Question about a supplement

[SweetWilliam]

Havent been around much, not as close to a friend that suffers from this but it is something i think about. I remember reading that a lot people used redbull or other energy drinks. I'm sure someone has brought this stuff up but I thought i would put it here just in case you havent seen it. There are many different brands and formulations of pre-workout supplements but a lot have l-arginine, a vasodialter and this one does not but a good dose of caffeine. Its just a little scoop of powder you mix with water. If it helps great if not or its old news..carry on 

Calories - 15

Total Carbohydrate - 4g

Sugars - 0g

Vitamin D (As Cholecalciferol) - 500IU 125%

Niacin (As Nicotinic Acid) - 20mg 100%

Calcium - 35mg 4%

Magnesium (As Magnesium Oxide) - 100mg 25%

Sodium - 280mg 12%

Potassium - 5mg <1%

HYPER-FX Peak Proprietary Blend - 9.6g

Myogenic Endura Infusion

Beta-Alanine (CarnoSyn), Betaine Anhydrous, Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Malic Acid, Taurine, Adenosine 5\'Triphosphate Disodium (Peak ATP)

Shock Force Spectrum

D-Aspartic Acid, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium-D-Glucarate, Red Pepper (Fruit) (2% Capsaicinoids) (Capsimax), Black Pepper (Fruit) (95% Piperine) (Bioperine), Cholecalciferol

Neuro Power Composite

Choline Bitartrate, Caffeine Anhydrous, Bitter Orange Extract (Fruit) (30% Synephrine) (Advantra Z), Niacin, Toothed Clubmoss (Aerial Parts) (1% Huperzine A), Lesser Periwinkle [(Whole Plant) (95% Vinpocetine, 98% Vincamine, 98% Vinburmine)]

Approximately 270mg of caffeine per serving.

[spiny]

Thanks.

Personally, if I have to put one more scoop of something into one more glass of something, I will puke. :

Other Bean Poles here are likely sucking down all the Whey Powder they can as well. Not mention all the vitamins taken everyday......

Hell, I can't even get the office chair to drop down when I pull the dang lever anymore!!!!  :-[

[SweetWilliam]

I was more wondering if this would be a good way to get caffeine into your system instead of the redbull. I have read from 240mg's to 270 per scoop without all the sugar.

Do you not use the caffeine to try and keep the headache away? Or am i way off base in my thinking?

[Pixie-elf]

I think the general consensus is...and I could be wrong here... that it's not just the caffeine that works.

If you're looking at energy drinks, they contain Taurine, too.

I haven't had any luck just taking caffeine / taurine supplements by themselves. It has to be in energy drink form, and needed around 2000mg of the taurine, otherwise it doesn't work for me.

The little 5 hour energy shots do nada for me. Monster Hitman works due to the fact it's 2000mg of taurine though.

[Bejeeber]

Yer right Pixie, the consensus is it's the caffeine/taurine combo that's most effective.

And at 270 mg of caffeine per serving (!!), wow that powder looks like it could wake the dead ;D (Red Bull 8 oz has 73 mg caffeine).

[Bejeeber]

...Bean Poles...Hell, I can't even get the office chair to drop down when I pull the dang lever anymore!!!!  

Spiny you'd make a natural leader (president!) for the new official Beanpole faction of clusterbusters. I'll join. ;D I guess the first  meeting will be at the Las Vegas conference. We can have a table for handing out leaflets and crap. 

[spiny]

bejeeber: 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) We don't even need a 'sturdy' table!

Does anyone else realize that 'SweetWilliam' is a FLOWER??? :

[CHfather]

Monster Hitman works due to the fact it's 2000mg of taurine though. 

Hitman also has a relatively huge amount of caffeine--240 mg, which is 80 mg per ounce.  RedBull energy shot has 80 mg total (so does an 8 oz RedBull), so the RedBull energy shot is "just" 39.4 mg/oz, and the standard RedBull is 9.5mg/oz.   Almost all Monster drinks have twice as much caffeine (160 mg.) as RedBull.  At least according to this chart: http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

Yer right Pixie, the consensus is it's the caffeine/taurine combo that's most effective.

  I completely agree that that is the consensus.  For the sake of our "citizen scientist" explorations, I just add that one poster recently said that RedBull didn't work for him, whereas Monster did. He attributed that to an ingredient that is in Monster but not RedBull (don't recall what that ingredient was).  (And I do think I notice that of people who have tried both, Monster seems to be preferred--but maybe it's all that caffeine and not the "mystery ingredient.")

[Bejeeber]

Almost all Monster drinks have twice as much caffeine (160 mg.) as RedBull.  At least according to this chart: http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

Ooh good energy drink reconnaissance there, thanks. I see the Monster Hitman Sniper shot has 240 mg caffeine! 

Cool to have them all listed side by side like that. Now if someone will just pander to CH'ers and their supporters and create an online list that reports both caffeine and taurine levels for each drink/shot, we'll have the ultimate reference when jotting down a plan B on a shopping list in case there's no Monster in stock.  8-)

[SweetWilliam]

This is what I was interested in. So has anyone went to GNC and bought taurine?

     Serving Size   2 Vegetarian Capsule      

     Servings Per Container  50      

     Amount Per Serving            % DV      

Vitamin B-6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride)        20.00 mg        1000%      

Taurine (Free-Form)        1000.00 mg        **      

And yes, this the hyper fx supplement in my morning mix of whey&casien protein, strawberries, blueberries and milk is a hell of way to jump start the day!

[Ricardo]

I think the caffeine is great and all, but no one has any clue what any of the other funny stuff is going to do...I mean who knows what "toothed club moss aerial parts" or "Vinpocetine" is going to do for you?

Bitter Orange Extract (Fruit) (30% Synephrine) (Advantra Z), Niacin, Toothed Clubmoss (Aerial Parts) (1% Huperzine A), Lesser Periwinkle [(Whole Plant) (95% Vinpocetine, 98% Vincamine, 98% Vinburmine)

And aspartic acid, what "aspartame" is broken down into, is also known as an "excitotoxin" and is usually talked about in the same sentence as glutamate--as a possible trigger of headaches, seizures, and all sorts of bad stuff.  I was actually just reading a forum where people were talking about aspartic acid as a supplement, where one person was claiming it triggered his clusters.

My take on the whole thing--don't take a supplement unless you have a general idea of what it's doing.  Even if 1 or 2 or 8 of these things is helping you, 1 or 2 or 8 might not, making it very hard to sort out what does what, what helps and what hurts.

Even with the energy drinks I feel this way.  I've always thought it a better idea to take a taurine supplement with some strong coffee or even straight caffeine.  I find it very hard to believe that all that high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and all the poisonous junk they put in those things is going to help any of us.  Just my 2 cents.

-Ricardo

http://flowingvisions.ecrater.com/c/1428008/caffeine

[les genser]

I would like to concur with and second Ricardo's impression. It is of course my opinion, but 'energy drinks' are made by and for idiots. Their marketing techniques, when I have been unavoidably exposed to them, bears this out if an inspection of their label doesn't do it for you first.

Unadulterated caffeine in the form of coffee is much better for you; guarana is even better. Coffee contains fourteen other alkaloids in addition to caffeine, guarana only contains caffeine.

If you experience a hypoglycemic dip prior to or during attack, forget the corn syrup or the artificials which all seriously suck. Try this: a spoonful of frozen OJ concentrate; hold it on your tongue against the side of your hard palate (roof of mouth) affected, helps abort in mere minutes and as the stuff melts it restores your metabolism.

Staying away from artificial over processed crap that is bad for you only seems like new age "alternative" hippie bullshit until you actually try it and find out that it works.

[les genser]

OK a little harsh. I certainly do not mean that people who consume energy drinks are idiots, but the people who make them certainly hope that's the case.

Know why crack is bad for you? It's not the high at all; its the return swing of the pendulum. I have sung this song before: Every thing you put in your body that has a physiological effect has a reaction attached to it and the ass behind the pendulum is directly proportional to the degree of the initial effect. The higher you get, the lower you go. And yes, it really is exactly that simple. Every drug, every non-food material you ingest that produces an effect does this. The organism will return to dynamic balance no matter what you put in it; it is its purpose.

This is why the less you load the pendulum, the better off you will be in the long run. Even competent physicians do not seem to understand this seemingly fundamental principal of rebound to everyone's loss.

Contrary to apparent logic, you do not want to use the solution with the most caffeine, the most taurine, mummy dust or whatever. It is hitting a finish nail with a sledgehammer, one that will hit you back.

Take this or leave it, but it is based on 42 years of experience: Do the least you need to do to control your CH and thereby minimize your exposure to rebound. Always remember the principal of balance;.. your body does.

Rebound, by the way, not always instant or even close. Lipid friendly compounds, other metabolites can show up and wreak havoc 48 hours after ingestion, sometimes longer. Most people on regular pharmaceutical scheds.  experience them all the time and aren't even aware.

Seriously though, every one of those energy drinks righteously sucks.