and the science behind them

SCIENCE 10 FINAL

PROJECT

BY: BENJAMIN LAMONTAGNE

• What an energy drink is.• What is in an energy drink.• How the ingredients are created.• How energy drinks are created.• How an energy drink affects the human body.• How an energy drink causes these affects.• If energy drinks are “safe” or “dangerous”.• Other areas ingredients inside of an energy

drink can be found in today’s society.

Ephedrine - A stimulant that works on the central nervous system. It is a common ingredient in

weight-loss products and decongestants, but there have been concerns about its effects on the heart.Taurine - A natural amino acid produced by the body that helps regulate heart beat and muscle contractions. Many health experts aren't sure what effect it has as a drink additive (and the rumor that taurine comes from bull testicles is false).Ginseng - A root believed by some to have several medicinal properties, including reducing

stress and boosting energy levels.B-vitamins - A group of vitamins that can convert sugar to energy and improve muscle tone.Guarana seed - A stimulant that comes from a small shrub native to Venezuela and Brazil.Carnitine - An amino acid that plays a role in fatty acid metabolism.Creatine - An organic acid that helps supply energy for muscle contractions.Inositol - A member of the vitamin B complex (not a vitamin itself, because the human body

can synthesize it) that helps relay messages within cells in the body.Ginkgo biloba - Made from the seeds of the ginkgo biloba tree, thought to enhance memory.

This may or may not come as shocking, but almost every single energy

providing ingredient listed on the previous slide is made in some sort of lab.

The person creating the substances must very carefully and properly mix

different chemicals to produce a molecule structure asserted to the given

ingredient. The only ingredients that DO NOT require someone to modify and

produce a synthetic compound are Ginkgo biloba, Ginseng, and the Guarana

seed.

How Is An Energy Drink Created? Energy drinks are made firstly by adding in all of the ingredients with very little water to create what they call a “simple syrup base”. After it is left to cook and has had a fair amount of stirring to completely disperse all of the ingredients evenly they add the carbonated water to complete the mixture and you are left with the final product; an energy drink.

Video Showing Process

Energy drinks are stimulant filled behemoth's and affect your body by stimulating the central nervous system through a number of different mechanisms, the main one being dopamine activity. When this type of activity is stimulated after an energy drink is consumed, your body instantaneously gains wakefulness, alertness, awareness and even motivation. That’s a lot of things happening at once!

THE BIG QUESTION

So you are probably wondering at this point, “All of these chemicals and ingredients sound pretty darn crazy”. Well, it’s true that there are some big words in there but if you look on most labels these days you will see the exact same thing, which is actually quite scary since very few people actually know what they are consuming! Like all thing’s though, energy drinks can be used safely if done in moderation. The main thing people should watch day to day is their caffeine intake, it could affect their sleep patterns, heart rate, blood pressure, cause headaches, or even cause a woman to give birth to a smaller baby!

Are Energy Drinks Safe?