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Loaded with caffeine and taurine to stimulate the central nervous system, energy drinks have become the go-to solution when you need a quick, energizing pick-me-up.
But sometimes energy isn't what you need. Concentration and attention can start to fade in the face of those midafternoon doldrums and a host of distractions. Something to perk up the mind and enhance focus would do the trick.
Some beverage manufacturers say they have just the solution. They're touting a new kind of drink that emphasizes focus over ferocity. The key substance is the amino acid L-theanine, which preliminary research suggests might calm the brain to enhance concentration and mental stamina.
Certain formulations of SoBe Lifewater and Vitamin Water now contain L-theanine, as does a new beverage called ViB. And Gatorade recently introduced a drink with the amino acid as well. That product -- Tiger -- was named for and marketed by (who else?) golfer Tiger Woods, the king of concentration in the sports world.
"Focus and concentration is the next generation of the energy drink," says Scott Smith, vice president of Taiyo International, a major producer of L-theanine in a patented tea extract called Suntheanine. "This will put you in an alert state -- in a zone -- but it's not going to keep you up at night."
L-theanine is not a new discovery. The substance comes from the Camellia sinensis plant species, otherwise known as tea.
Despite its caffeine content, tea is cherished for its soothing effects.
"It's one of the reasons people drink tea," says Dr. Jack F. Bukowski, a scientist with the Nutritional Science Research Institute, an industry-based nonprofit organization that studies nutritional supplements. "The combination of the caffeine and the L-theanine gives people the same amount of energy as caffeine alone but less of a jittery-ness."
That may be true for a cup of tea. But much less is known about the benefits of L-theanine when it's extracted from tea and packed into pills or blended into beverages at quadruple the dose.
"We've gotten that wrong before," says Lenore Arab, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "We've learned so often that we make a mistake if we pull a substance out and take it in a supplement. But L-theanine is an interesting substance."
