Supplementation

March 5, 2011

5-Hour Energy Redux

About a year ago, I took the popular supplement, 5-Hour Energy, to task for making exaggerated advertising claims. In case you haven’t seen the ads, 5-Hour Energy is a liquid drink that promises to keep you alert and energetic for five hours without the dreaded “crash.” As I noted in the post, however, the product really doesn’t live up to the hype. The only ingredient listed on the label that has any efficacy as a pick-me-up is caffeine, and in this regard 5-Hour Energy is no better than a cup of brewed coffee.

Fast-forward to today. Consumer Reports, the consumer watchdog organization, recently did an expose on the product. Essentially, they came to the exact same conclusions as I did. The findings can be viewed on in an article on their website called Can 5-Hour Energy kick your afternoon slump?. Apparently the manufacturer wasn’t very cooperative with Consumer Reports (no surprise here), but they did provide a “study” that purportedly backs up their advertising claims. Unfortunately, the study was a self-funded research protocol that has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. That’s not a study, it’s a propaganda piece. After reviewing the product’s ingredients, Consumer Reports summed up their findings with the following statement: “5-Hour Energy will probably chase away grogginess at least as well as a cup of coffee.” Not a ringing endorsement, to say the least.

Bottom line: Be an educated consumer. 5-Hour Energy costs about three bucks a pop. That adds up to over $1000 a year if you have just one drink a day. There are better ways to spend your hard-earned money. If you want a jolt of caffeine, brew a cup of coffee; it’ll cost you about ten cents. Clearly a much better bargain!

Stay Fit!

Brad