Matt Nadeau of Rock Art Brewery, http://rockartbrewery.com , sits down with Green River Pictures to let the world know his side of the Monster Energy drink Trademark lawsuit.
Taurine in your smart energy drink? Why?
It’s not like Taurine is bad, but does it add energy to your smart drink?
Despite the fact that Taurine is in many energy drinks, it does not have energy giving properties as far as any studies can prove so far.
Taurine was first discovered in Ox bile hence the connection to Taurus the bull. Although Taurine occurs naturally in food and in the testicles of many mammals, the Taurine in your average smart energy drink has been synthesized. The average person gets an estimated amount of Taurine in their diet of between 40 to 400 mg per day.
There are some people that say we don’t need any extra Taurine added. But Taurine has been shown to have some antioxidant values and has some evidence to show that it might help with regulating blood pressure and alleviate other cardiovascular ailments, such as hypertension.
The only things I could find that might be kind of bad about adding Taurine into a diet is that it may induce Psoriasis. But there are not enough studies to know for sure at this time, especially in a drink form. There are few studies of the effects of Taurine in msart energy drinks.
Animal studies indicate that there are some benefits to Taurine that may be why it is used so often in energy drinks. Besides the above, other studies have shown decreases in weight & blood sugars, it also helps hydrate the skin and may help in the spatial learning tasks. Not much has been done with humans, although we still add Taurine to baby formulas.
Taurine may help as the smart part, but really not as the energy part of your drink. So basically, Taurine is an amino acid that your body naturally produces. It helps regulate heartbeat and muscle contractions. Usually your body makes enough that you don’t need to supplement unless perhaps you are a strict vegetarian). It’s thought, but not proven, that under “stress conditions” like illness, physical exertion, or injury, the body does not create enough and supplements can help.
And we need more studies.
Many people call the stimulant part of Yerba Mate “mateine” differentiating it from caffeine. Some also have said it is the stereoisomer of caffeine. This is a common mistake.
However, if we look at the chemical makeup or structure of caffeine, we see that there is no stereocenter, which means there can be no stereoisomer (a stereoisomer is a chemical or molecule that has the same atom to atom structure, but are not in the same shape). Yerba Mate, although it has different effects than other caffeine containing compounds (coffee bean, guarana, kola nut, etc.) has caffeine as it’s main chemical makeup.
Caffeine (or when it is in Yerba Mate – mateine) is a xanthine. There are two other trace xanthines in Yerba Mate: theobromine and theophylline. They have different effects than caffeine, but are also classed as stimulants. Theobromine is mostly found in raw cacao or cocoa. Theophylline is also found in trace amounts in tea.
The other xanthines and in combination with the caffeine is probably what gives Yerba Mate the reputation as a different chemical.
So why is Yerba Mate in some smart energy drinks?
Well, besides the obvious stimulant effects (like coffee, guarana and tea) the xanthine cocktail mix seems to have a relaxing effect on smooth muscle tissue, and a stimulating effect on heart tissue.
There are conflicting results in studies on whether Yerba Mate is carcinogenic or can “inhibit oral cancer cell proliferation”. Studies are showing limited correlation with oral cancer and others are showing yerba mate to exhibit significant cancer-fighting activity.
So the jury is still out on that one.
On other good news for yerba mate, however, mouse studies have shown anti-obesity properties (always good in a smart energy drink) as well as studies showing cholesterol lowering properties. These may have some correlation with the theobromine in yerba mate, but no one knows for sure at this time.
There are also some antioxidant potential found in yerba mate. You can find it in several smart energy drinks.
Here’s one that’s coming out soon. Nothing is finalized as far as I can tell, but looks like since it is coming from Xocai, it’ll have something to do with chocolate. Most likely a Theobromine based stimulant, which is classed as a stimulant the same as caffeine, but has some very different qualities. I’ll do an upcoming post on the differences between them all in an ingredients post.
As all of Xocai’s products also contain an antioxidant blend with Acai in it, I can imagine this will too. This will be a good move for the company and the associates as it will diversify their line, while still being chocolate related. Nice move!
Arginine Smart EnergyL-Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that has shown promise in the prevention of atherosclerosis (blockage of the arteries). L-arginine is pure 100% free form arginine and is the precursor for endothelium-deprived nitricoxide (EDNO). 
A team of Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998 for discovering nitric oxide’s role as a vasodilator. In a healthy endothelium (inner wall of a blood vessel), nitric oxide will keep vessels pliable and elastic, dilate (open up) blood vessels keeping blood flowing smoothly, relax blood vessels, keep platelets and white blood cells calm and prevent them from sticking to the vessel wall, prevent oxidation, slow plaque growth, suppress atherosclerosis and melt away plaque that already exists.
After arginine is consumed in foods and in supplements, it makes its way into the bloodstream and circulates throughout the body. As it enters the endothelial cells that line the smooth muscle walls of blood vessels,an enzymatic reaction occurs that converts arginine to nitric oxide, which in turn can have a dramatic and positive effect on your cardiovascular health.
There are over 75,000 medically published clinical studies attesting to the fact that arginine will:
and much more.
So what’s the main reason it’s put into Smart Energy Drinks? Well probably that it makes you feel good when your blood vessels are relaxed and blood is flowing smoothly. I’m guessing that’s the main reason. All the rest is just a bonus.
Here’s a pdf of a doctor’s report on L-Arginine
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