Since many of the people that are drinking multiple energy drinks a day don't actually know what all is in them and what they have done here I have broken down the most common ingredients of the energy drinks and provided many links for more detailed information of how they help you and give you more energy. So if you want to know more about what your taking and how these chemicals effect your body continue reading. If you know more or have found a great link about any of the ingredients post them here.

Increased Metabolism:
Many of the ingredients increase your metabolism which in turn increases your energy. The metabolic process that produces energy for all biological functioning. Almost all energy drinks increase your metabolism.

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/5900verviewmet.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/nutrition/metab_speed.html
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/5904/e/1/T/CFIDS_FM/

Antioxidants:
Many of the chemicals in these energy drinks are known to or believed to be antioxidants. Which prevents cellular damage. A lot of research has been done on the benefits of antioxidants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4452

Taurine: Is one of the lesser known amino acids. It plays several important roles in the body. It may help with reactive oxygen, respiratory burst, and there is some evidence it is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It has also been linked to other metabolic functions but it is not clear. Why is it not clear, because it hasn't been fully researched and much of what it does is still unknown. There is a lot of research going into Taurine right now. There is is a lot of research into the effects of Taurine on the hearts functions. Obviously many users have also noticed a stimulating effect from this amino acid as it is included in most energy drinks, but since it hasn't been proof it must mean it does nothing... Nope it just means it hasn't been studied closely by the FDA, it is currently under investigation in parts of the world and some drinks with it have been banned in France, Sweden, and Iceland.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/redbull/
http://feed.proteinos.com/item/1808
http://www.vet.uga.edu/vph/sanderson.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine
http://www.aurorahealthcare.org/yourhealth/healthgate/getcontent.asp?URLhealthgate=%2221793.html%22

Guarana:
Contains caffeine (It also contains modest amounts of related compounds theophylline and theobromine) and other ingredients it has the same effects as caffeine, but hasn't been studied as closely many users believe there are additional benefits to this drug. It has been used in and surrounding Brazil for a long time. It has also been found to increase weight loss and increase the rate of fat loss.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11319627&dopt=Abstract
http://www.guarana.com/facts.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarana
http://www.medicinehunter.com/guarana.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11424516

Caffeine:This is a well known and trusted stimulant... I will leave it at that. Since this isn't disputed caffeine is a known stimulant... you get 70-200 mg from most energy drinks... A full can of Rockstar gives you 150 mg

ginkgo:
Known to Increases metabolism, enhance circulation, is an antioxidant, increases immunity... Yeah there is still more to know about this one, but increases metabolism sure is energy producing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo
http://www.kcweb.com/herb/Ginko.htm

B vitamins:
B vitamins helps us produce energy and in the current diet is believed to be low for most people. These vitamins are essential for the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, which provides us energy, the breakdown of fats and proteins. Things like riboflavin, niacin, and other odd names are frequently found in energy drinks that are just other names for B vitamins B2,B3 and whatnot.

http://www.vitamins-nutrition.org/vitamins/vitamin-b-energy.html the energy vitamin
http://www.vitamins-nutrition.org/vitamins/b-vitamins.html
http://home.howstuffworks.com/vitamin-b.htm
http://www.health-pages.com/vb/

Sugar:

Posted by Dan at March 20, 2005 3:25 PM