Is 5-Hour Energy All it’s Cracked Up to Be?

If you leave your house on a regular basis, or watch TV, chances are good that you know what “5-hour Energy” is. It’s like a typical energy drink, but not. In this little bottle are numerous vitamins, amino acids and various other good stuff to help keep you alert and give you back a little bit of the energy you lost during the day. Seems good, but…

There’s questioning on just how useful this stuff is, and how healthy. After all, it’s never been tested over long periods of time, and some doctors don’t rule out the fact that all of these vitamins and chemicals thrown together may not be a good thing. In some rarer cases, and if you overdo things, you may actually experience side-effects… not the energy boost, especially if mixing with other energy drinks, or medications.

Many people visiting this site are gamers, myself included, and I’ve never stopped myself from overdoing it on the Red Bull or Bawls during a LAN party. Even at home, I used to have a bad habit of drinking way too many “Jolts” or Red Bulls. I have since stopped the gluttony, only drinking one on “special” occasions (like LANs), even though for the most part, I find they do nothing at all.

I tried 5-hour Energy a few months ago, and downed both bottles in the package at once, to make sure I’d feel something… but no. It’s almost like I’ve had so much caffeine throughout the years, these quick-energy potions don’t do jack for me. Do they work for you? Have you tried 5-hour Energy yourself? Our forums exist for a reason… let us know your thoughts!

The overall health impact of the shots’ energy blend is a little fuzzy, according to some experts, because little data has been collected about the effectiveness or safety of the natural compounds. The blend contains: citicoline, tyrosine, phenylalanine, taurine, malic acid, glucuronolactone and caffeine. Phenylalanine, taurine, tyrosine are all amino acids our bodies naturally produce. Malic acid is a natural chemical substance found in food. Glucuronolactone is a byproduct of glucose produced in the liver. Citicoline is a natural compound that produces a chemical in the brain.