Whenever exercising, driving, staying up late, and working overtime, many people will choose to drink functional drinks with anti-fatigue and other effects as selling points to wake up and refresh their minds and replenish their energy.
However, there are many functional beverage brands and the advertising words are the same, which one is more effective and healthier to drink? This is a particular concern for consumers.
In October 2020, Consumer Report sent 12 mainstream functional drinks on the market to an authoritative third-party testing agency to select the best of you.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > detection metrics</h1>
Taurine, total sugar, taste, odor, preservatives (sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate), artificial colors (lemon yellow and temptation red), sweeteners (acesulfame potassium and sucralose)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="155" > test results</h1>
1, 12 drinks refreshing ingredient taurine content difference is large, from 40mg / 100mL ~ 1000mg / 100mL range, of which, warhorse and daily full are 40mg / 100mL, force health care up to 1000mg / 100mL.
2. From the perspective of the total sugar content of each bottle, Dongpeng, Red Bull, Youzhen, Lehu, Zhongwo, etc. have reached more than 30g/bottle, and drinking a bottle will exceed the reasonable "control line" of 25g per day recommended by the dietary guidelines.
3. In addition, the sugar content of Zhongwo reaches 66.6g/bottle, and consumers drink one bottle a day, and the intake of sugar will exceed the maximum daily limit (50g) recommended by the dietary guidelines.
4. In terms of subjective evaluation, Dongpeng's taste and smell are good, with a comprehensive score of 8.1, which is the most popular one among volunteers; the taste and smell of Li Health Care and Black Kr are evaluated as "relatively strange", and the comprehensive score is lower, only 3.7 and 4.3, respectively.
5. Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate were detected at the same time by the claw; 7 models such as Leopard Power and Lehu added artificial pigments; 5 models such as black krypton and Youzhen contained sweeteners. Although the detected quantities met the standards, in view of the fact that the purpose of drinking functional beverages is to replenish energy and fight fatigue, this journal recommends that consumers try to choose beverages with little or no food additives.
6. The comprehensive evaluation results show that the CCR score of the daily full vitamin energy drink reaches 7.9, which is better; the three CCR scores of Zhongwo Physique Energy Vitamin Drink, Youzhen Taurine Vitamin Enhanced Flavor Drink and Devil Claw Energy Flavor Drink ranked low, 6.1, 6.5 and 6.7 respectively.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="156" > anti-fatigue ingredients are up to 25 times different</h1>
At present, there are many anti-fatigue food additives, one of the more common ingredients is taurine. Taurine, also known as taurine, is an essential non-protein amino acid that requires about 70% of taurine in the human body to be ingested from food.
It is understood that the exercise process will produce a large number of free radicals, free radicals will attack various tissues leading to physical fatigue, taurine has a good impact on the metabolism of free radicals in the human body, thus showing the effect of anti-exercise fatigue.
The GB14880-2012 Standard for the Use of Food Nutrition Enhancers stipulates that the amount of taurine added to functional beverages is ≤60mg/100g (mL), but health food beverages are not subject to this restriction.
The test results showed that the taurine content of 12 functional drinks was between 40mg/mL and 1000mg/mL, of which the warhorse and the daily recharge were 40mg/100mL, and the force health care was as high as 1000mg/100mL, and the gap between them was as high as 25 times.
It is worth noting that because Li Health care is a health food, its taurine content is higher than the provisions of the "GB14880-2012 Food Nutrition Enhancer Use Standard", which is a normal situation.
Taking Li Health as an example, the ingestible taurine per bottle (150mL) is 1500mg, is there a risk of overdose for consumers?
Medical data show that for adults, the maximum daily intake limit of taurine is 6000 mg (6g), so each bottle (can) of the 12 functional drinks tested this time provides taurine within the safe range.
"To date, there have been no adverse reactions due to taking or overdosing taurine, but anyone with an allergic reaction to taurine is advised not to take it so as not to cause discomfort." Some experts said.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="157" > Zhongwo and other 7 total sugars exceed the dietary "control line"</h1>
"Functional drinks add sugar, in addition to providing energy, there is also a taste problem, in order to reconcile the mouth, a certain amount of sugar will be used." Some food experts said.
However, in addition to overweight and obesity, excessive sugar intake may also increase the risk of chronic diseases such as dental caries, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Referring to the definition of "high-sugar food" by the Centre for Food Safety in Hong Kong, China, the sugar content of more than 15g per 100g (mL) of food is called "high sugar".
According to the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2013 Edition), the intake of added sugars should be controlled, and the intake should not exceed 50g per day, preferably below about 25g.
The test found that the total sugar content of 12 functional drinks was 0g/100mL~15.2g/100mL, of which the total sugar content of aliens, black krypton, nichigaman, devil's claw, youzhen and so on was below 10g/100mL, and the total sugar content of aliens was 0g/100mL (not detected).
It is worth noting that the total sugar content of Li Health Care is as high as 15.2g/100mL, which is the highest of all functional beverages, and it also meets the standard of "high-sugar food".
However, because consumers basically eat a bottle as a standard, the sugars that can be ingested in the 12 functional drinks are different.
The total sugar available in the 12 functional drinks is 12.7g/bottle~66.6g/bottle, of which 5 models such as Dongpeng, Red Bull, Youzhen, Lehu and Zhongwo reach more than 30g/bottle, and drinking one bottle will exceed the reasonable "control line" of 25g per day.
In addition, the sugar content of Zhongwo reaches 66.6g/bottle, and drinking one bottle will exceed the maximum daily limit (50g) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2013 Edition).
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="158" > health care taste "unpopular"</h1>
The taste of functional drinks is mainly adjusted by adding sugar and sweeteners to cover up the bitter taste of B vitamins and the like; the purpose of adding flavor is to modulate a soft odor and avoid irritation.
Among the 12 functional drinks sent for inspection this time, all of them are nominally added with taste adjusters such as sugar and flavor. In order to evaluate their tastes, the journal invited 10 volunteers to conduct a subjective blind evaluation experiment.
The evaluation dimensions of the subjective blind evaluation experiment mainly include two indicators of taste and smell, the single full score is 5 points, and the total score of the two indicators is the comprehensive score of the sample, with a full score of 10 points.
The experimental results showed that Dongpeng's taste and smell were good, 4.0 and 4.1 respectively, and the comprehensive score reached 8.1, which belonged to the level of "very favorite" and was the most popular one among volunteers.
Some volunteers commented that Dongpeng has a faint fruity aroma and Jianlibao flavor, and the taste is slightly sweeter, but the overall sour and sweet feeling is still more coordinated.
The taste and odor scores of Rigaman, Red Bull, Youzhen, Warhorse, Leopard Power, Zhongwo and Yuanqi Forest were all above 3.0, and the comprehensive scores were 7.8, 7.2, 7.1, 6.8, 6.7, 6.4 and 6.3, respectively, all of which belonged to the "preferred" level.
Lehu, Devil Claw and Black Krypton all had average taste and odor performance, with a combined score of 5.7, 5.3 and 4.3 respectively, which belonged to the "general like" level.
Some volunteers think that Lehu has a flavor flavor and a sweet taste; the taste of magic claw medicine is very pungent, not very real, and the entrance is sour; black krypton has a wind oil essence, which is more pungent, and the entrance has a ginseng flavor and a bitter aftertaste.
The taste and odor scores of Li Health care are only 1.6 and 2.1, respectively, and the comprehensive score is only 3.7, which belongs to the level of "not very liked". Most of the volunteers complained about the strong smell of the potion, the taste was sour and bitter, and it was difficult to say a word.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="159" > 2 kinds of preservatives were detected</h1>
The "GB2760-2014 Standard for the Use of Food Additives" stipulates that the use limits of sodium benzoate in special-purpose beverages and flavored beverages are ≤0.2g/kg and ≤1.0g/kg, respectively; the use limit of potassium sorbate in special-purpose beverages and flavored beverages is 0.5g/kg.
The test results found that 9 models such as aliens, warhorses, Zhongwo, Youzhen, Red Bull, Devil's Claw, Li Health Care, Dongpeng and Black Krypton were detected with a content of 0.09g/kg~0.3g/kg, of which both sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate were detected by the magic claw.
From the perspective of the amount and type of preservatives added, the detection results of the above 9 functional drinks are in line with the provisions of the "GB2760-2014 Food Additive Use Standard".
However, there is some controversy about the safety of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. It is understood that the biological toxicity of sodium benzoate is greater than that of potassium sorbate, so sodium benzoate cannot be used in more stringent green food standards.
The test found that warhorse, Red Bull, Dongpeng and Black Kr added sodium benzoate, Zhongwo, Youzhen and Li Health Added potassium sorbate, and the claws added both sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="160" > 7 models of artificial pigments were detected, such as Lehu and Leopard</h1>
According to public information, synthetic pigments refer to organic pigments prepared by artificial chemical synthesis methods, mainly made of aniline isolated from coal tar.
From the industry information and functional beverage ingredients, lemon yellow and temptation red these two artificial pigments are very common, however, their addition can not play a role in increasing food nutrition, therefore, the lower the content, the better.
The "GB2760-2014 Standard for the Use of Food Additives" stipulates that the use limits of lemon yellow and temptation red in special purpose beverages and flavored beverages are ≤ 0.1g/kg.
The test results show that 7 models of warhorse, Zhongwo, Lehu, Youzhen, Red Bull, Leopard Power, Devil Claw, etc. were detected with artificial pigment lemon yellow, with a content of 0.0091g/kg~0.025g/kg, which is in line with the provisions of "GB2760-2014 Food Additive Use Standards".
However, 5 models, such as War Horse, Zhongwo, Lehu, Youzhen and Leopard Power, have nominally added lure red pigment to the ingredient list but have not been detected.
The technician in charge of the test said that it may be because the amount of lure red added in these drinks is relatively small, below the detection limits of methods and instruments, so the above situation occurs.
It is worth noting that the above artificial colors are not added to the 5 functional drinks such as Li Health Care, Rigaman, Dongpeng, Black Krypton and Alien.
This journal believes that although the addition of artificial colors can make the appearance of beverages look more vivid and attractive, from the perspective of health and nutrition, the addition of artificial colors does not seem to be necessary, and it is recommended that consumers can choose beverages with no added or less added colors.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="161" > 5 types of sweeteners were detected, including claws and full days</h1>
In foods such as beverages, the most commonly used artificial sweeteners are mainly acesulfame potassium and sucralose, which are widely added because of their high sweetness, no calories and no caries.
However, consuming too many sweeteners still carries health risks. "If you eat too much sweetener for a long time and in large quantities, it will bring certain liver and nervous system harm to the body." Some experts have told this journal.
The GB2760-2014 Standard for the Use of Food Additives stipulates that the use limits of acesulfame and sucralose in functional beverages are ≤0.3g/kg and ≤0.25g/kg, respectively.
The test results showed that acesulfame potassium was detected in 2 models such as Zhongwo and Youzhen, with a content of 0.028g/kg and 0.12g/kg, respectively, and sucralose was detected in three models, such as Claw, Nichigan, and Black Krypton, with a content of 0.0531g/kg~0.137g/kg.
From the above detection results, the addition of acesulfame potassium or sucralose in the five functional drinks complies with the provisions of the "GB2760-2014 Food Additive Use Standard".
However, some nutrition researchers believe that sweeteners are actually fooling our brains and digestive systems. Its sweetness makes the human body feel that it has eaten foods containing sugar, but the blood sugar has not risen but has declined, and the human body will feel that there is insufficient sugar, thereby reflexively enhancing the appetite, and the final result may be to promote the occurrence of obesity.
In 2019, a report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) suggested that people who regularly use artificial sweeteners also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by about the same magnitude as those who drink sweet drinks directly.
【Special Notice】: The test results and mentioned brands in this report are only responsible for the test samples and do not represent the quality status of the same batch or other models of products.