A couple of weeks ago several of our office staff went to Clearwater, Florida for our almost monthly management workshop. The workshop starts at 9:00 on Thursday morning after our flight arrives in Tampa at about 10:30 Wednesday night. By the time we get our rental car and get to our hotel, check in and get to bed it is usually well past midnight and sometimes pushing 1:00 in the morning. We most often get about 5 or 6 hours’ sleep the night before our Thursday morning workshops. I don’t know about you, but I require no less than 7 hours’ sleep in order to function at full throttle the next day. Without my normal amount of sleep I can have a tendency to be a little on the grumpy side, so on the occasions that I miss my usual 7-8 hours of blissful rest, I supplement my lack of energy with good strong coffee.
The Thursday morning a couple of weeks ago when I desperately needed my coffee the hotel restaurant made exceptionally weak coffee and I just could not get it down. I went to a local jiffy mart and saw a wide array of energy drinks offered for sale. I have seen these things at the stores around town before but haven’t paid much attention to them since I almost always have plenty of energy already, but this morning I was in dire need. I settled on one made by SoBe which was called “No Fear” and was sugar free, of course. I read the label and was satisfied that I had at least heard of all of the ingredients and none of them were lethal, so I drank it. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it actually tasted very good. It had a hint of passion fruit flavor and just the right amount of carbonation. As the day progressed I did not feel the grumpy tiredness I usually feel after missing my precious rest and my mind remained sharp. I was able to enjoy the workshop and did not get jittery at all, which I sometimes do if I overindulge in coffee. I decided that maybe these energy drinks warranted a closer inspection.
I checked the main ingredients of the SoBe No Fear and was surprised that most of the supplements contained in it are actually good for you. One of the main ingredients of this super energy drink is taurine and upon investigation I discovered that taurine is an amino acid derivative that shields the heart form harm. It assists bile acids in clearing cholesterol from the body and can actually help to lower blood pressure. I knew that taurine is an amino acid but I was not sure what it does. I am pleased with these properties, so I moved on to the next one. Inositol was the next ingredient, and this is simply a form of Niacin which I take anyway to assist in lowering cholesterol. Creatine is also a major ingredient of No Fear, and it is a supplement which is taken by many exercise enthusiasts to assist them in building muscle. I could use a little more muscle, so I like this one, too. The next major ingredient listed was Panax Ginseng. This form of ginseng is a popular energy tonic that has been used for revitalization for thousands of years by many people in Asian cultures. Other things in this particular drink included vitamins B6, B12, C, folic acid and selenium. All of these have beneficial effects on the body including powerful antioxidant functions.
Ingredients are listed on food labels in the order of highest concentration. For example, in regular soft drinks the first ingredient is carbonated water and the second one is high fructose corn syrup (sugar). These are the two main ingredients in regular sodas. Everything else is coloring, preservatives and whatever flavoring is added with the exception of occasional caffeine. The twelfth listed ingredient on the label of SoBe’s No Fear was caffeine and the twenty second listed ingredient (out of a total of 25 ingredients) was guarana seed extract. These two can be detrimental if you tend to have hypertension or are sensitive to caffeine in other ways. Both guarana and caffeine can excite the heart and raise arterial pressure, so if you have heart problems or hypertension you should avoid anything containing these items. Indulge in the various energy drinks on the market but always read the labels first to see what it is you are putting into your body.
Nothing in the world can replace the proper amount of sleep, but there are occasions on which we cannot avoid coming up short on the snoozes. I have managed before to bridge that gap with coffee and I suppose I could still continue to do that on those odd days. But when I want something refreshing that has everything coffee has to offer and some bonus supplements that my body will be happy to have I will reach for one of the many available energy drinks. Unfortunately for me, the SoBe No Fear Sugar Free is not available in Milledgeville. I have looked everywhere. Maybe I will become an importer from Florida. Treat your body well.