Rockstar Light Vanilla Roasted

Hi there everyone! For my blog today I will be discussing a product which I like to drink and go into detail of where it comes from and what exactly it's made of to get a better look at what is really in the foods and drinks we consume. The product I will be talking about today is Rockstar Light Vanilla Roasted, one which I drink about once a week. I decided on this product because I was never a big energy drink consumer but do occasionally need that small boost about once a week.

So what exactly is in this flavor of Rockstar? I got the list of ingredients from the website, which lists : brewed espresso coffee, whole milk, sucrose, non-fat milk, taurine, natural flavors, salt, potassium phosphate, sodium phosphate, caffeine, mono and diglycerides, inositol, l-carnitine, milk thistle extract, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, ginko biloba leaf extract, caramel color, guarana seed extract, panax ginseng root extract, pyridoxine hrydrochloride, and cyanocobalamin. A few of the items are quite self-explanatory, such as the milk or brewed coffee, or even caffeine, but others are not quite so easy to understand. In order, sucrose is pretty much just an organic compound mostly known as table sugar. Then there is taurine, which was described as an amino acid which helps neurological development. potassium phosphate is the compound combing potassium and phosphoric acid. These work as a PH buffer to keep the acidity of the drink where it should be. Sodium phosphates can have many different purposes within foods or drinks and are studied quite well and are known to be safe. These can also be used as a PH buffer as well as just an essential nutrient in the drink for humans. Mono and diglycerides are pretty much found in animal fat and vegetable oil. It can be used to extend shelf life of foods and drinks. Inositol is a vitamin like substance which can be used for various reasons. It can be used as an antioxident, and also works well with b-vitamins. L-carnitine is an amino acid used as a building block for proteins, and helps convert food to energy. Milk-thisle extract is used for liver suport in energy drinks, because, as you may have noticed, there are a lot of vitamins and such which may be too much for the liver, so this helps to balance it out. Niacinamide is pretty much just a form of vitamin b3, and calcium pantothenate is just vitamin B5 which is pretty much used in the release of energy from carbohydrates. Acesulfame potassium and sucralose are sweeteners used mostly because they are calorie free. Ginko biloba leaf extract may have a few reasons for being in Rockstars, one being that it improves on blood flow and circulation. Guarana seed extract is used in energy drinks for its natural levels of caffeine. There wasn't much reason I could find for panax ginseng root extract to be in rockstar other than the fact that it lowers blood glucose levels, which could be good for those who drink energy drinks. Pyridoxine hydrochloride is vitamin B6, used for proper nerve function and metabolizing nutrients. Cyanocobalamin is a form of vitamin B12 used for a healthy nervous and immune system. Now there could be a lot more to write about for each of the ingredients, as well as both good and bad effects of each ingredient, so much more research would need to be done specifically if one would like to know more about it.

The company Rockstar energy drink is centrally located in Las Vegas, Nevada, but sells its products all over the world. I was unable to find exactly where the energy drink was made, so my assumption would be they make it at Las Vegas. It was manufactured by the company, which benefits from all the money made. As far as environmental impacts, it is packaged in 16 oz. cans which usually go out to grocery stores and other stores in 24 pack cases. Aside from shipping and being packaged, I'm unable to find any other way it might impact the environment. The company, much like its competitor Redbull, hosts many concerts and events which can impact the environment, such as motocross races which can damage a property and release fumes into the air. The drink itself, in my opinion, is tasty, and can be both healthy and unhealthy depending on how you see it. As stated above when the ingredients and what the use of them was for, they could go either way. Some of the ingredients can only be taken in small doses. For example, panax ginseng root extract can cause bleeding of the nose or estrogen like effects, including tenderness of the breasts or male erectile dysfunction in certain cases. So, although I don't think it's healthy, so long as I'm not drinking them all the time for the rest of my life, I won't mind having one every once in a while.

So there it is, just a bit more info and look into a product which I decided to write about. Most of the information I was able to gather was from Rockstars website (Rockstar69.com), or from livestrong.com.