Here you'll find the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions posed by Healthy Talk fans. Listen in because what you know helps ensure healthy choices you can live with. Today on Healthy Talk, you wanted to know:
I know you've mentioned before how horrible energy drinks are for your health, specifically because of all the added sugars. However, what about the zero calorie energy drinks? Even though they don't have the extra sugars in it, are they still that bad for you?
What Dr. Mike wants you to think about is if an energy drink is low-calorie, how does it give you any energy? For example, when you think of any foods, they all contain calories... So, really, there's no such thing as a zero calorie energy drink.
However, manufacturers add in specific compounds to the energy drink to give you the boost in energy.
For example, on Red Bull's Total Zero label, there's no protein, sugar, fat, or calories. It does contain 80 mg of caffeine, taurine (an amino acid), B group vitamins (they actually don't tell you which ones and how much), Alpine Spring water, and the sweeteners aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame K.
The aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame K are what makes zero calorie energy drinks unhealthy. These are artificial sweeteners, which have been known to be harmful to your health.
Dr. Mike suggests trying CoQ10, fermented ginseng, D-Ribose, and cordyceps instead of these energy drinks.
If you have a health question or concern, Dr. Mike encourages you to write him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or call in, toll-free, to the LIVE radio show (1.844.305.7800) so he can provide you with support and helpful advice.
Selected Podcast
Ask Dr. Mike: Are Zero Calorie Energy Drinks THAT Bad for You?
Transcription:
RadioMD Presents:Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 31, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
RadioMD. It's time to ask Dr. Mike. Do you have a question about your health? Dr. Mike can answer your questions. Just email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call now: 877-711-5211. The lines are open.
DR MIKE: Alright. That is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Please send me your questions. I'm running a little low. I got a few new ones this week, over this past weekend, but can always use an infusion of listener questions. I love doing this part of the show. It's a little scary sometimes. I do some research for some of the questions, as I said before, but other ones, I just kind of answer as best I can. Either way, I'm going to do my best for you. So, again, that's This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Alright. Next question:
"Hi, Dr. Mike. I know you've mentioned before how horrible energy drinks are for your health."
Did I say "horrible"? A little strong. Maybe I did. I try to stay away from emotionally charged words like that. They're not good for you. This is my opinion. Horrible? Mmmm. But, if I did, I did. Okay.
"I know you've mentioned before how horrible energy drinks are for your health, specifically because of all the added sugars."Yes. That's true. I stand by that.
"However, what about the zero calorie energy drinks? Even though they don't have the extra sugars in it, are they still that bad for you? Thanks. Lauren."
Okay. It's interesting to me, Lauren. So, there's a problem. There's a problem with the idea of a zero calorie energy drink. Do you know what that is? Does anybody know what the problem with that is? Well, if something is "zero calorie", how can it give us energy?(aughter)
Oh! That's tough. That's interesting, isn't it? Food calories, dietary calories is what is eventually converted into adenosine triphosphate, the energy currency for the cell. So, technically—if I'm being really technical, there's really no such thing as a zero calorie energy drink. That doesn't mean that you can't put nutrients in it. I talk about CoQ10 as an energizer. I talk about D ribose. I talk about carnitine, but those things are working with the food sources coming in and helping the mitochondria to produce ATP.
I mean, if you took out all dietary calories from your body, if you just somehow got into some weird vacuum and it sucked out all dietary calories, and you took CoQ10, it's not going to do much for you because it requires food source's oxygen to make the ATP. So, technically, Lauren, maybe I'm being a little technical, but there's no such thing as a zero calorie energy drink. You have to have calories. Okay?
But, I understand what they're doing. They're adding some of those types of nutrients that I mentioned and we're not drinking these things in a vacuum. We have some food sources in our stomach when we're eating, so those kind of energy compounds that they're adding to these zero calorie energy drinks are working with these nutrients they're putting in these drinks. So, listen, I don't follow the energy drink market all that much, so I had to do some Google searches here. Red Bull Total Zero is the top in the market. Red Bull, in general, with all of their drinks in the past 26 years has now sold approximately 50 billion cans. That's a lot of Red Bull. BlueSky Zero comes in next and then there was another one. I don't think I got the full name here, NOS? NOS. That's all I wrote. I think there was more to the name and then one called High Ball. But, those were the top, according to Google.
So, to answer Lauren's question, I'm going to use Red Bull. Red Bull Total Zero. Now, I'm not picking on Red Bull at all. I'm not. I'm just going to state the facts based on what I found on their very own website and what I found on the actual label of Red Bull's Total Zero. This is just facts, right? Everybody understands that, right? So, I went online. Here's what I found out about Red Bull Total Zero. There is no protein. There is no sugar. No fat. There's nothing. Zero calories. That's confirmed on the label. So, where is the energy coming from?
Well, they have 80mg of caffeine, which they go on to say on their site that that's the equivalent of a standard cup of coffee. That's probably true. I there are some coffees out there that are a lot more than 80mg, but that's what they have in their...You know, I forgot to write down what the serving size was. It's not 12 ounces. It's like 8 ounces. So, 8 ounces, 80 mg of caffeine. So, right there. That's going to stimulate. Then, they have taurine. Now, taurine's an amino acid that occurs naturally in your body. It's in high concentration in muscle, brain. Taurine is responsible for running calcium channels which is really important to nerves and muscles. So, that's kind of where you're getting the energy idea from although it doesn't link directly to energy.
But, taurine's used in certain heart disease protocols. So, it has some merit, here. It's about 7 grams. Now, I actually couldn't find the amount of taurine. They talk about how much taurine is in the average human body and that the average human has about 70 times the amount of taurine that's in the Red Bull, which would come about to about 7 grams of taurine, although they don't put that on the label, which I have issues with. I really do. I have issues with listing active ingredients and not telling me how much I'm getting. I have a problem with that. Remember I talked about buying products that have clean labels? Active ingredients. How much? Very clear. Remember that? Clean labels. That's what I mean by that.
So, I'm taking a guess. Seven grams of taurine. Then, they go on to say that they have B group vitamins. Of course, on the website, that's all they say. Because there are a lot of different types of B vitamins. They don't give you any dose. They don't tell you which ones. I had to actually go to the label and see that it looks like there's B6 and it's about 25% the recommended daily intake which is pretty much nothing. B12, about 80% of the RDI, again, recommended daily intake, which is about nothing. Then, pantothenic acid, which is B5, which is about 50%, which is pretty much about nothing. The recommended daily intake is notoriously low. So, They're not even at 100%. So, yes. They've got 3 B vitamins out of, what, 7? And pretty much at very low, low, low doses. Okay. But, it's there. They also say that the base is Alpine spring water.
Here's the kicker. Here's why I can answer, Lauren, that they are unhealthy. This is just fact. They have aspartame. They have sucralose. A lot of artificial sweeteners. That's why it's sweet. Aspartame, sucralose. So, I don't like that. I don't like the artificial sweeteners. That's generally how they make zero calorie drinks, other than water, palatable. We have a sweet tooth in this country so they sweeten it with these artificial sweeteners. So, 80mg caffeine, 7 grams of taurine, a little drop of B6, B12 and B5, Alpine spring water. That's great. Then, artificial sweeteners.
So, back to Lauren's question:
"Are they still that bad for you?" Yes. They're not really giving you any of the nutrients. Very lose dose. Maybe a decent dose of the taurine, but that's about it, and you're getting artificial sweeteners and I don't like artificial sweeteners. Again, the whole energy drink market, it just...I don't know. I don't get it. I don't understand. These aren't great products and yet, we're consuming them more than just plain water. There are better ways to increase energy. CoQ10, as I mentioned, carnitine, D ribose, cordyceps, fermented ginseng. I mean, these are all great ways to produce lasting cell energy. You don't need these energy drinks.That's my opinion.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
RadioMD Presents:Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 31, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
RadioMD. It's time to ask Dr. Mike. Do you have a question about your health? Dr. Mike can answer your questions. Just email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call now: 877-711-5211. The lines are open.
DR MIKE: Alright. That is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Please send me your questions. I'm running a little low. I got a few new ones this week, over this past weekend, but can always use an infusion of listener questions. I love doing this part of the show. It's a little scary sometimes. I do some research for some of the questions, as I said before, but other ones, I just kind of answer as best I can. Either way, I'm going to do my best for you. So, again, that's This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Alright. Next question:
"Hi, Dr. Mike. I know you've mentioned before how horrible energy drinks are for your health."
Did I say "horrible"? A little strong. Maybe I did. I try to stay away from emotionally charged words like that. They're not good for you. This is my opinion. Horrible? Mmmm. But, if I did, I did. Okay.
"I know you've mentioned before how horrible energy drinks are for your health, specifically because of all the added sugars."Yes. That's true. I stand by that.
"However, what about the zero calorie energy drinks? Even though they don't have the extra sugars in it, are they still that bad for you? Thanks. Lauren."
Okay. It's interesting to me, Lauren. So, there's a problem. There's a problem with the idea of a zero calorie energy drink. Do you know what that is? Does anybody know what the problem with that is? Well, if something is "zero calorie", how can it give us energy?(aughter)
Oh! That's tough. That's interesting, isn't it? Food calories, dietary calories is what is eventually converted into adenosine triphosphate, the energy currency for the cell. So, technically—if I'm being really technical, there's really no such thing as a zero calorie energy drink. That doesn't mean that you can't put nutrients in it. I talk about CoQ10 as an energizer. I talk about D ribose. I talk about carnitine, but those things are working with the food sources coming in and helping the mitochondria to produce ATP.
I mean, if you took out all dietary calories from your body, if you just somehow got into some weird vacuum and it sucked out all dietary calories, and you took CoQ10, it's not going to do much for you because it requires food source's oxygen to make the ATP. So, technically, Lauren, maybe I'm being a little technical, but there's no such thing as a zero calorie energy drink. You have to have calories. Okay?
But, I understand what they're doing. They're adding some of those types of nutrients that I mentioned and we're not drinking these things in a vacuum. We have some food sources in our stomach when we're eating, so those kind of energy compounds that they're adding to these zero calorie energy drinks are working with these nutrients they're putting in these drinks. So, listen, I don't follow the energy drink market all that much, so I had to do some Google searches here. Red Bull Total Zero is the top in the market. Red Bull, in general, with all of their drinks in the past 26 years has now sold approximately 50 billion cans. That's a lot of Red Bull. BlueSky Zero comes in next and then there was another one. I don't think I got the full name here, NOS? NOS. That's all I wrote. I think there was more to the name and then one called High Ball. But, those were the top, according to Google.
So, to answer Lauren's question, I'm going to use Red Bull. Red Bull Total Zero. Now, I'm not picking on Red Bull at all. I'm not. I'm just going to state the facts based on what I found on their very own website and what I found on the actual label of Red Bull's Total Zero. This is just facts, right? Everybody understands that, right? So, I went online. Here's what I found out about Red Bull Total Zero. There is no protein. There is no sugar. No fat. There's nothing. Zero calories. That's confirmed on the label. So, where is the energy coming from?
Well, they have 80mg of caffeine, which they go on to say on their site that that's the equivalent of a standard cup of coffee. That's probably true. I there are some coffees out there that are a lot more than 80mg, but that's what they have in their...You know, I forgot to write down what the serving size was. It's not 12 ounces. It's like 8 ounces. So, 8 ounces, 80 mg of caffeine. So, right there. That's going to stimulate. Then, they have taurine. Now, taurine's an amino acid that occurs naturally in your body. It's in high concentration in muscle, brain. Taurine is responsible for running calcium channels which is really important to nerves and muscles. So, that's kind of where you're getting the energy idea from although it doesn't link directly to energy.
But, taurine's used in certain heart disease protocols. So, it has some merit, here. It's about 7 grams. Now, I actually couldn't find the amount of taurine. They talk about how much taurine is in the average human body and that the average human has about 70 times the amount of taurine that's in the Red Bull, which would come about to about 7 grams of taurine, although they don't put that on the label, which I have issues with. I really do. I have issues with listing active ingredients and not telling me how much I'm getting. I have a problem with that. Remember I talked about buying products that have clean labels? Active ingredients. How much? Very clear. Remember that? Clean labels. That's what I mean by that.
So, I'm taking a guess. Seven grams of taurine. Then, they go on to say that they have B group vitamins. Of course, on the website, that's all they say. Because there are a lot of different types of B vitamins. They don't give you any dose. They don't tell you which ones. I had to actually go to the label and see that it looks like there's B6 and it's about 25% the recommended daily intake which is pretty much nothing. B12, about 80% of the RDI, again, recommended daily intake, which is about nothing. Then, pantothenic acid, which is B5, which is about 50%, which is pretty much about nothing. The recommended daily intake is notoriously low. So, They're not even at 100%. So, yes. They've got 3 B vitamins out of, what, 7? And pretty much at very low, low, low doses. Okay. But, it's there. They also say that the base is Alpine spring water.
Here's the kicker. Here's why I can answer, Lauren, that they are unhealthy. This is just fact. They have aspartame. They have sucralose. A lot of artificial sweeteners. That's why it's sweet. Aspartame, sucralose. So, I don't like that. I don't like the artificial sweeteners. That's generally how they make zero calorie drinks, other than water, palatable. We have a sweet tooth in this country so they sweeten it with these artificial sweeteners. So, 80mg caffeine, 7 grams of taurine, a little drop of B6, B12 and B5, Alpine spring water. That's great. Then, artificial sweeteners.
So, back to Lauren's question:
"Are they still that bad for you?" Yes. They're not really giving you any of the nutrients. Very lose dose. Maybe a decent dose of the taurine, but that's about it, and you're getting artificial sweeteners and I don't like artificial sweeteners. Again, the whole energy drink market, it just...I don't know. I don't get it. I don't understand. These aren't great products and yet, we're consuming them more than just plain water. There are better ways to increase energy. CoQ10, as I mentioned, carnitine, D ribose, cordyceps, fermented ginseng. I mean, these are all great ways to produce lasting cell energy. You don't need these energy drinks.That's my opinion.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.