Monster Energy - SugarFree - vs coffee

Question

I am wondering how Monster Energy Zero Ultra (or any of the sugar free) monster's compare with generic coffee.

When I was in Highschool, I was working 50+ hours, attending high school, and working on my Eagle scout project. I hit Energy drinks pretty hard. Between that and pizza I gained a pretty good amount of weight. Most of which I have now lost.

However, I am trying to study for an industry certification and I have a very hard time staying awake for more than 30 minutes or so if I sit down to study. I have found that I can sip my way through a monster, like I linked above, and it keeps me awake very well. Better than studying while standing or trying to do other exercises to keep awake (some of which just aren't an option because they make it too hard to read or I cannot type). The Monster does the job of keeping me awake fine and it's 0 points on my weightwatchers plan. I know that's not the best metric, as basically all diet/zero calorie sodas are 0 pts on it.

Long story short, if I am drinking 1 of these a day. 2 on the high side, which really isn't much more caffeine than several cups of coffee from what I have seen, is that going to be bad for me? And a good deal of people drink many cups of coffee a day. In an effort to fight any ill effects, I do drink 1 can over the course of about 6-8 hours and I drink at least a liter of water along with it. I find that sipping on both as I go helps me stretch it out.

Please note, I am open to comparisons and constructive feedback. Things like "monster energy will kill you" are pointless unless you can back them up with studies.

Answer 1

Diet soda isn't inherently bad for you: http://examine.com/nutrition/is-diet-soda-bad-for-you/

It's hard to come up with any conclusive statements about caffeine; it is an incredibly well researched topic, but the immense social usage of it and creeping biases make it hard to pick a side on things outside of non-applied biochemistry.

The dosages of caffeine tend to fluctuate around a certain range, but with the high inter-individual variation seen with the Aromatase enzyme and thus systemic levels of caffeine and its metabolites I would find it a bit futile to try to find the absolute best dosage.

Choose your caffeine dose (zero, low, medium, or high) and pick your poison for method of consumption (energy drink, pre-workout supplement, coffee, tea, No-Doz pills, etc.) and see how it works for you.

http://examine.com/supplements/Caffeine/