Full Throttle, But Out of Gas
Written: Feb 15 '07 (Updated Feb 16 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Refreshing on a hot day. Somewhat of a sugar buzz.
Cons: Just didn't get me revved. Taste is OK, but not outstanding.
The Bottom Line: If you need to avoid sugar and/or salt, don't drink this. If you get an easy sugar high, it's not too bad.
|
|
|
| hularider's Full Review: Full Throttle Energy Drink |
I first came across this stuff while pacing the halls of a California hospital awaiting the birth of my second grandson. Part of my role was to hang with my first grandson. I needed some energy, fast.
As the hospital cafeteria was closed when I needed it, I went on search for all of the available vending machines. No Jolt or iced coffee was to be found. All of the machines were stocked with tall, slender, black cans decorated in the currently popular "tribal" style of art. Desperate for caffine, I fed in my change.
The results were disappointing. The can, a claimed two servings, but I and everyone I know drink the whole thing as one serving, contains 1210mg of taurine, 180mg of ginsing extract, 30mg of carnitine, 1.4mg of guarana (known in our family as "guano extract"), and an assortment of B vitamines - listed below.
It also contains caffeine, carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sucrose, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, acacia, glycerol ester of wood rosin (sounds like something I'd use on my violin bow) maltodextrin, niacinamide (vit. B3), yellow #5, pyridoxine, hydrochloride (vit. B6), cyanobalamin (vit. B12).
Despite all of that, I get more kick from a shot of black coffee. I guess an 40 year old caffine addiction needs a bigger boost. But, I couldn't get black coffee until the cafeteria opened, so I was stuck on Full Throttle.
I did manage to maintain a bit of a sugar rush from the 58 grams of fructose and/or sucrose I was unthinkingly guzzling.
With all the pacing I was doing, plus popping outside to run the grandson around, and then exercising to try and avoid traveler's butt, I figured I had to lose weight. Instead, my jeans were getting tighter, and tighter. Then I read the label. There are a whopping 220 calories in each can of that stuff! Between needing fluids to prevent the air conditioning from dehydrating me, and the attempts to stay awake, I was downing the caloric equivalent of one Big Mac every couple of hours!
You are also getting 170mg of sodium per can, which accounted for the edema I experienced - my boots and jewelry became painfully tight.
The taste was not bad, which accounts for my ability to drink so much. I've tried a few flavors now (but in much smaller quantities). The original one in the black can is my favorite.
Full Throttle Original
In the black can. Something like a low-fizz Mountain Dew. Not being a fan of fizz, that was nice. Less citrus than Mt Dew, it was still refreshing, and I still occasionally buy a can on hot days. But now I limit myself to one can per day, and give up other treats and consume no additional salt if I drink that.
Full Throttle Blue Demon
It is advertised as "Blue Agave Flavor." Having never eaten a blue agave, I wouldn't know. Though blue agave is what tequila is made from, the drink tastes nothing like tequila. To me, it tasted kind of like the penny bubble gum we used to buy after school when we were little. Nutritionally, it seems quite similar to the original, except that instead of yellow dye #5, it contains blue #1 and red #40. If you like drinking bubble gum, you'll love this. I don't.
There is also an kind of orange version which I tried once. I thought it was pretty nasty, so I didn't think to save the can for review. If I come across another, I'll spend the $1.95 and include it here.
Oh, the best thing about it was when I developed a nasty sticky chest cold, the original version makes a GREAT expectorant! I can see it being useful in keeping a child's fluids and calories up, and since sick people lose a lot of sodium and potassium, you'd be replacing some of the sodium along with fluids.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
hularider
|
|
Member: Leilehua Yuen
Location: Hilo, Hawaii, USA
Reviews written: 69
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
HulaRider is an author, artist, and educator who specializes in Hawaiian culture and arts.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.