Are Alani Nu Drinks Really Healthy For You? Here’s What Dietitians Have To Say.

Are Alani Nu Drinks Really Healthy For You?

Here’s What Dietitians Have To Say.

Just a few years ago, nobody heard of the brand Alani Nu. Today, it’s one of the most popular energy drinks for health-conscious consumers and fitness enthusiasts. The brand recently gained worldwide popularity on Instagram and TikTok, partly due to its association with Kim Kardashian (and an unfounded rumor that a user found a dead rat in a can). But how did it become so popular? One key reason for its success is that the drink offers a strong boost of energy while being healthier than traditional energy drinks like Red Bull or Monster. Using natural ingredients such as L-theanine, Panax Ginseng, and Guarana, no sugar, and no preservatives, Alani Nu positions itself as a clean option in the world of energy drinks.

But is Alani Nu really that healthy? Or is it just a pretty marketing facade to sell more of their products? According to dietitians, this drink is not as healthy as you think… Aside from containing a worrying amount of caffeine, it’s packed with several ingredients that should NOT be mixed together, as we’ll discuss in this article. These ingredients are fine to consume in isolation, but when put together, they may wreak havoc on your health, destroying your gut health and endangering your cardiac health. The artificial sweeteners used in Alani Nu can also be a source of concern for those who are looking for a truly healthier option.

In this article, we tell you about the pros and cons of drinking Alani Nu, and what you can really expect from this drink from a health perspective. At the end of this article, we present an expertly curated selection of three healthier energy drinks, which all have a better nutritional profile than Alani according to top health specialists.

Alani Nu: The Good

First, let’s talk about what Alani Nu is doing well. The brand presents itself as a healthier option to other energy drinks, and if we take a look at the ingredient composition, we can tell that there is some truth to it:

The drink is low in calories. Each can of Alani Nu contains about 10 calories, which is definitely on the low end compared to other energy drinks (one can of Monster has 42 calories for example). This low number of calories allows you to consume this drink without worrying about unwanted weight gain.
The drink is a rich source of vitamins. Alani Nu drinks are enriched with essential vitamins B6 and B12, which are critical to helping your body produce energy. These vitamins help convert food into energy and support cognitive health.

No sugar or aspartame. The drink is free of sugar, which makes Alani Nu a much healthier option than Rockstar for example, containing up to 16 teaspoons of sugar per can, much higher than the daily recommended intake. It’s also free of aspartame, a common artificial sweetener that has been linked to gut inflammation and certain types of cardiovascular diseases. (That said, as we’ll see, Alani Nu uses other artificial sweeteners which may not be completely healthy.)
Uses natural ingredients to boost energy. The drink includes caffeine sourced from natural sources (green tea and guarana seeds), delivering a smoother energy boost compared to synthetic caffeine. It’s also infused with L-Theanine, a common amino acid found in tea leaves, which may promote relaxation and focus.

For these reasons, Alani Nu drinks can be seen as a relatively healthier alternative to a classic can of Monster or Rockstar. They can give you a boost, without polluting your body with the artificial substances you can find in old-gen energy drinks. Due to these preliminary benefits, it’s not hard to understand why the drink is so popular.

That being said, if we look more carefully at the composition of this drink, we do have a few reasons to be worried about its long-term impact on our health…

The dietitian’s take: Why Alani Nu may not be as healthy as you think

Let’s take a brief look at Alani Nu main ingredients (non-exhaustive list):

Taurine
Erythritol
Caffeine
L-Theanine
Sucralose
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
L-Carnitine Tartrate
Acesulfame Potassium
Niacinamide (Vitamin B-3),
Glucuronolactone
Guarana Seed Extract
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6)
Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B-12)

According to dieticians, there are several things in this list of ingredients that may pose a serious problems to our health if we consume too much Alani Nu.

Taurine, a key active ingredient in Alani Nu, may pose cardiovascular risks to adolescents when combined with caffeine. A 2017 clinical review suggests that the combination of taurine and caffeine can be dangerous for our brain and body:

“Cardiac effects are exacerbated when taurine and caffeine are ingested together which can be a concern, given that caffeine alone can increase blood pressure and heart rate”

The other problematic ingredient is “glucuronolactone”, another stimulatory ingredient that could allegedly improve attention.

However, studies have shown that when combined with caffeine and taurine, glucuronolactone can cause negative changes to blood pressure and insulin sensitivity.

Even more concerning, studies suggest that drinking glucoronolactone with taurine and caffeine altogether can lead to significant behavioral changes, anxiety, stress and even depression in some individuals.

“The combined effects of taurine, caffeine, and glucoronolactone are truly concerning. These ingredients have been found to overstimulate the heart and nervous systems, causing increased cardiac and neurological stress. The synergistic effects of these ingredients can cause several symptoms that can negatively affect your long-term health,”

explains Dr. Josh Kinzel

nutritionist

Another concern about glucoronolactone is that its safety has only be evaluated in a very limited number of animal studies, which means that nobody knows the long-term consequences of this ingredient on your health…

In other words, the combined effect of caffeine, taurine and glucuronolactone may be detrimental to your cardiovascular health. Something to keep in mind before consuming Alani Nu drinks.

A lot is said about Alani Nu alleged health benefits, but not enough is said about the very high amount of caffeine present in the Alani Nu beverage. With 200 mg per 12oz can, Alani Nu contains more than two times as much caffeine as a classic Red Bull – which is already high in caffeine!

Drinking Alani Nu is especially worrying for people who already drink coffee during the day, as it is very likely they will exceed the recommended daily limit of 400mg of caffeine.

By drinking Alani Nu, you may encounter health issues associated with excess caffeine, such as:

Headaches and migraines
Anxiety
Insomnia
Irregular heartbeat
Increase in blood pressure

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a statement saying that heart complications can occur from drinking highly caffeine drinks such as Alani Nu. There have been several cases of atrial fibrillation and heart disturbances linked to the consumption of Alani Nu.

Alani Nu contains two of some of the worst artificial sweeteners on the market: erythritol and acesulfame-K (ace-K).

Erythritol is a powerful artificial sweetener that is used to replicate the sweetness of sugar. According to a recent study published in Nature Medicine, erythritol may pose a risk to your cardiovascular risk.

In the study, researchers asked more than 1,000 people to drink a beverage sweetened with erythritol. Patients saw a 1,000-fold increase in blood erythritol levels, which remained substantially elevated for several days.

Researchers concluded that this artificial sweetener could cause a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke

“If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. It’s on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes,” Dr. Stanley Hazen, Physician Scientist at Cleveland Clinic.

“This certainly sounds like an alarm,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health.

If you worry about your long-term cardiovascular health, you may want to stay away from any drinks containing erythritol, such as Alani Nu.

If erythritol wasn’t bad enough, the drink also includes acesulfame-K (ace-K), a chemical compound 200 times sweeter than table sugar, which comes with unhealthy long-term side effects, as found in multiple recent clinical studies.

According to clinical research, ace-k:

May increase risk of obesity and gut chronic inflammation
May worse diabetes
May increase the risk of cognitive dysfunction in the long-term, due to altering neuro-metabolic activity

In light of this, many nutritionists recommend to avoid consuming drinks such as Alani Nu, which are not as “healthy” as they claim to be if you look at their ingredient composition in detail…

Key criteria to choose a healthy energy drink:

To help you choose an energy drink that is genuinely good for you (both effective and healthy), we prepared a list of key “green flags” – following the latest recommendations from leading nutritionists.

Must be sugar-free or low on sugar. Natural sugar from real fruits is healthier than added sugar. Note that a drink with 5 grams of natural sugar is better than a sugar-free drink full of artificial sweeteners.
No aspartame, ace-K, or erythritol. These artificial sweeteners can damage gut health and cause long-term health issues.
Provides a sustained boost of energy, without crashes. The best energy drinks can give you a strong boost of energy for several hours, without causing jitters or crashes. This can be achieved with moderate amounts of natural caffeine and other plant-based energy boosters such as panax ginseng or ginger root extract.
No taurine or glucuronolactone. These substances have been found to increase the risk of cardiovascular problems if combined with caffeine. It’s better to stay away from these substances if you can.
Moderate to low amounts of caffeine. Too much caffeine can create jitters and abrupt energy crashes. Anything between 50 and 100 grams is more than enough to give you a perceptible boost of energy, without causing unpleasant crashes. Ideally, the caffeine should come from natural sources (e.g., green coffee beans, black tea leaves)
Rich in vitamins and antioxidants. Vitamins can not only improve your energy levels, but also boost your metabolism and immune system.

3 Healthier Alternatives To Alani Nu Energy Drinks

To help you find an energy drink that is just as effective as Alani Nu to give you an energy boost, but better for your health, our team of health specialists compiled a list of top 3 healthier alternatives to Alani Nu

This list was carefully curated in partnership with certified nutritionists, and takes several factors into consideration, including: ingredients quality, health impact, taste, value for money, and verified customer reviews.

Final Grade

9.5 /10

Detox strength

9.5/10

Taste

9.7/10

Value for Money

9.0/10

Ingredient Quality

9.5/10

Scientific Evidence

9.2/10

PROS:

CONS:

Alpine Bliss is a premium, fast-growing Swiss brand of flavored sparkling water offering functional health benefits, using clinically studied ingredients. The Alpine Bliss Cognitive Energy Booster is a powerful, fruity energy drink that combines pure alpine water sourced from the European Alps with natural energy-boosting ingredients.

One of the standout features of this Alpine Bliss is its ability to provide a strong, sustained boost of energy for several hours, without causing unpleasant energy crashes often associated with traditional energy drinks. This is achieved through a unique blend of high-quality plant-based ingredients, including an optimal dose of 70 mg of caffeine from natural sources, L-tyrosine, panax ginseng, and high-purity ginger root extract.

Consumers report experiencing a powerful and clean boost of energy, comparable to that of regular energy drinks like Celsius, without jitters or crashes.

Aside from enhancing mental and physical energy, this formula is also known for creating a distinct feeling of well-being thanks to a proprietary blend of plant-based ingredients called DopaBliss™. This natural blend is specifically designed to boost cognitive levels – the “happy hormone” responsible for making us feel good and happy.

From a nutrition standpoint, the drink is also scoring pretty well. The formula contains zero added sugar, just 25 calories per can, and only 5 grams of natural sugar from wild berries. It doesn’t contain aspartame, ace-K or erythritol. It’s sweetened with fruit juice and sucralose, a safer artificial sweetener compared to aspartame and acesulfame-K. It’s also free of taurine and glucuronolactone. The drink is also a rich source of vitamin B6 and B12 – two vitamins that promote a healthy metabolism.

Beyond its functional health benefits, the Alpine Bliss formula also performs well on taste, according to consumers. Users praise its fruity wild berries flavor and refreshing fine bubbles. It strikes a delicate balance of sweetness and freshness, and delivers an enjoyable drinking experience.

On the minus side, we note that the drink is frequently out of stock, because it’s produced in limited batches as of now and that it’s only available online at the moment.

Taking all of this into consideration puts Alpine Bliss Cognitive Energy booster in our #1 spot.

Final Grade

8.8 /10

Energy Boost

8.5/10

Taste

9.0/10

Value for Money

9.0/10

Ingredient Quality

8.5/10

Scientific Evidence

9.0/10

PROS:

CONS:

Focusaid Clean Energy is a better-for-you energy drink that aims to improve your energy levels, thinking and focus. The company has a strong, established reputation in the emerging fields of better-for-you energy drinks.

The formula contains a good amount of caffeine (100 mg), which gives you a quick burst of energy. It also has other natural ingredients like GABA for stress relief, rhodiola for better focus, and Panax Ginseng for learning and memory. These ingredients work together to give you a cognitive boost.

All the active ingredients in this drink have proven benefits, and consumer reviews are very positive overall.

Another green flag about Focusaid Clean Energy is that it doesn’t use unhealthy artificial sweeteners. Instead, it uses organic agave nectar and stevia to add a sweet taste that makes the drink palatable and enjoyable (which is not always the case for healthier energy drinks, which often have to sacrifice sweetness for health).

When it comes to sugar, Focusaid Clean Energy has about 7 grams, which is not excessively high but there are other drinks with less sugar. However, it’s important to know that this is added sugar, so if you’re watching your sugar intake, it’s something to keep in mind.

On the downside, Focusaid Clean Energy has more calories compared to other healthy energy drinks (around 40 calories). So if you’re trying to watch your calorie intake, this might not be the best choice for you.

Final Grade

8.2 /10

Detox strength

8.5/10

Taste

7.8/10

Value for Money

8.2/10

Ingredient Quality

8.3/10

Scientific Evidence

8.1/10

PROS:

CONS:

Zoa Zero Sugar Energy Drink provides a strong and energizing boost supported by a potent dose of natural caffeine. The high caffeine content delivers a noticeable surge of energy, which may help you stay alert and focused.

Thanks to the inclusion of vitamin B, Zoa Energy Drink may also enhance mental energy and focus, giving you an extra edge when you need it. Additionally, the presence of vitamin C in the drink may contribute to boosting immunity, supporting overall health and well-being.

Zoa Zero Sugar Energy Drink is also a zero added sugar formula. This makes it a healthier choice for those looking to limit their sugar intake while still enjoying an energy-boosting beverage (although it does contain some sweeteners which may be less healthy).

Users have reported that Zoa Energy Drink has a great taste, making it enjoyable to consume.

However, it’s important to note that Zoa Zero Sugar Energy Drink contains a relatively high amount of sodium, with 200 mg per can. This sodium content may be considered unjustified, as excessive sodium intake can have negative effects on health. It’s advisable to be mindful of your overall sodium intake and consider alternative options if you have specific dietary restrictions.