Energy drinks flop in antioxidant health

William Atkins
Monday, 30 August 2010 23:21

Science - Health

According to a report made by University of Illinois researchers, many energy drinks have a whole bunch of caffeine but very little health benefits.

 

Melanie A. Heckman and colleagues studied real caffeine and imitation (synthetic) caffeine and the amount of polyphenols and antioxidants that each contain, especially within energy drinks, such as the popular branded names of Thailand's (Red Bull GmbH) Red Bull and Coke's Full Throttle,

Heckman, a master's of science student with the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, U.S.A., and her colleagues reported the results of their study on August 26, 2010, during the Fall 2010 meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), held in Boston, Massachusetts.

They found that real caffeine (a psychoactive stimulant drug with the molecular symbol: 1,3,7-trimethyl- 1H-purine- 2,6(3H,7H)-dione or, more simply, as 1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthine), is full of healthy ingredients such as antioxidants and polyphenols.

Polyphenols are various compounds, such as flavonoids, that are found in tea, berries, olive oil, chocolate, walnuts, and coffee. They have the potential to help reduce the risk from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other diseases.

Antioxidants, of which polyphenols is one such type, are molecules that reduce, or stop, the chemical reaction called oxidation of other molecules in the body.

(Oxidation produces free radicals that can damage the body, so antioxidant molecules help to reduce the damaging effects of free radicals. Thus, they help to reduce the risk of serious diseases.)

Page two continues with more on the study on caffeine in energy drinks, and other foods and drinks.