10 Energy Drink Brands Full Of Dangerous Ingredients & 10 Healthier Options
Drink This, Not That
Energy drinks have become a staple for anyone needing to power through a long shift or a late-night study session, but they aren't always as helpful as they seem. While that quick jolt of caffeine feels great in the moment, many popular cans are secretly loaded with synthetic dyes, massive amounts of processed sugar, and questionable chemical blends. With that in mind, here are 10 energy drinks to avoid, and 10 to indulge in.
1. Monster Energy (Original)
You probably recognize this iconic green claw, but it's packed with a staggering amount of sugar that can lead to a massive energy crash later. Aside from the glucose, it contains synthetic B vitamins and a "proprietary blend" that doesn't clearly disclose the exact amounts of each stimulant you're consuming. You're basically getting a liquid candy bar.
2. Red Bull
Full of synthetic flavors and food dyes such as caramel color, Red Bull skews heavily on refined sugar to create its trademark kick. This may taste good, but that sugar buzz isn’t doing your blood sugar any favors over time. Popular as it may be around the world, the ingredient list is uninspired.
3. Rockstar Energy
As big as their cans are, they double the serving size of artificial preservatives like sodium benzoate just to keep things cost-effective for you. You can also expect to find high-fructose corn syrup lurking in most traditional flavors. One of the worst offenders when it comes to impacting your metabolic health.
4. NOS High Performance
This brand may market towards NASCAR aficionados, but the high sodium content and sugar will have your heart pounding worse than a late-model car. It also uses several different food dyes to achieve that fluorescent color, artificial ingredients that have been shown to cause hyperactivity and other sensitivities.
5. Full Throttle
Full Throttle uses high-fructose corn syrup and many forms of acid to give you that acidic punch of citrus flavor. Not only is this terrible for your teeth, but it can seriously erode your enamel if you drink enough. There aren’t many natural extracts inside, just artificial chemicals resembling the same flavors found in real fruits.
6. Amp Energy
As a PepsiCo product, it’s not surprising that they utilize the same high-fructose corn syrup used in regular soda to help keep prices low. It even contains Yellow 5, an artificial food dye many health-conscious shoppers avoid buying altogether. While it has caffeine, there really isn’t anything too special about AMP’s ingredients.
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7. Burn Energy
Burn is very big in international markets as well as some health food stores within the United States. However, that bright blue color isn’t from all-natural ingredients. It’s loaded with sugar and artificial food dyes like all the other brands out there.
8. Venom Energy
Venom products typically fall on the cheaper end of the price scale. You usually get what you pay for with this brand. Overflowing with artificial sweeteners that could leave you with a weird taste in your mouth and upset your stomach. Copious amounts of synthetic stimulants that serve no purpose.
9. Mountain Dew Amp
This drink is basically Mountain Dew but “amped up.” That means it’s loaded with artificial flavors and scary stuff like brominated vegetable oil, just like the original. Designed to taste like soda, so there are plenty of useless calories and no nutritional vitamins to counteract Mountain Dew Amp’s negatives.
10. Sting Energy
Sting is known for its bright red hue, which is achieved through a heavy-handed use of artificial coloring that serves no functional purpose. The sugar content is incredibly high per serving, making it more of a dessert than a functional tool for productivity or exercise. It’s a very basic stimulant drink that lacks the sophistication and clean labels found in modern health-focused brands.
Now that the discussion has covered 10 energy drinks to avoid, here are 10 with healthier, authentic ingredients.
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1. Zevia Energy
Zevia sweetens their sodas with stevia so there’s no sugar or artificial chemicals involved. Each can contains 120mg of green tea-derived caffeine for a smooth boost of energy with no sugar crash. Zevia Energy drinks are also completely colorless since they don’t use any artificial dye.
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2. Guayaki Yerba Mate
Yerba mate is a type of leaf that naturally contains caffeine as well as antioxidants and minerals. Mate energy drinks give you a smoother “alert-calm” feeling instead of jittery energy spikes. They also taste much better than most other options out there, like fresh from the earth instead of a lab.
3. ZOA Energy
Inspired by his passion for health and fitness, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson helped develop Zoa Energy with a few requirements. It’s powered by green coffee bean and green tea for natural caffeine and contains added electrolytes. Potassium and magnesium help you stay hydrated when you’re working up a sweat.
4. Clean Cause
Clean Cause is a great option because it relies on organic yerba mate to deliver a crisp 160mg of caffeine per can. They keep their ingredient list very short and transparent, avoiding the "proprietary blends" that hide what you're actually drinking. Plus, you can feel good about your purchase since half of their profits go toward supporting individuals in recovery.
5. Runa Energy
Runa’s energy drink is made from guayusa, an Amazonian super leaf. It contains caffeine as well as polyphenols to help keep your mental energy up for longer periods of time. Runa is brewed as a tea so it won’t have any of the nasty acids that usually fill energy drinks… making it easy on your stomach.
6. Celsius (Essentials Line)
Some flavors of Celsius use sucralose, but the cleaner lines are sweetened with monk fruit and stevia. Celsius Energy Drinks contain ingredients like ginger root, guarana, and green tea extract to give you functional energy. It’s intended to help ramp up your metabolism and get you burning while you exercise.
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7. Proper Wild
Proper Wild makes tiny energy shots that are packed with ingredients to get your mind focused. Matcha green tea provides the caffeine, but it’s combined with an amino acid called L-theanine. This component helps remove the “buzz” that caffeine sometimes gives you, so you’ll feel energized without the anxiety.
8. Nuun Energy
These are energy drinks you mix with water (in tablet form). Nuun Energy contains 80mg of caffeine and essential electrolytes to keep you going. Nuun is ideal if you don’t want to deal with heavy sugar syrup or excess carbonation.
9. Guru Organic Energy
Guru was one of the first brands to provide all-organic energy drinks. They use green tea, guarana, and ginseng to offer a natural energy boost with no artificial helpers. Everything you put into your body is non-GMO and USDA-certified organic, so no synthetic pesticides or synthetic caffeine.
10. Hiball Organic Energy Water
If you think you can’t get any simpler than this, you’re right. Hiball provides basically water with some organic B vitamins and caffeine. There’s zero sugar and zero sweeteners added to Hiball, so it’s great for people who absolutely despise that thick sugar syrup found in most energy drinks.
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