Transcript By Comparison

Caffeine: Good Thing?
Or Great Thing?
Josh “Red Bull” Bennett
Rob “Rockstar” Flynn
Steele “Full Throttle” Taylor
Rough Timeline of Caffeine in America
 Tea Gains Prominence
 Coffee
Dr. Pepper
Coca Cola / Pepsi
Jolt Cola
Red Bull
Red Bull Rip-offs
5 Hour Energy!
6 Hour Energy!!
8 Hour Energy!!!
10 Hour Energy!!!!
The Staples: Tea and Coffee
• Backbone of many Americans mornings.
• Coffee 80-200mg caffeine per serving.
• Tea 15-60mg caffeine per serving.
Black Tea vs. Coffee
14
12
10
Black Tea
House Brewed Coffee
8
6
4
2
0
1
Energy Drinks
• Besides differences in flavor,
packaging, and ‘image’…
THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY ALL
THE SAME!!!
• Similar amounts of caffeine
• Similar Caloric value
• Similar additives (taurine, guarana, B-vitamins)
• Same theme of bogus proprietary blends
(extracts from exotic sounding herbs)
The Originals… ….And the Imitators
Rip-offs Spawn Spinoffs
Most Caffeine Under a Lid
AND
The Best Bang for Your Buck
(believe it or not)
24 oz Jolt Cola
420 mg Caffeine
0.89 cents per mg caffeine
18 oz Starbucks Coffee
405 mg Caffeine
0.92 cents per mg caffeine
What is the Best Bang for your Buck?
(Bulk Purchase)
384 Tea Bags for $24.30
Amounts to .13 cents per mg caffeine
100 mg (typical dose) = 13 cents!
By Comparison:
16oz 24 pack for $47.50
Amounts to 1.20cents per mg caffeine
100 mg (typical dose) is still $1.20!!!
What is the Worst Bang for your Buck?
8 oz Red Bull
3.06 cents per mg of Caffeine
5 Hour Energy
(and basically all energy shots)
3.36 cents per mg of Caffeine
How HFCS Came To be
•In 1973 Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz
•“Fence Row to Fence Row" policy
•Government subsides reversed for corn growers.
•Made it profitable to make HFCS
Why HFCS?
• HFCS is cheaper than sugar
• Saving passed on to consumer
• Low cost may increase consumption
Energy Drinks: Positive Aspects
•
•
•
•
Increased productivity of workforce
Increased productivity of students
Increased alertness of drivers
Increased alertness of workers in high risk
scenarios (pilots, air-traffic controllers)
• Helpful to night shift and military personnel
• Contain Antioxidants and B-Vitamins
Energy Drink Concerns
•
•
•
•
•
Marketed to young people and athletes
Regular Consumption: long term effects unclear
Overall stimulant dosage impossible to know
Interactions with prescription drugs
Metabolites: potential false positives on drug
tests?
• Diuretic effect is dehydrating for athletes
• Gastro-Intestinal upset
• Herbal ingredients not regulated/standardized
Contraindicated Populations
•
•
•
•
•
Pregnant Women
Elderly
Individuals with Cardiovascular Complications
Individuals Prone With Anxiety Disorders
Infants!
Taurine
•
•
•
•
“Carninutrient”
Cardiovascular Benefits
Anxiolytic (Calm, yet alert)
Protective to electrical tissue (brain, heart,
muscle)
Party Wisdom: The Red Bull Myth
• “Dude, Red Bull is made from bull’s testicles”
• Taurine: first isolated from bull seminal fluid
• But: Easy to synthesize in the lab…fortunately!