5 Hour Energy

I’ve seen these little shot bottles of 5 Hour Energy at Whole Foods around the $3+ price range, and always was curious about them, but just didn’t want to shell out the bucks for a quickshot of something that I hadn’t really heard if it worked or not. This past weekend however, Walgreens had a special on a 6 pack for under $10 which for around $1.60 I could see giving them a week’s trial run. I’m thinking that I will take them a bit after lunch to help me get over that “oh my GOD I need a nap” time that usually hits around 3ish. Upon reading the ingredient list off the top of my head, here is what I’m most interested/cautious about:

1. Caffeine. I’m not sure about consuming caffeine after 2 pm, these days, caffeine doesn’t really ‘wake me up’ as much as it makes me jittery while still sleepy, if I am inclined to be sleepy. Does that make sense?

2. Niacin. This usually will initiate internal warmth, heat and help speed up the metabolism which is all good I suppose…but the downside of it is that you HAVE to balance it out with lots of water so that you won’t burn up/out. Also, Niacin has the tendency to make me sweat. I’m not sure how cute that is going to be, looking like I just got done with a zumba class in the middle of the day. Niacin also has a tendency to make blood rush to the skin’s surface, so depending on how much is in there, u may get red face for a little bit.

3. Taurine: a naturally occuring amino acid that typically acts as an antioxidant, protecting the body from toxic traces of lead (hi, important these days). It also aids in clearing out the liver, but here is the important part…whenever you mess with anything synthetic or naturally occuring, you need to really be aware of flushing out that compound from your body, along with the toxins that it is addressing. I’ve had experiences when I’m younger where I just took too many suppliments and ended up havent digestive/intestinal and even had my gall bladder removed due to not intaking enough water. So be sure to have your bottle nearby!

I’ll keep you posted on the the downlow.