Diet Energy Drinks

Sugar-free and all-natural energy drinks

Sugar-free energy drinks are a growing part of the energy-drink market, with many drink companies introducing sugar-free or zero-carb versions of their energy drinks to cut down on calories. Rockstar Zero Carb (*Est. $2 for 16 ounces) is well reviewed by the specialized energy drink websites. Jason Hargett at ScreamingEnergy.com says that as of the time of his review, "this may be the best overall single energy drink on the market." He also admits that he doesn't love the taste, but he thinks it's far better than others in its class. The Taurine Rules blog says, "this is the go to, easy to find, sugar free, no carbs energy drink." Rockstar Zero Carb has no sugars, but it does have 240 mg of caffeine, 50 percent more than the original Rockstar formula. An added-energy blend has 2,000 mg of taurine per can, plus green tea.

Go Girl energy drinks are well regarded by several sites. ScreamingEnergy.com awards Go Girl Glo (*Est. $1.70 for 12 ounces) the title of Best Women's Energy Drink in 2008. This formula contains aloe and Vitamin E, CoQ10, B vitamins, and even a mild herbal appetite suppressant. ScreamingEnergy.com rates it highly for both taste and effectiveness. It contains only 35 calories and is light on caffeine (75 mg).

On his energy drink blog, Dan Mayer places Go Girl Sugar Free (*Est. $1.70 for a 12-ounce can) at the very top of the list. This energy drink has no sugar, but does contain taurine and B vitamins. While not sugar free, Go Girl Glo (*Est. $1.70 for 12 ounces) has only 8 grams of sugar, giving it only 35 calories, and it is light on caffeine (75 mg). ScreamingEnergy.com awards it the title of Best Women's Energy Drink in 2008. A portion of all Go Girl proceeds go toward breast-cancer research. Go Girl Sugar Free is mainly distributed in California at this time, and may be hard to find in other parts of the U.S. It is, however, available for purchase online.

In the last year or two, a number of all-natural energy drinks have come onto the marketplace. The Taurine Rules blog profiles over a hundred such drinks. Most of these drinks are juices first and foremost, with a few all-natural forms of caffeine thrown in. They are lower in calories than most energy drinks, but aren't as diet-friendly as sugar-free varieties. Kaboom Infinite Energy Tropicool (*Est. $2.50 for an 8-ounce can) is, according to the Taurine Rules blog, the best-tasting organic energy juice and the second best for "boosting power."

Although Guru 100% Natural energy drinks contain no taurine, the Taurine Rules blog has good things to say about them and "would highly recommend them to the all-natural crowd." This organic energy drink contains a blend of fruit juices and sparkling water with an herbal proprietary blend of guarana, echinacea, panax ginseng and ginkgo biloba, as well as a little salt. The reviewers at ScreamingEnergy.com give the Original Guru (*Est. $2 for 12 ounces) a middling score for taste (Jason Hargett compares it to Theraflu) but an eight out of 10 for kick. They award Guru Lemonade Full On (*Est. $2 for 12 ounces) a perfect score for taste. The Taurine Rules blog says Guru Lemonade Full On is the best energy lemonade they've reviewed to date. Guru energy drinks come in six flavors: Original, Full On Lemonade, Iced Tea Green Tea Honey Lemon, Juicy Superfruit, Juicy Tangerine, and a Lite version of the original flavor. Most flavors have about 150 calories per can.

The thing that separates Guru Lite (*Est. $2 for a 12-ounce can) from other sugar-free energy drinks is that it doesn't contain artificial sweeteners. Rather, it contains several all natural sweeteners -- cane and luo han guo juice concentrates along with stevia -- in place of sugar or artificial sweeteners. The Taurine Rules blog also notes that Guru Lite does not contain sodium benzoate, a preservative found in almost all energy drinks and sodas. Guru Lite has 15 calories per can and three grams of carbs. Bloggers seem to like Guru Lite for its natural ingredients and energy boost, but their opinions are mixed on its taste. The Taurine Rules blog notices a licorice taste and says "I don't think the flavor is great, but...; you kind of get used to it." At Amazon.com nearly 25 customers give Guru Lite very high ratings, although a few mention that they don't like the taste.

Guru Superfruit (*Est. $2 for 12 ounces) receives an A+ for taste at EdJunkie.com, but a B for kick. This all-natural drink is still high in calories, however; it contains 180 calories, 43.5 grams of sugar and approximately 145 mg of caffeine per 12-ounce can. The Taurine Rules blog places Guru Superfruit in its top 20 for best tasting, saying, "I honestly couldn't stop drinking it and opened a second can just to have more." Big Red Boots at Examiner.com gives it a 10 out of 10 for taste and a nine out of 10 for buzz. All three reviewers enjoy the mental and physical boost from this energy drink that is described as "strong, but not overpowering." Guru Superfruit contains juices from white grapes, pomegranate, black current, yumberry and acai.

What about acai?

PepsiCo-owned Naked Juice All Natural Energy 100% Juice Fruit Smoothies (*est. $2.50 for a 15.2-ounce bottle) comes in about two dozen flavors, one of which is Acai Machine. Acai is all the rage right now and seems to be an ingredient in just about everything. The acai berry, found in the Brazilian rain forest, is touted as a superfood that can detoxify, prolong life, remove wrinkles and cause weight loss. However, according to Stephen T. Talcott, an associate professor at Texas A&M University, there is not yet any scientific research to support the weight loss claim. There is also little evidence to back up the other claims. Acai does contain antioxidants, which are known to be beneficial.

Another energy drink containing acai is 180 Blue (*est. $1.20 for 8.2 ounces) from Anheuser-Busch. 180 Blue receives low to middling reviews from energy-drink blog sites. Jason Hargett at ScreamingEnergy.com says it doesn't taste great, nor is it "very energizing." The "Energy Guru" at Taurine Rules likes the taste, which he compares to a rich blueberry juice, but he didn't get much of a kick. He notes that there isn't much in the ingredients to provide a boost and suggests that Anheuser-Busch add taurine.

One of the lowest-rated energy drinks at ScreamingEnergy.com contains acai. Full Throttle Nature is One Bad Mother (*est. $2.00 for 16 ounces) not only has an interesting name but also scores a mere 1.5 on a scale of 10 for taste, energy and value. Jason Hargett says this energy drink tastes "earthy, and not in a good way, more like you pulled a raw potato out of the ground, and started eating it, dirt and all."