Five Hour Energy Drink Review

Five hour energy drink is one of the hottest sellers in the energy shots segment of the market. I admire the success they've had in creating and marketing a new concept that has resonated with the market perfectly. Their commercials are cool, entertaining, and make a good point. But are these two-ounce drinks something you or your children want to be consuming two times a day?

I haven't tried any of the new Five Hour Energy Drink flavors, although I've been tempted out of professional responsibility as a reviewer. What stops me is reading a list of the ingredients. I've had some very unpleasant experiences with three of the key ingredients -- and though my metabolism may be especially sensitive to these ingredients, there probably are others who may have similar reactions.

Some of the ingredients are not anything I want to run through my kidneys, just on general principles: artificial flavors, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate(preservatives), and sucralose.

Let's talk about the three ingedients in Five Hour Energy that I know from personal experience are not conducive to a good, happy, energy buzz:

* Caffeine. I don't think I'm alone in this, but I sense that a lot of people find caffeine to be an overly-strong stimulant, especially when a whole cup of strong coffee's worth is chugged down in a two ounce gulp. Hard-core coffee drinkers won't know what I'm talking about here, but those sensitive to or unused to drinking coffee will. Drinking the equivalent of one strong cup of coffee, if you're not used to it, can be a very unpleasant experience.

Bottom Line: I much prefer guarana as a stimulant. Caffeine gives most people a powerful buzz, but it doesn't last very long. Guarana, which the Five Hour Energy Drink Web site refers to derogatively as one of those "herbal stimulants," is a more complex mix of alkaloids, at least one of which is chemically related to the compound in dark chocolate that makes you feel like you're in love. Green tea is also an herbal stimulant, as are coca leaves, cola nuts, etc. The advantage for the makers of Five Hour Energy is that raw anhydrous caffeine is cheaper than the more subtle, safer, and more interesting buzz offered by herbal stimulants such as guarana. * L-phenylalanine. This is a naturally occurring necessary nutrient that can be found in small amounts in many of our foods, especially protein-heavy items like meats. Some of us are unable to properly digest it and this causes problems such as insomnia -- really bad insomnia if you get in the habit of using more of it to get you through the day after a sleepless night.

In concentrated form, l-phenylalanine, assists most people (who don't suffer from phenylketoneuria -- PKU) in making more nerve transmitter chemicals, which promote memory and a positive mental state. According to the Five Hour Energy Drink Web site, people are now tested for PKU in the hospital when they are born and notified if they have this inability to "turn off" the generally beneficial effects of l-phenylalanine. Maybe they weren't testing for it yet when I was born, but I sure found out when I discovered l-phenylalanine in about 1987.

This is a small point, but an important one to anyone who is unsure if they have any degree of PKU. A word to the wise, as they say.

* Sucralose. Sucralose is another food additive I have experience with. Promoters of it claim that because it is slightly different in molecular structure from sucrose our bodies don't recognize it as sugar and just excrete it. That may or may not be true, but I can tell you that your teeth recognize it as sugar and, if you have any cavities forming, you will feel it.

Sucralose is one of those artificial sweeteners that have been rushed through the FDA approval process with a lot of questions still unanswered. Read Wikipedia to get the whole scoop on sucralose.

Another objection I have to using a non-caloric sweetener in Five Hour Energy Drink is that, as I understand it, the thermogenic effect of a stimulant such as green tea or guarana is catalyzed by a small amount of easily-digestible sugars to get the fat-burning stoked up, say, during a long run, walk, or bike ride. With only sucralose and lots of caffeine, I'm not confident that a person will have the easily-accessible stores of blood sugar to prime the pump and make the smooth transition to burning stored-up body fat. This is a minor criticism of their formula, which could be corrected by eating a piece of fruit with the Five Hour Energy Drink.

My main health objection here is to the unknown effects over continued used of artificial chemicals used as sweeteners, and preservatives in this drink. Who knows what the long-term effects are for your kidneys, liver, and other tissues? When there are other alternatives that give one the same or better energy boost, without the artificial additives, why take the risk?

Again, my preferred alternative for health, energy, and value is A.C.T. Why take risks with your body? You can make your own energy shots with A.C.T. for about $1.20. It has nothing artificial in it. It does a consistently good job for me, day after day. I'm 61 and I don't want my body to break down and start needing replacement parts. Taking chances and risky shortcuts to high energy levels is not my goal -- I want to be doing long bike rides and hikes into my 80's and maybe beyond, so DrinkACT is my choice. It is far better than coffee and even the green tea it contains. Try it. See what you think.

To Learn More About The Potential Dangers of Five Hour Energy Drink, See This

The bottom line message here is that, in the hands of an informed adult, occasional use of Five Hour Energy Drink probably won't pose an immediate danger to your health.

Generally, though, the market for these and similarly powerful energy drinks ranges from 12 years old up to maybe 50. Youthful adventurousness being what it is, the potential for gulping down two or more of these shots in a few hours' time could put the unsuspecting person into heart palpitations or worse.

Add in alcohol's effects on diminished judgement and it's possible to imagine some really nightmarish "bad trip" potential on something that can easily be obtained by pre-teens.

My background in learning about the ingredients in today's energy drinks comes from participation and promotion of high-level road runs and mountain bike races. That's why my focus is about learning what is healthy and safe when it comes to pushing your physical limits.

I'm all about having fun, but I want to be able to do it consistently. Some ingredients are not conducive to consistent optimum performance, whether on a mountain bike or on the dance floor. Parents and other adults have a responsibility to pass along some cautions to young people to prevent them from making dangerous and unpleasant mistakes with energy drinks.

Five Hour Energy Drink, from this perspective is not the best energy drink for long term health and performance.