Drink to Think
If you take a look inside any convenience store cooler, it’s clear that energy drinks are a hot item these days. 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 enhance focus would do the trick.
Beverage makers are stepping up to the challenge with new drinks 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.
“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.
It’s possible that L-theanine may not have the same positive health effects if separated from the other chemicals found in tea, which is also rich in antioxidants.
When asked about the possible benefits of L-theanine supplements or drinks with L-theanine, Lenore Arab, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said: “Based on what we know now, I’d stick with drinking tea.”
--In one study, the alpha rhythms of 13 people were monitored with electroencephalography, more commonly called EEG, which records electrical activity in the brain. Participants performed a demanding visual-spatial attention task after being given either 250 milligrams of L-theanine or a placebo.The study, published last year in the journal Brain Topography, showed L-theanine enhanced the processes responsible for sustaining attention, says John J. Foxe, a neuroscientist at the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research in New York who conducted the study.”In all the studies, theanine had an effect on the alpha rhythm and a small but measurable effect on people’s performance,” says Foxe, who receives some funding for the L-theanine studies from Unilever, which makes Lipton tea.
-- Another study funded by Unilever examined the effects of as little as 50 milligrams of L-theanine -- what researchers called a more realistic dietary dose -- in 16 healthy people.The participants underwent EEG while relaxing with their eyes closed. They showed increased alpha-wave activity indicating “a relaxed but alert mental state” compared with 19 other participants who did not receive L-theanine.
--L-theanine may also protect the brain from some types of damage and help people who already have cognitive dysfunction.A recent analysis of nine studies on stroke and tea consumption found that the more tea people consumed, the greater the reduction in stroke risk. The study, conducted by Lenore Arab, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, was published online in February in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Drink to think
Only a few drink makers have an L-theanine beverage on the market right now, but more are sure to join them in the near future.
For mental focus with an edge, try Jones GABA Focus + Clarity and Amp Energy Elevate.
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