Part of the reason for this ‘health kick’ is the constant scrutiny these particular beverages are under. Over the past few months, new research has surfaced suggesting a link between drinks with a high taurine content and increased heart contraction rates. The study in question was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) by Jonas Dörner MD, a member of the cardiovascular imaging section at the University of Bonn, Germany.
In response to Dörner’s study, independent medical consultants from Monster Beverage Corporation issued a swift and convincing retort that branded the radiologist’s research as ‘alarmist and misleading’. The energy drink giant listed the health benefits of the ingredient and highlighted its usefulness for consumers.
Another interesting development in the energy drink field came from Saudi Arabia, which recently banned the sale of energy drinks at health and education facilities, and outlawed all forms of energy drink advertising. This latest ban follows several other types of energy drink restriction in a variety of countries over the years; for example, the 2013 under-16 ban on purchasing energy drinks in UK Morrisons supermarket stores and France’s infamous 12-year Red Bull ban, subsequently lifted.
The fight for and against taurine isn’t a topic I’d like to definitively answer in this blog. Some people swear by its positive traits, while others are less keen. It’s likely that many more moons will pass before someone comes up with a clear piece of evidence tipping the scales in either direction.
What I am proposing is that the truth of taurine’s healthy or detrimental effects don’t really matter any more. Negative energy drink press inevitably leaks into the mainstream media and ends up damaging a brand’s reputation.
I believe that less-than-favourable attention on classic energy drink ingredients such as taurine have led brands of this nature to release less controversial, taurine-free energy drink alternatives. A few examples can be seen by:
… all of which are taurine free.
Energy drink giants Red Bull and Monster Energy don’t seem to have adopted the taurine-free stance of the aforementioned companies just yet, but the brands have released more health-conscious beverages in recent years. Red Bull’s Sugar Free and Zero Calories variants can attest to this, as can Monster Energy’s Absolutely Zero beverage, which is free from sugar and contains no calories.
If this recent health-conscious stance of the energy drink giants is anything to go by, perhaps we’ll be seeing some taurine-free products in the not too distant future.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024