Vegan Energy Drinks vs. Soda: Unveiling the Key Differences

The world has really been embracing energy drinks recently. Sodas, in addition, is having one of the worst spells in terms of its perception. You are able to find scores of different sodas at pretty much every single Grocery store in the entire world. Different countries will have their own favorite, though there are some global products as well.

Sodas come in all different forms but they are largely defined as a carbonated, flavored drink that is not water. You have your fruity ones, colas, and everything in between. They have been criticized for their wildly high sugar content. This spawned the advent of Diet sodas. These are generally 0 calories and 0 sugar, though they are criticized for their other added ingredients.

Recent years have seen a spike in energy drinks hitting the market. There have been a few widely consumed staple products over the years, though they have traditionally been made with lots of sugar and lots of harmful ingredients. 

The world is moving into a much more health-conscious space. The beverage industry has noticed that people are dissatisfied with drinks containing loads of unnatural ingredients. There is a new market with loads of new energy drinks and sodas that have health benefits, great flavor, and nutrition as well! 

We will compare a few key points when discerning between Energy drink vs Vegan soda, figuring out are energy drinks worse than soda, and debunking some sports drinks. We will also do a bit about caffeine in energy drinks vs soda.

Purpose

Sodas are generally supposed to be thirst-quenching, delicious drinks that are drunk for enjoyment. Their wide-ranging flavor profiles have made them a favored lunchtime, alcohol-free beverage pairing. Any packed lunch was seemingly made better by having a flavorful, sweet, crispy soda.

Other than this leisure, there really isn’t much other use for soda. They have been used in modern-style homeopathic ways such as colas curing a hangover (something to do with replacing the sugars lost in dehydration). They also work really well as mixers if you are an alcohol drinker!

The purpose for energy drinks has, obviously, been to provide energy. For non-coffee drinkers or for those who prefer artificial boosts when they’re not waking up in the morning, the energy drink has more been for a boost of energy. This can be for exercise, long study nights, nighttime drives, and more.

Caffeine Content

These drinks have both been used for energy purposes but there is only really one winner when it comes to caffeine content. Cola drinks contain around 45.3 points of caffeine, with energy drinks ranging around 141mg of caffeine. There are other drinks, such as pre-workout drinks that go up to around 200mg!

Exercise

Energy drinks were traditionally used for recreational purposes, but there is a different impetus in the industry these days. People have turned to energy drinks to fuel their exercise both as a way to get some light-on-your-feet energy, but also because energy drinks are now being made with exercise in mind.

Something like this Guru Lite Energy Drink could be used as an example of fusing these two requirements. This energy drink is naturally made with organic ingredients, harnessing green tea-extracted caffeine that delivers a jitter-free boost of energy. This drink contains electrolytes that will help to replenish the minerals lost during physical exertion.

There aren’t really many sodas that are beneficial for exercise. Yes, lots of them contain sugar, which can be better for weightlifting and other static exertions, though they have never really been linked and recommended.

Nutrition

This is a tricky one as on both sides of the debate, nutrition has long suffered. Both parties have been founded on the basis of a huge quantity of sugar. This isn’t really good for your body and even diet sodas are known to contain a lot of heavily processed, artificial ingredients that are not considered “healthy”.

Though it is commonly agreed that diet sodas are less bad for you, energy drinks seem to be leading the way in terms of being made from natural ingredients, having low sugar, and having better hydration. Things like this Clean Cause Cherry Lime Zero Calorie energy drink are popping up - being made from organic ingredients, having low sugar, and not containing a long list of unnatural things.

Other Benefits

One interesting feather in the sodas’ cap is the existence of ‘health sodas’. Health sodas have been on the rise and often contain a makeup of ingredients that are thought to help with your gut health. Gut health is a really burgeoning issue for so many people and the attention to it is thought to be drastically changing so many people’s lives.

These Poppi Prebiotic Sodas are one example of this. These sodas are made with detoxifying, gut-friendly ingredients that can help your gut replenish the good bacteria it needs for you to thrive. This is different to Kombucha and is another low-calorie way of upping your metabolic health.

Check Out - What are Vegan Probiotics? Best Probiotics for Vegan

When it comes down to is, neither are perfect, but they are going in the right direction. The answer ends up being - health energy drinks and healthy sodas are very different, and are much preferable to conventional products. It would be safe to say when it comes to exercise and nutrition - energy drinks are the way to go. And if you’re looking to improve your body’s health, go for some healthy sodas.