{"id":1855,"date":"2019-05-09T15:23:53","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T19:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maltproducts.com\/?p=1855"},"modified":"2020-12-30T17:22:26","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T17:22:26","slug":"whats-the-buzz-how-energy-products-reform-caffeine-and-sugar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maltproducts.com\/maltproducts\/2019\/05\/09\/whats-the-buzz-how-energy-products-reform-caffeine-and-sugar\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Buzz? How Energy Products Reform Caffeine and Sugar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Sugar and caffeine, the staples of energy-boosting products, are often cast as villains. Here\u2019s how some are trying to rehabilitate them.<\/h2>\n<\/hgroup>\n

By Pan Demetrakakes, Senior Editor<\/p>\n

May 09, 2019<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

\n

As sources of energy for foods and beverages, caffeine and sugar are as established as fossil fuels. But like fossil fuels, these building blocks of energy-boosting foods and beverages are being looked at more critically.<\/p>\n

High energy is one of the oldest nutraceutical\/functional claims for foods and beverages. Red Bull has been giving you wings since 1987. Euromonitor estimates the domestic energy drink market at $11.7 billion last year, up 25 percent since 2012.<\/p>\n

Some big players are getting involved (or deepening their involvement). Coca-Cola is developing Coca-Cola Energy, an extra-caffeinated version of its flagship beverage (to the consternation of Monster Beverages, with which it has a distribution deal); Amazon is rolling out a new energy drink under its private-label Solimo brand.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Coca-Cola Energy<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0gets most of its energy from a heavy dose of caffeine \u00ac more than three times as much as its flagship product. Big doses of caffeine and sugar have been staples of energy-boosting foods and beverages for a long time (although many of them also come in sugar-free versions). Red Bull, the oldest major energy-drink brand and the top seller in the U.S., has 80mg of caffeine and 27g of sugar per serving for its mainstream product, as does No. 2 brand Monster. Clif Bar, the U.S. category leader in energy bars, which features a rock climber on its label, delivers 21g or more of sugar per serving.<\/p>\n

Caffeine and sugar, of course, are desirable in energy-product formulations because they impart a powerful short-term \u201cbuzz.\u201d But energy-boosting products have been criticized over their caffeine and sugar content for a long time. Both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics have issued warnings that consumers, especially young ones, should limit or even eliminate consumption of them.<\/p>\n

The issue goes back, as it often does, to definitions. What does it mean to \u201cboost energy,\u201d and how does that tie in to the larger concept of health?<\/p>\n

Dietitian Nancy Farrell Allen, a teacher and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, points out that in theory, energy comes only from the calories found in macronutrients \u2013 carbohydrates, proteins and fats. As for substances like caffeine, \u201cperhaps the energy boost one might feel is due to the stimulant effect of these ingredients,\u201d she says. \u201cThink of caffeine \u2013 no calories associated with it, but it does raise our blood pressure, heart rate, etc., and that is not necessarily healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

And consumers are starting to look at energy as an aspect of overall health, meaning that many are unwilling to do unhealthy things just for an energy spike. They\u2019re more interested in the long term.<\/p>\n

According to research by the Hartman Group, nearly a third of consumers, across all age groups, feel that their energy level \u201curgently needs to get better.\u201d They see this as an ongoing issue: \u201cToday, we hear consumers talk about energy as a problem that has developed into its own distinct health concern on par with issues like controlling weight and physical fitness,\u201d Hartman researchers wrote in a 2015 newsletter.<\/p>\n