We all know that the method of choice for most college kids to stay awake is caffeine but, caffeine can be found in healthier ways than others. There are also some alternate forms of energy that are more natural and won’t allow you to experience the “crash affect” afterwards. So I would like to share some of the better caffeine sources with our readers, hopefully our prospective students will benefit from this information too!

1. Best energy source- Vitamin B or Ginseng. Both are all natural compounds that we ingest anyway from most of the foods we eat everyday. There are some great natural energy drinks that are packed with both of these substances and they will power you for hours with no crash at the end.

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Some other benefits of green tea….

2. Green Tea- has both caffeine and antioxidants. The antioxidants are awesome as they slow the crash associated with caffeine. Another really good one to try is blueberry green tea or white tea from trader joes, they have twice the antioxidants as green tea by itself.

3. Coffee- don’t drink the cheap stuff, it is not only acidic but, has less caffeine than you think it does and can do some serious harm to your body. If you are buying coffee grounds get the real deal. It may be a few bucks more but, you are ensuring you get actual caffeine that won’t damage the lining of your stomach or intestines. The best grounds to get are those that still have oil from the coffee bean in them, the oil helps temper the acidity of the coffee and also holds alot of caffeine. Cheap coffee has virtually no oil and is full of additional chemicals that attempt to disguise the poor quality of the blend, if there is even real coffee beans in there at all. Most cheap blends are artificial, do not trust them!! My rule of thumb is that I only buy coffee that I can grind myself in the store, that way I see the beans that go into my coffee and I know that I am making a healthier choice.

4. Energy drinks- like monster, redbull, nos, and others. These are definitely not good for you, although they are enjoyable, the amount of sugar in each one far outweighs the amount of caffeine or taurine. Basically, the pump you up on sugar while saying that its the caffeine or taurine content making you energetic. NOT TRUE! In reality you are paying way to much for something that will give you diabetes in a few years. Additonally, the crash associated with each of these drinks is far worse than any other crash because the spike in your blood sugar suddenly declines leaving you with barely a trace of actual caffeine/taurine. Admittedly, I really like redbull however, I know the affect it can have on my body so I think twice before choosing to drink it.

Overall,  natural energy methods are the better way to go as they have fewer adverse affects on your body and give you a more even level of energy. One more fun fact is that brewing your own coffee is fast and cheaper in the long run. So if you have to pick the cheapest way then choose some beans and get brewing 🙂 Have a nice day everyone!!