Efusjon.com
Efusjon has a series of energy drinks that carry ingredients that are rich in antioxidants, natural compounds found in foods that fight diseases and cancer. B vitamins are also included which are essential for the nervous system, helpful for digestion, healthy skin, eyes, hair, liver, muscle and brain function. B vitamins are also good for stress and mood, and are essential for the release of energy from carbohydrate foods.
While reading the list of ingredients, several were unfamiliar to me so I looked them up. I’ve listed the description and source…
When it comes to any kind of manufactured drink, the first ingredient I look at is sweetener. High Fructose Corn Syrup is not as harmless as many claim it to be
“it’s molecular structure differs from sucrose and some say that’s critical in its effect on the human body. Critics suggest there’s a link between the increased use of high fructose corn syrup and a growing North American diabetes and obesity epidemic.”
According to:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/11/19/f-fructosecornsyrup.html
Manufacturers have changed high fructose corn syrup due to the “bad rap” it has gotten in the past and have come up with Crystallized Fructose in order to continue selling a product with an ingredient that not only extends the shelf life of the product, is less expensive than cane sugar and can now claim it has fewer calories.
In Efusjon, the sweetener is:
Crystalline Fructose – Made from corn starch, not fruit juice or sucrose/sugar. Like High Fructose Corn Syrup, only the fructose is crystallized making the sweetener many times sweeter than all other sweeteners. While the negative effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup are widely known, such as diabetes in children, concentrating the sweetener will only increase the negative effects on the body. Only now it gets a new name and people won’t know what they are actually consuming.
Not enough research has been done to actually know what total effect Crystalline Fructose has on humans, as yet.
www.sugar.org.consumers/sweet_by_nature.asp?id=277
Mangosteen Juice – Is a tropical fruit of S.E. Asia, not related to Mangos at all. It is rich in antioxidants and contains xanthones which appear to have anti inflammatory effects. www.mayoclinic.com/health/mangosteen/an01197
Panthotenic Acid – Also known as Vitamin B5, which is essential to all forms of life. It is found in coenzyme A (CoA), vital in numerous chemical reactions. http://lip.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/pa/
Inositol – Classified as B 8, mostly used for depression and panic disorders. http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=e0498803-7f62-4563-8d47-5fe33da65dd4&chunkiid=21766
D-Ribose – Considered a natural body energy that is not found in food and takes the body thru a long process to produce. http://www.endfatigue.com/health_articles_d-e/D-ribose-powerful_body_energizer.html The following website indicated cell death, using D-Ribose, but to what extent, still not known. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2121/10/10
Acai Juice - Also contains antioxidants with improved well being, which gives twice the amount than blueberries and ten times the amount of grapes. Levels of anthocyamins in Acai Juice are 10 to 30 times more than wine. www.acaiberryinfo.org.
Chokeberry – Carries antioxidant properties. They are of the Rosaceae family. www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genious.pl?13463
Anthocyanins - Versatile flavanoid pigments found in red/purplish fruits and veggies, antioxidants. www.madsci.org/faQ/anthocyanins.html
Quercetin – Is most abundant in flavanoids, which are compounds found in fruits, vegetables, and certain beverages that have diverse beneficial biochemical and antioxidant effects. It is a building block for other flavanoids; it attaches to the sugar molecules. Only small amounts get absorbed thru the blood. It has many beneficial health effects. www.photochemicals.info/photochemicals/quercetin.php
Overall the product Efusjon appears to have good intentions. I would buy it if only the sweetener was from fruit juice or cane sugar, not High Fructose Corn Syrup ( hfcs) or Crystallized Fructose. D-Ribose doesn’t set well with me either. It is unsettling when our food and drink industry gets turned over to chemists.
