XS Gold Energy Plus – Review
XS Gold Energy Plus – Retail Price: $1.99 per can (8.4 fl. oz.)
Available Size: 8.4 fl. oz. (250 mL)
Taste: 7/10
Price: 7/10
Energy Level: 7/10
XS Gold is the eleventh energy drink from XS. This flavor adds a different twist to the XS energy drink line-up because it contains 6 exotic fruit flavors: mangosteen, pomegranate, red grape, acai, blackberry and blueberry. I was surprised that the flavor was not more bitter because of the mangosteen and pomegranate flavors. The flavor reminded me of sweet fruit punch drinks. The carbonated water gave the red energy juice more freshness which made it easier to drink. XS Gold had no bad aftertaste. Although, the added sucralose (artificial sweetener) gave it a strange sweet flavor.
According to XS, its added vitamins, minerals and essentra are designed to increase mental focus, stamina, mental clarity and help the body cope with stress. The energy from XS is boosted by herbal blends: ashwagandha, panax gingseng, schisandra, astragalus and reishi. Other energy boosters are caffeine and B-vitamins. B-vitamins are usually worthless in liquid drinks, same with vitamin C, because they are water-soluble. Because most of the vitamins in XS Gold are water-soluble, you are basically drinking an energy drink that is full of empty calories.
The energy rush from XS Gold was about the same as the other XS energy drinks. Its energy was the most intense within the first 30 minutes. After that it died down rather quickly and was noticeable up to 1.5 hours. I didn’t experience any bad side effects except for minor stomachaches and I felt a little bloated. The thing that concerned me about XS Gold is its high levels of vitamin B12, 8000% of the daily value to be exact, plus it is synthetic too. My advise is to avoid drinking this energy drink on a regular basis, too much synthetic vitamin B12 may be toxic to the body.
The pros
- Taste like tropical fruit drinks
- Low in calories
- Good blend of herbs and exotic fruits
- No bad side effects
- Energy level is competitive
The cons
- Extremely high in vitamin B12
- People with sensitive stomach may experience stomachaches
- High in caffeine, 83 milligrams to be exact
- Energy dies down quickly
- Contains sucralose, an artificial sweetener that may cause health problems
XS Gold Energy Plus Nutrition Facts (8.4 fl. oz.)
- Calories: 10
- Total Fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 25 mg – 1%
- Potassium: 90 mg – 3%
- Total carb: 1.5 g – <1%
- Sugar: 1 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Caffeine: 83 mg
- Calcium: 10%
- Zinc: 50%
- Selenium: 50%
- Chromium: 50%
- Vitamin C: 50%
- Vitamin B3 (niacin): 100%
- Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): 100%
- Vitamin B6: 300%
- Vitamin B12: 8000%
Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet – servings per container: 1
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Category: Product Review
Hello energy and health fanatics, independent thinkers, truth seekers and freedom lovers! My name is Pao L. Chang, and I’m the author and founder of EnergyFanatics.com. My goal is to provide you with knowledge that is beyond the conventional matrix to help free your mind and increase your well-being to a whole new level. One of the things that motivated me to start this blog is the fact that most human beings are unaware that we are being lied to, dumbed down, and brainwashed by the “authorities” that we are supposed to trust. This crime against humanity goes far beyond what most of us can comprehend, and it has polluted all the systems of our planet, including the health, financial, educational, religious, political, and energy systems....
“Extremely high in vitamin B12″ not true! The B12 that is found in the drink is %8000, but the AWESOME part about it is like you said soluble and the body will take what it needs and anything else will be expelled from the body, so NO it is NOT bad for you.
“Contains sucralose, an artificial sweetener that may cause health problems” SUCROSE and ASPERTAME is what is bad for the body, SUCROLOSE does absolutly NOTHING to the body. Please do your research before you post anything negative. Also people’s chemistry is different so some people will have longer effects than other depending on THEIR body’s chemistry, not because of the DRINK.
Yes, natural vitamin B12 is water-soluble and is easily expelled by the body but synthetic vitamin B12 is another story. If you look at the ingredients section on the back of XS Gold, you will see Cyanocobalamin. Cyanocobalamin is the synthetic version of vitamin B12 and is most likely toxic to the body. The body treats synthetic vitamins like foreign agents because it is not use to their unnatural chemical structure.
The FDA claimed that sucralose is not harmful to the body, other researchers had claimed that it is not harmful either. The truth is, many of these researchers are funded by companies that manufactured artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose, aspartame, equal, etc. Many of their studies on artificial sweeteners are controlled by these companies. Their studies had to followed companies’ guidelines and can’t say anything negative about their products. So, what does this all mean? The answer is simple! These companies don’t care about the people’s health, all they care about is getting the FDA to approve their product so they can make money.
Independent researchers who are not influenced by these big corporations, through experiments, had confirmed that artificial sweeteners overstimulated brain cells to death. So, which one should you believe, the people who are funded by the companies that manufactured artificial sweeteners, or independent researchers. My advise is to trust the independent researchers because they are not doing it for the money, they are doing these studies because they care about the public’s health.
If you want to learn more about artificial sweeteners, read the two links below. Also, do your own research and come up with your own conclusion!
http://energyfanatics.com/2009/01/24/the-danger-of-equal/
http://energyfanatics.com/2008/05/24/artificial-sweetener-danger/
Hi PL Chang,
I really like this website and i must to say that most or your articles are really good. I am agree when you say “Natural vitamins are better than synthetic”, but it does not means that all synthetic vitamins are toxic. In this case, B12 vitamin is a water-soluble vitamin (natural and synthetic), so the body expels all that does not absorb. In a natural form the absorption process should be faster than a Synthetic, but in both cases, the body will expels the not used portion. Until now, there is no known toxicity from Vitamin B12 (in any form)
Hello Mike!
Yes, I agree with you about vitamin B12. As far as I know there haven’t been a case of toxicity from synthetic B12. Too much of anything is bad for the body, even water.
The thing that concerns me about synthetic vitamins is that they are created in lab for the purpose of profits. Because profit is their top priority, they may not follow procedures and their labs may not be as sanitize as it should be.
PL Chang,
Good post, these energy drinks are so popular yet nobody really pays too much attention to whats in them beyond looking at sugar, calories, and caffeine. The rest is usually foreign to most people. I know quite a few people who depend on drinking several of these a day to get through work (energy drinks in general, not necessarily this one). More than likely, there are very few out there, that people should be having more than one a day of.