High-powered anxiety

Experts question the effects of energy drink ingredients on the body; little scientific evidence to go on

When the one-upmanship in the energy-drink business spawned a product named Cocaine and a new brand of coffee bean called Meth Coffee, casual consumers became nutritionists.

Sobe Adrenaline Rush, Rockstar, Monster, Full Throttle, Coolah and Buzzed are the names of some of the energy drinks that are available at stores in Cape Girardeau.

The cashiers at Bi-State Southern on North Kingshighway said they sell a lot of the beverages and have sampled the products.

Jacob Sailer said he drinks 5-Hour Energy every now and then when he needs the pick-me-up. It doesn't have any sugar or calories, so he doesn't crash after getting the boost, he said.

But what is in these popular energy drinks?

"They have the B vitamins, which is more of a natural energy," Sailer said. "It's probably not healthy to drink them too often because of kidney stones."

Most energy drinks are filled with ingredients such as taurine and L-camitine and D-ribose, the kind of substances most need Google to decipher. Outside the energy derived from caffeine -- an 8.4-ounce can of Cocaine contains 280 milligrams of caffeine, while a cup of coffee might have 80 to 100 milligrams -- some people drinking them don't know much about how these beverages affect their bodies.

As it turns out, the scientists don't have all the answers yet. Taurine is a nonessential amino acid purported to boost energy. Given the Latin root "taurus," one could say that taurine put the "bull" in Red Bull, the company that introduced U.S. consumers to energy drinks. Many energy beverages include taurine in their formulas.

The lack of scientific research hasn't stopped companies from pumping out new energy products. Jamey Kirby of San Diego is behind Cocaine, an energy drink that made its debut in September. Kirby, 42, got into the energy business after selling his interest in a software company.

"I thought it would be fun," he said, "especially to do something like this." Like what? "Create a controversial product and watch the politicians and people get their panties in a knot."

That's exactly what happened. This month the Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to Cocaine's parent company, Redux Beverages LLC, accusing it of illegally marketing the product. The agency was upset about Cocaine's tagline, "The Legal Alternative," and accused Redux of marketing the drink as a "street-drug alternative" and not a dietary supplement.

"The intention was, here's an alternative way to be cool, without having to resort to illicit drugs," Kirby said. "One lady wrote me this letter -- 'How dare you insinuate that drugs are cool?' And I'm like, I didn't make it that way. Why do you think kids do it? They don't do it because it's uncool."

That is the idea behind the marketing of products such as Meth Coffee, which boasts that it "wakes zombies" and "straightens drunks."

Business editor Tim Krakowiak contributed to this report.