I Trust Lance Armstrong… I Think

It’s tough not to like Lance Armstrong.  Even tougher not to admire him and what he’s accomplished.  A discussion of his achievements would read like a real life Rocky story, but that’s not what this post is all about.

Lance is now promoting a new energy drink called FRS.  After trying FRS, he was so impressed he actually approached the company, The FRS Company,  about endorsing the product. And he must be committed to the stuff, because he’s now also a member of the The FRS Company’s Board of Directors.

I’m not a big fan of most of the “energy” drinks you see lining the shelves and coolers of your local health store or grocery.  Catchy names like Red Bull, Full Throttle, and Monster Energy (”Unleash the beast!”) are slapped onto stimulant laced drinks that typically contain way too much sugar and way too much caffeine.  I’ve already given you a rundown of the ingredients you find in most of these drinks, so no need to rehash them here.

FRS, which stands for Free Radical Scavengers, is advertised as a healthy energy drink that uses all natural ingredients to provide a kick.  Minimal sugar and minimal caffeine. The formula relies on a unique antioxidant called quercetin to encourage the production of energy at the cellular level.  According to the FRS web site:

Quercetin is a natural antioxidant found in the skins of apples, blueberries, and onions. It protects the adrenaline that your body naturally creates to give you energy for small daily tasks like staying awake at work and big events like running a marathon. Quercetin allows your body to use energy more efficiently so you feel more energy for a longer amount of time.

I’m a big fan of the power of antioxidants.  Especially as we age.  But they are not the miracle cure that’s going to enable us to splash around in the fountain of youth.

However, I am always interested in finding reasonably safe energy supplements - i.e. ones that aren’t full of sugar, caffeine or other herbal heart-pounders like guarana or ephedra - that can give me the occasional boost I need to get off the couch and into the gym.

So I picked up a 4 pack of FRS to give it a try. Not cheap.

First, the stuff tastes like flat 7-Up. Sort of lemon-limey without the in your face carbonation that many of the other energy drinks have. But you’ll definitely want to throw these into the fridge, because FRS goes down alot easier when cold.

According to the product literature, a single can of FRS delivers the same antioxidant quantity as roughly three servings of blueberries, or eight servings of raspberries. This is due to the 250 mg of quercetin and 100 mg of catechins in each serving. We learned above that quercetin is an antioxidant that can be found in apple skins, red onions, and blueberries. Catechins are found in tea leaves, especially green tea, and have been proven effective at promoting cardiovascular health.

In addition to the antioxidant ingredients, FRS also contains high levels of the B-vitamin family (niacin, riboflavin, B-6, B-12, etc) as well as significant quantities of vitamins A, C, and E. Again, very little caffeine (<50 mg) and very little sugar. The B vitamins contribute to the energy mix, but you can get those alot cheaper in pill form. So, FRS must be pinning it’s value proposition on the quercetin.

Well, does it work?

Well, there’s certainly no immediate energy rush. Used to be when I downed a Red Bull, I’d feel a quick jolt as the sugar and caffeine hit my system. None of that with FRS. But at the same time, no jacked up heart rate, no twitching muscles, and no urge to punch through a wall. I’ve always thought I would have loved to have had Red Bull around when I was twenty and invincible. But nowadays, I’ve shorted out enough fuse boxes to know that power surges aren’t all good.

Did some more research and discovered that the FRS formula is not designed to provide that quick surge that the other drinks deliver. FRS supposedly provides an all day energy boost that, while not as intense as the typical energy drink, is much longer lasting. According to Lance Armstrong and the rest of the FRS Company, after taking drinking FRS, you’ll feel much more energized at the end of the day.

Hence the FRS marketing slogan “Tired of being tired?”.

The key to FRS’s claim is the antioxidant quercetine and how it interacts with the body to increase mitochondria production. Without getting all high school biology, mitochondria are the energy producing components in our body. More mitochondria equals more energy at a cellular level.

Now, if the claims are true and FRS does help you feel less fatigued at the end of the day, then great! But this stuff is being heavily marketed to athletes as a performance boosting drink and I just don’t see how a slight, long lasting increase in energy levels qualifies as a performance boost. Well, I take that back. Maybe it does help in marathon type of activities such as running the New York Marathon or cycling the Tour De France.

But wait. There have been studies that prove that quercetine does increase mitochondria production. In mice. But what about people?

The jury is still out, but recent studies such as this one indicate that quercetine does not increase mitochondria production or boost athletic performance in humans in any way.  Potentially another in a long line of nutritional supplement claims based solely on the results of animal experiments.  Humans aren’t mice.

So, like I said, I want to trust Lance.  And I’m sure he’s done his homework on FRS.  But while it does appear the energy enhancing capabilities of quercetine might wake up a tired mouse, I’m not sure it’s going to do a thing for me.

I’m going to keep my eye on the ongoing studies around the benefits of quercetine.

So,what’s your favorite energy drink? And do they work for you? Leave a comment and share your experience.

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They Call It An Eye Opener

The wife and I went out to dinner the other night. While sitting at the bar waiting for a table to open up, I noticed a group of twenty somethings sitting at a table. They were talking Mavericks basketball, so i jumped in with a couple of choice comments around the playoff performance of our local team. I ended up asking them what they were drinking and a couple of them pointed to what looked like cokes and said Red Bull and vodka, or an “Eye Opener”.

I asked how many of those they might drink in a night. One of the guys said he’d do 4-5 on a good night out.

Wow!

I know the whole energy drink market has exploded and everyone from children on up are sucking down brands such as Red Bull, Full Throttle, and the one that started the craze here in the states, Jolt Cola. Students use them to pull all night study sessions. Athletes use them before games. Gym rats use them to get up for marathon workouts. And many people just drink them because they taste good.

So what do these energy drinks have that makes them so popular?

Well they definitely do have a kick to them. Most energy drinks contain at least as much caffeine as a regular 8 0z cup of coffee, which equals out to roughly 80mg of “light me up juice”. This compares to a 12 oz soda which typically contains 18-48 mg of caffeine.

But the our energy drink cocktail doesn’t stop with loading up on caffeine. They also come packed with high concentrations of sugar and typically contain a mix of “natural” herbs and vitamins that include:

• Carnitine - A metabolism accelerating amino acid
• Ginko Biloba - Extracted from the seeds of the gingko biloba tree, it has been shown to heighten mental awareness and enhance mood
• Taurine - An amino acid that is naturally produced by the body, it serves to regulate heart beat and muscle contractions. The effects of the long term supplementation of the body’s natural supply are unclear
• Guarana Seed - A plant-based stimulant harvested in Venezuela and Brazil that contains high levels of caffeine
• Inositol - One of the substances in the B-complex vitamins, it improves cell to cell communications
• Ginseng - A root based herb known to reduce stress and increase energy levels.

So, the typical energy drink contains a Starbuck size serving of caffeine plus multiple other “natural” stimulants. That’s quite an energy punch in a can. Caffeine, sugar, and lots of other “natural” metabolism kicking substances.

It’s pretty easy to see that what’s being marketed as all-natural is really just an overly caffeinated soft drink with a few additional questionable pseudo-nutritional ingredients. And like any supplement, there is no control over the quality or toxicity of these herbal additives. Energy drink manufactuers are not required to disclose ingredient purity, storage controls, or processing standards.

The primary risk in the energy drinks, is that people tend to abuse them by drinking several at a time or mixing them with alcohol. The caffeine alone in these concoctions is enough to cause an over stimulation of the cardiovascualr and nervous systems. This can lead to severe bouts of physical anxiety, potential heart overload, and damage to the nervous system.

Caffeine is also a strong diuretic.This means that caffeine encourages your kidneys to expel extra fluid from the body, leading to potential dehydration issues. Couple that with alcohol, which is also a strong diuretic, and you have a drink that can lead to severe fluid depletion in the body.  I can tell you that they will cause one heck of a hangover due to this.

Energy drink manufacturers typically claim that the ingredients in their products can improve stamina, energy, and memory. Most health professionals recognize that those effects come primarily from the high levels of caffeine and sugar. The other “natural” ingredients only serve to increse those caffeine levels while providing little to no nutritional value.

Overloads of caffeine can certainly help you get through an all night study session. But there is risk when you down too much caffeine. It will lead to irritability, physical anxiety, and mental stress. It can lead to heart attack and death.

I think I’m going to stick with my Snapple Tea.

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