Are Kill Cliff Energy Drinks Healthy?

If you watch action sports or go to any convenience store, then it is hard to miss the omnipresence of energy drinks. Whether you want to emulate your favorite athlete, or just want to get an energy boost, there's no doubt that energy drinks are a popular choice of beverage. In fact, the energy drink market is currently valued at nearly $92 billion dollars (per Grand View Research).

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, energy drinks contain ingredients like caffeine — a standard 16-ounce drink may have anywhere from 70 to 240 milligrams of caffeine — in addition to other ingredients like B vitamins, carnitine, ginseng, guarana, sugar, and taurine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that some of these ingredients — like caffeine, carnitine, guarana, and taurine — may boost your alertness, but they also can increase your blood pressure and heartbeat. Notably, energy drinks are not regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. As a result, the exact amounts of each ingredient are not required to be explicitly stated.

With all of this in mind, you might wonder if energy drinks like Kill Cliff are healthy. Here's everything you need to know about Kill Cliff energy drinks.

Kill Cliff energy drinks contain a variety of ingredients like B vitamins, caffeine, erythritol, and stevia (via Kill Cliff). 

While Kill Cliff claims its B-vitamin content "contributes to energy metabolism," experts say the B vitamins in energy drinks won't give you an energy boost (via Men's Health). Instead, the energy boost comes from caffeine and sugar. 

Kill Cliff's highest-rated drink — Energize x Recover Tasty Blood Orange — contains 25 milligrams of caffeine, which is extracted from green tea leaves. According to Kill Cliff, because the caffeine is extracted from green tea, it results in less of the jitteriness that can stem from caffeine use. Notably, Healthline says that caffeine can come from both natural — like some teas and coffee — and artificial sources. While natural caffeine may be touted as a healthier alternative, both artificial and natural caffeine have comparable effects on the body. Regarding the amount of caffeine in its drinks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration notes that up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day has not been associated with any negative effects. The amount of caffeine in our cited example is well within this range.

Kill Cliff's energy drinks are sugar free, however. Instead, they contain erythritol (a sugar alcohol) and stevia (a natural sweetener), reports Healthline. Both sweeteners have fewer calories and carbs than sugar — plus they do not impact blood glucose. While both do not typically cause any side effects, larger amounts can cause bloating and gas.