Name one thing that is bad about high fructose corn syrup...

Do you remember that commercial?  The woman telling her nervous boy friend on their picnic that there was nothing wrong with high fructose corn syrup.  Of course the commercial was made and sponsored by the Corn Growers of America.  Now, I'm not going to go into the health problems associated with it, or the creation or how your body tries to deal with it.  Instead, I want to offer you a dare: try to live a week without and tell me how you feel.

I admit, that finding things that do not have HFCS in it is very difficult.  You may have to do without your favorite fast food meals, since the buns and chicken breading often has HFCS in it.  You may also have to do without your favorite soft drink or drink mix, since most of the time HFCS is in it as well.  It is in practically everything, from bread, candies, cookies, canned tomatoes, fruit juice, ice cream, salad dressings, popcorn, chocolate and even yogurt.  It is in everything, mainly because for manufacturers, it is cheaper to buy and use than real sugar.  So, what will come out of this is a few extra longer trips to the supermarket and a better health level.

Now, if you are lucky enough like me, to have a few International Food stores around, like Global Foods in Kirkwood, then you will notice that only the things from the United States have HFCS.  The ingredient is not in most of the other foreign goods.  It is odd that an ingredient that is cheaper than sugar and easier to use in products would not be in a Third World nation's exports, unless it has a significant effect on your health: as it does.  Have you noticed how many American products now advertise with big letters on the container that it has NO High Fructose Corn Syrup?  

Now, my family and I have been on a non-HFCS binge in our house.  We have noticed and furthermore, I have noticed, that without this awful item in our foods, I have felt less tired less often as well as had a better feeling, a higher pathos, or a better outlook on life.  My head has been clearer and I have had less headaches due to weather changes and such.  I do have to say that I was really tempted into buying that new chocolate creme stuffed Twinkie, but High Fructose Corn Syrup I think was the first or second ingredient and I really could use without it.

So, I know that there are a lot who read this and I dare you, try a week without High Fructose Corn Syrup for you or for your family and tell me how you feel afterwards.

I am ending the week with a Hydrive...

This is Hydrive. 

Hydrive energy drink seems a bit more tame, compared to the others I have tasted this week.  This triple berry flavor tastes like fruit punch flavored bug juice and is very sweet.  Almost like a cross between a Gatorade and a Monster drink, but it says that it has only 6 grams of sugar in the whole bottle, which is almost one tenth of the sugar amount of Monster.

Hydrive taunts you into trying it because all over the bottle it preaches the main reason for its energy: antioxidants.  Sure, antioxidants are great, in theory.  In fact, I don't believe there is any real, tangible evidence that shows that antioxidants do prevent diseases or can make you live longer.  Antioxidants are supposed to fight free radicals, which are often explained like a bull in a china shop.  The bull is a free radical, something you get that can be bad for your body, like a sugar molecule or even a carcinogen.  Antioxidants, are supposed to basically jump on and attach themselves to the free radical, thus creating a layer of padding to prevent the free radical from destroying your cells.  So, if the free radical is a big bull, the antioxidants are layers upon layers of bubble wrap that someone had placed around it to prevent it from damaging anything. 

Besides that. the drink is good. It is very sweet and as it gives half of the % daily value of B's and vitamin E that any of the other drinks does.If you are taking a normal supplement for your B vitamins, then this is good just to make sure you have all you need. I give Hydrive a 3 out of 5.

I'm a Rockstar because I drink nasty energy drinks

Okay, I try to look at the good in everything and unfortunately, this is not that good.  Let me start off straight by saying that the Rockstar: energy drink, is not that good.  Energy drinks are like beers, there are many kinds, many flavors, but some companies take the same flavor and just bottle it and change it ever so slightly as to think they are creating a new flavor.  For instance, Miller Genuine Draft and Miller Lite.  They taste the same and likely have one ingredient different, but that is it.

Rockstar tastes just like a Red Bull.  Owned by different companies but they taste the same.  Rockstar, wasn't all the way empty when I rinsed out the can to be recycled so I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone.  I'd give it a 1 out of 5, mainly because if something is inedible, it gets a 1, sorta.

Sugar free Lightning flavor...?

Yeah, lightning really is a flavor and it does taste pretty good.  The drink, Amp: Sugar free lightning, tastes like a sweet and tasty soda, like a mix between a 7-up and an orange soda packed with good stuff.  But as I see more and more of this stuff, what are these things?

I understand what ginseng is and guarana, caffeine and taurine, and the B vitamins, which it is nearly impossible for you to OD in.  I have had people ask me about this and like so many things, B vitamins are water soluable.  This means that if you have too much in your body, your body removes the excess in water: you pee it out.

As I said, Amp: sugar free, doesn't have the sugar which is great so you don't have to worry about those added calories.  It does really taste like a good citrus soda and that helps make up for the fact that it is technically good for you.  Despite what I have seen others say, about how energy drinks are bad or addictive, I am trying to look at as much as I can to see if there are really any that are pretty good for them.  I mean, what is so bad in one of these drinks?  It may have no sugar and it may have twice as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, but I think that is about it.

Amp: sugar free lightning is good and perhaps better than the Monster drinks and as good as the Venom one.  I'd give this one a good 3 out of 5.

What does venom taste like?

Here's another one, this energy drink is called Venom.  I have a thought on this, again with the naming schema, why would anyone want to ingest venom?  The list of energy drinks that I review is a small one.  Yesterday while buying one of each at the grocery store, I noticed that a few of the other energy drinks have high fructose corn syrup in them.  How is placing things that are considered unhealthy, into an energy drink, considered a good idea???  So, no NOS or anything else.

Venom, is Black Mamba flavor, which is the name of one of the most poisonous snakes in the world.  The mortality rate of one who gets bit with the venom is 100%, so I guess I shouldn't have taken that first sip of this drink.........

However, like so many other companies, I am willing to bet that the average person who drinks Black Mamba flavored Venom energy drink, has no idea that if you get venom from a Black Mamba, you die.  I'm sure there are a bunch of rednecks sitting around a fire somewhere saying "yeah, black mambas are super deadly and we want to be like them so lets drink this up."

So, what does it taste like?  I have to say that it is tastier than a Monster, has about as much sugar as a regular Monster, has more calories than a regular Monster and has something different: extra vitamins.  With a regular Monster, per can, you get 200% of your B3, B6 and B12 along with 200% of your daily Riboflavin.  With Venom:Black Mamba, you get 210% of each of the above mentioned.  Is it enough to switch? Probably not.  The one thing to look out for in energy drinks, besides high fructose corn syrup is corn syrup and sugar.  People don't understand that sugar, by itself is actually relatively harmless.  People have eaten sugar in sweets and so forth, in moderation for thousands of years.  What is bad, is when you start making mutant sugars like corn syrup, which is a more concentrated sugar and high fructose corn syrup, which is a plant sugar that your body doesn't recognize mixed with corn syrup.  All of these three will give you energy, but the real sugar one, is the least likely to cause the worst damage to your body.  Overall though, the Venom: Black Mamba tastes like some ninja dropped a strawberry Jolly Rancher into my regular Monster energy drink.  The fruitiness is unexpected and does taste good.  I would be interested in seeing if they are able to pull the same flavoring off using their sugar-free brand.

 I'd give this drink a 3 out of 5 and would buy it again if I needed a buzz....

Time to unleash the Khaos?

No spelling mistake on my part: Khaos is the name of another flavor of energy drink from the brand Monster.  This energy drink is different than the other Monster drinks in it that this one is mostly made up of Juice. This tastes like a mix of soda and OJ.  It says, in the ingredient list, that it contains apple, orange, peach, tangerine, pineapple and white grape juice.  Boasting vitamin A and C, this drink has more energy in it, or at least more vitamins than a normal Monster drink.  I give this one a 2 out of 5 as well as the fruit mix doesn't taste that good to me.

Prepare for an assault on your sleepiness...

Today I tried some Assault.  Why do energy drink companies come up with these names?  Really, do the honestly believe that the caffeine and sugar will assault my body with those extra B vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants?  When I think of the names of most energy drinks, I think of this interesting video:

Seriously, companies are claiming the strangest things in order to get people to try their thing, which in most cases, is nothing more than a high mix of sugar, caffeine and vitamins.

Monster Assault is the same chemical mix, except instead of tasting fruity or citrusy, it tastes like a flat cola drink.  Wow, a less carbonated Jolt, in a can.  It is isn't that exciting and the drink doesn't taste that good either.  2 out of 5 for me.