10.15.12
B vitamins are the largest segment of the U.S. dietary supplement industry after multivitamins and sports supplements, with sales of $1.46 billion in 2011, according to Nutrition Business Journal, Boulder, CO. Energy shots and drinks are packed with B vitamins, but what’s really in energy drinks like 5-hour Energy? A recent product review of B vitamin supplements and energy drinks from ConsumerLab.com, White Plains, NY, found that a single, small bottle of 5-hour Energy or Monster Energy M3 Concentrate contained twice the amount of caffeine found in a regular 8-oz. cup of coffee. In fact the firm found that out of 20 “B complexes” and single B vitamin supplements tested, five failed to list amounts of one or more vitamins accurately, containing far less (31% to 87%) and/or far more (182% to 265%) of what was expected.
“Many products don’t disclose how much caffeine they contain, but our tests show that a single small bottle of some of these drinks contains more caffeine than two full cups of coffee, said Tod Cooperman, MD, president of ConsumerLab.com.
“B complexes were more likely to fail testing than single B vitamin supplements,” the firm asserted while noting two of the three energy drinks also failed to contain their listed amounts of folic acid, one of the B vitamins.
“Many products don’t disclose how much caffeine they contain, but our tests show that a single small bottle of some of these drinks contains more caffeine than two full cups of coffee, said Tod Cooperman, MD, president of ConsumerLab.com.
“B complexes were more likely to fail testing than single B vitamin supplements,” the firm asserted while noting two of the three energy drinks also failed to contain their listed amounts of folic acid, one of the B vitamins.