#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Living In Thailand Forum >  >  > Health, Fitness and Hospitals in Thailand >  >  Thai Energy Drinks

## chitown

Do you drink them? Which ones?

Do you like the taste? Whats your favorite?

Do you feel like they give you energy?

Ok, I have decided to do a bit of taste testing of these Thai energy drinks that I keep seeing the Thais swigging on? I was thinking that they look a bit like medicine and have not really wanted to be bothered tasting them Normally I just have tow or three cups of fresh brewed go-go juice in the morning and that seems to get me going.

Anyhow, I have bought one of each of the Thai energy drinks form the fridge at the local 7-11. I hope they taste good.  :Sad:  

I am only going to try one each day so I don't blow my heart out with an overdose of whatever they have in them!!  :Smile:

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## Fuzzy Bob

I like  M-150 with ice & soda, no more than two a day mind! (Expensive in the UK)

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## Rigger

Normaly have a M150 if driving a long distance or a M150 and vodka if feeling a little warn out

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## chitown

Today I skipped my coffee and decided to down an ice cold Red Caribao. It contains a few ingredients that I thought I would share with you.

Caffeine, Taurine, Inositol, Nicotinamide, Dexpantinal, Vitamin B 6 & 12, Sukrose, and citric acid. 

Caffeine - Caffeine is found in many plant  species, where it acts as a natural pesticide.  :Sad:  Caffeine relaxes the internal anal sphincter muscles and that and thus should be avoided by those with fecal incontinence.......like  ::butters:: ........ :rofl:  

 Taurine - it is an organic acid. It is also a major constituent of bile and can be found in lower intestines. Taurine is involved in a number of crucial physiological processes. However, the role of taurine in these processes is not clearly understood and the influence of high taurine doses on these processes is uncertain. A substantial increase in the plasma concentration of growth hormone was reported in some epileptic patients during taurine tolerance testing (oral dose of 50 mg/kg bw/day), suggesting a potential to stimulate the hypothalamus and to modify neuroendocrine function. There is an indication that taurine (2 g/day) has some function in the maintenance and possibly in the induction of psoriasis. It may also be necessary to take into consideration that absorption of taurine from beverages may be more rapid than from foods.

 Inositol - Patients suffering from clinical depression generally have decreased levels of inositol in their cerbrospinal fluid. Inositol is also commonly used as an adulterant  (or cutting agent) in many illegal drugs, such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and sometimes heroin. *Oh crap!!*  :Sad:  

Nicotinamide - Nicotinamide has demonstrated anti-inflammatory benefits. 

Dexpantinal - nothing on the web that says what it is good or bad for. Only lited as an ingredient. 

Vitamin B 6 & 12 - 

Vitamin  B6, also called pyridoxine, is essential in the breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins  and fats. Pyridoxine is also used in the production of red blood cells.
Pyridoxine  can be found in many foods. Some of the foods that contain it are: liver, meat,  brown rice, fish, butter, wheat germ, whole grain cereals, and soybeans.

Vitamin  B12 is necessary for processing carbohydrates, proteins and fats and to help make  all of the blood cells in our bodies. Vitamin B12 is stored in the liver. 

Shortly after I drank the Red Caribao, I felt a marked increase in my energy levels. My scalp began to tingle slightly and my heartbeat was accelerated. I headed to the gym and had an energy packed weight lifting workout for about 1 hour. I headed over to the cardio area and about 15 minutes into my cardio routine, i crashed. I felt so tired I wanted to lay down on the floor and sleep. I forced myself to do my 1 hour cardio routine, but It was a miserable time. 

Maybe I should have downed a second bottle of red Caribou before I started my cardio workout.  :Smile: 

No my energy is at my normal rate and this is about 6 hours after I drank it. 



I fully expected it to taste like what I tasted in the states before, like a Red Bull. Red Bull has a strong medicinal taste to it. It was actually sweet tasting and not bad at all.

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## Thetyim

M150 
I don't like the others

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## crazy dog

I like the luktung one of course, and it's the cheapest!

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## panama hat

Chitown, I'm surprised you drink that stuff . . .

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## Mid

another poll without toffees  :Sad:

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## chitown

> Chitown, I'm surprised you drink that stuff . . .


I don't.  :Smile: 

This is a one time experiment.  ::chitown::

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## aging one

is it caribou or carabao?  I drank the stuff one time and one time only. I did not know what it was and it was brought out in an ice bucket during a beach volley ball competition.   I must have drank say 24-32 ounces over an hour. 

Heart began to race, the sweats and not a chance of sleeping. I drank the stuff about 4-6pm and was wired up for hours.  never touched the stuff since.

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## chitown

I just edited it to Carabao  :Smile:

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## Simon43

If I do the 11 hour drive from BKK to Phuket, then I'll sip a bottle or two of the M150, definitely keeps me alert.

Last year I did the trip from Phuket to BKK, then rested for 1 hour and then continued the drive to darkest Issan.  At the end of this 1,800km journey in 1 day, and after downing no less than 6 bottles of M150 during the drive, I was totally unable to work straight or sit still for more than 10 seconds...

Simon

PS - Remember reading the news report last year about the security fguard attacking tourists after he drank too much M150.  I can believe it  :Smile:

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## withnallstoke

> Ok, I have decided to do a bit of taste testing of these Thai energy drinks that I keep seeing the Thais swigging on?


To miss-qoute an old cliche` "always judge a bottle by it's drinker'.
Most of the bottles i have tasted, regardless of brand, seem to bare an uncanny resemblence to lao khao. I often wonder why.

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## storm1fishing

Kratting Daeng - red bull , great with vodka , mmmmmmmm. ::chitown::

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## kmart

Its usually best to boil this stuff down to a residue, then grind it into powder and snort it.

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## Travelmate

M150 excellent for a perk up early in the morning prior to a long bike ride.
Will be riding to CM bikeweek next week with a broken arm. No doubt will consume plenty.  :Smile:

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## Gipsy

Many of the Thai energy drinks contain some form of sugar and/or glucose/sucrose/fructose/dextrose (= calories), and some have that sugar in (too) large quantities. It is of course a cheap source of energy, but also the reason many don't drink it.

For example, a bottle of  Magnum .357, contents 150 cc., contains the following:
Sugar sucrose:              24 grams (*16%!*)
Taurine:                        0,3 grams
Inositol:                         50 mg. 
Caffeine:                       50 mg.
Niacinamai(-d)               20 mg.
Penthothinol:                 10 mg.
Paridoxinhydrochloride:    5 mg.

Most other Thai brands show similar formulas. Some have vitamins (B1, B2, B6, B12) added, to make it look a little bit more healthier. Most contain artificial colorants and odors. And stabilizers/acids. 

A less sweet energy drink is Max, a little yellow can, also to be found at every 7/11.

Women and/or health-conscience people are very sensitive to the calories and that's one of the reasons you hardly see any women consuming one of the energy drinks available on the Thai market today. They know it's calories and they simply avoid that. I think many 'non-users also do not want to be associated with the image of the 'working class'. And for many young people, it's not 'cool' to drink it in public. Looking at the advertising for these products you only see men doing their 'men's' jobs.

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## blackgang

> Caffeine - Caffeine is found in many plant species, where it acts as a natural pesticide. Caffeine relaxes the internal anal sphincter muscles and that and thus should be avoided by those with fecal incontinence.......like ........


So then it would be a recommended drink for anyone going out on the town for a nite with ButterButt as the relaxed sphincter muscle might mean a less painful asshole if they drank to much and passed out for awhile.

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## bretby

M-150 for me or lipo, soda and ice when trying to get rid of the hangover :Smile:

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## Loy Toy

The last time I drank a M150 was when it was turned upside down in a glass of Jaegermeister and to be fair that mixture gives you a kick along.

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## DaffyDuck

I don't - funny how few people understand the value of knowing the ingredients of what they drink.

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## Gallowspole

When driving from Nong Khai to BKK I'd have a Red Bull at Korat. The buzz would last about an hour and then I'd feel 500% more tired than I was before I had had it. To counteract it, I'd have another at Saraburi. That would get me to BKK but totally unable to sleep despite feeling absolutely shattered.

A couple of years ago a friend who works long haul for THAI told me to make a strong brew of green tea, masted for 3 or 4 hours, and have that instead. I now drink 2 cups before I leave and have a couple of large swigs every couple of hours - works an absolute treat and I'm alert the whole journey. Best thing is getting into bed and falling straight to sleep.

One day at work I had a bottle of M150 whilst nursing a mother of a hangover - my colleagues looked on in total shock/horror and comments were made about the loso perception of these drinks.

The strongest I ever had was the Carabao and black coffee one that was on sale about 4 years ago. Buzz lasted a full 4 hours but the comedown was terrible.

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## Muadib

Whether considered loso or not, the little Thai drink known as Red Bull now enjoys hundreds of millions of $$$ in worldwide gross annual sales per year...

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## Gallowspole

That Red Bull is Austrian. Very little resemblance to the original.

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## Muadib

I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that the basic formula is licensed from the Thai original company... The western version is carbonated and has less 'punch', but basically the same animal... 

If I'm going clubbing, I'll usually drink a Red Bull or M-150 before going out... If I start to run out of gas through the evening, I'll have a Red Bull + Vodka... 

On my first trip to Thailand I made the mistake of having 3 Red Bulls in about 2 hours, thinking it was the same as in the west... I thought I was going to have a stroke as it's at least twice as strong as it's western counterpart... Never made that mistake again...

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## Gallowspole

Yes, based on it but taste and potency wise  they are chalk and cheese.

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## PlanK

> Energy drink volumes increased 2 per cent in 2008 to 3.9bn litres, according to figures from Zenith.  
>   The beverage consultancy said this represents a significant slowdown on previous years given that average growth over the past five years has been 14 per cent a year. Back in 2003 there were only 2bn litres of energy drinks sold – about half the current level.  
> *Impact of Thai crisis* 
>   Much of the slowdown last year came from Thailand where sales of energy drinks dropped 41 per cent. In the political and economic turmoil of the past year many truck drivers, who are the country’s biggest consumers of energy drinks, have been made redundant.


Isn't there a recommendation on the bottles to have no more than 2 a day?  Printed in Thai maybe.

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## DaffyDuck

> That Red Bull is Austrian. Very little resemblance to the original.





> I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that the basic formula is licensed from the Thai original company... The western version is carbonated and has less 'punch', but basically the same animal...


While the Austrian owner has made significant revenue and riches from 'Red Bull', the Thai original owner / creator of the Carabao formula has a healthy percentage ownership in Red Bull as well.

The Red Bull story reads like just another Austrian farang vacationing in Thailand, noticing a product with potential, partnering with the Thai originator, and marketing a heavily watered down version of the original - first in throughout Europe, then worldwide.

Look up the value of drinking caffeinated sugar drinks if you care what the 'miracle ingredients' in these energy drinks are. It's all sugar and caffeine, and absolutely nothing else in terms of active ingredient. The caffeine's the reason they 'advise' to restrict how much you consume. (Taurine's a nice red herring)

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## Boon Mee

Cafe-Yen for me...

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## spikebs4

had a hangover , went to 7/11 , bought nrg drink with black orchid pic on label .. fk me , it was like droping an acid tab .... heads gone into orbit , sweats , shakes .... lasted for 8 hrs , never again will i touch another so/say nrg drink . :UK:

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## chitown

Well I have tested all the products pictured in the 1st post.

To me they all taste and smell the same. Most of them did not really gave me an energy boost in the slightest. 

There were two that got me buzzing. 

One is called 357 Magnum and the other one is the Red Caribao. Both had me buzzing pretty good. 

I wonder if I drank both of them at once, if my scalp would start to tingle.  :Smile:

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## chitown

Someone posted that energy drinks are for loso people. Apparently, as of today we have 12 losos that are members here at TD. I think we should blackball these dregs of society from our exclusive TD club.  :Smile:  

View Poll Results: Thai Energy Drinks - 

Do you ever drink them?                          Yes I do.    *12* 52.17%                         

No, I would not drink that Thai crap!!                 *8* 34.78%    _

I might start if I hear from this thread that they taste good._  *3* 13.04%

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## Bung

I too drink an M roi ha sip on long drives as it tates the best and definately keeps me alert, like having a double esspresso. My wife likes Lipo and have a swig sometimes.

I tried a Hang the other day as I had a ripping hangover. Really tasted vile but worked, I felt great an 1/2 hour later.

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## tj916

M150 or Lippo for me. Mind I do enjoy the Nescafe Espresso in cans, love the stuff.

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## Eliminator

I've tried 4 of the six pictured and never got anything from them, no buzz, no boost of energy, absolutely nothing.

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## chitown

Today I drank two cups of extremely strong coffee, two red Caribaos, and a Nescafe can of iced coffee in the span of about 15 minutes. 

I wanted to see what it did. 

Needless to say I worked out at the gym like a madman, was jabbering away 90 miles an hour to my friends at the gym ( they commented that I seemed "intense"), had my heart racing, my scalp tingling and a frontal lobe headache.  :Sad: 

I am still wired.  :Sad:

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## Norton

> While the Austrian owner has made significant revenue and riches from 'Red Bull', the Thai original owner / creator of the Carabao formula has a healthy percentage ownership in Red Bull as well.


Healthy indeed.  Chaleo Yoovidhy the founder is Thailand's richest man according to Forbes.

"Red Bull's press-shy Chaleo Yoovidhya takes the top spot, worth $3.5 billion."

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## somtamslap

Far too sweet for me, unless they're full of lau kau..

You missed Lipovitan of the list, that's the beast of the energy drinks, a real heart thumper..

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## chitown

I will look for it on my next trip to 7-11.

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## Rascal

got diabetes can I drink these?

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## chedi

all this drink's taste like haribo.

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## Bogon

> got diabetes can I drink these?


Not unless you wanna look like your avatar!
I'm no doctor and suggest you consult local General Practitionor for a serious anwer.

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## Rascal

that is what I thought, and I have not or will I drink any of em. thanks

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## hillbilly

My father suddenly died after I was in Thailand for about six months. The call came about 11 at night. Unable to sleep and to be prepared for my flight back to the states at around six in the morning, I went to 7-11. I drank 4 M-150s to stay awake and alert.

Bad idea as by take off time, I was like a pogo stick...

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## Nawty

The stuff never does anything for me....but I like the carbonated yellow shark one, the others all to sickly sweet for me.

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## Jesus Jones

Best one for me has been the Be-ing energy drink.  All the others give me heart-burn.

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## Ghandi

> Today I drank two cups of extremely strong coffee, two red Caribaos, and a Nescafe can of iced coffee in the span of about 15 minutes. 
> 
> I wanted to see what it did. 
> 
> .



Are you open to any other suggestions ?

I'm sure we can recommend some interesting things for you to try so we can see "what it did" ...

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## Nawty

I admire people that like to experiment.

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## chitown

I don't mess with any of them any more. You never know the potency or the quality of each bottle. The last time I drank 2 Reds, my heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest.  :Sad:     Red Bull never did anything like that before, so I can assume that the two bottles I drank were extra charged. Or maybe I drank them on an empty stomach.  :Smile:

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## Ghandi

It is nasty stuff for sure and I agree about the inevitable crash soon after drinking that low class Isaan poison.

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## ThaiMassage

If you want to know more about what's in these, check out Thai Energy Drinks - Home

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