 2 servings per can. So it’s possible that the manufacturers meant for only half a can to be consumed at a time instead of the entire can.
That way, each serving would have no more than the standard 100%DV of vitamin B6.
While it’s rare, vitamin B6 overdose is possible; it usually happens in people who take high levels of supplements for over a year. When this happens, it usually manifests in the person losing control of their bodily movements.
Other side effects include:
- Skin lesions
- Photosensitivity
- Nausea
- Heartburn
Vitamin B12
Like vitamin B6, vitamin B12 is important in energy production. Outside of that, it also plays a part in red blood cell formation, DNA formation, and nerve maintenance.
It’s found in poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy products.
Benefits of taking vitamin B12 daily:
- Lower chance of anemia
- Lower chances of birth defects (women)
- Better bone health
- Lower risk of muscular degeneration
- Better mood
- Less chance of losing neurons
- Energy boost
- Better heart health
- Better hair, skin, and nails
With this in mind, a can of NOS, gives you 200% DV of vitamin B12.
Just like with vitamin B6, this is well over the standard (and maybe for the same reason). There’s also little chance of getting an overdose of vitamin 12, even though it’s still best avoided.
Additionally, there’s some research that suggests that people taking B12 supplements despite not having a deficiency could experience benefits like developing a better mood, reduced depression symptoms and better memory.
Conclusion
NOS has 210 calories per can, no fat, no protein, 54g of sugar and carbohydrates, and 410 mg of sodium. It also has 200% DV for both vitamin B6 and vitamin 12.
The biggest things to watch out for are the sugar and vitamin B6 content in NOS. Sugar overdose has very well-known consequences and vitamin B6 overdose can cause a lack of muscle control.
I don’t think any of this is very surprising, given how energy drinks work.
Still, even though NOS is far from the best or the healthiest energy drink for the health-conscious, it can work with proper dietary management.
Another thing I’d like to reiterate is that although nutrition labels can be easy to ignore, they’re ultimately there to help you take care of yourself. Taking 1-2 minutes to read them before buying anything will always leave you better off in the long run.