Guarana - what's the real scoop?

[Charlotte]

Hi everyone. I'm wondering about Guarana. I know that it's a stimulant, but is it actually caffeine? I've heard so many mixed things about it. Some people say it is stronger than regular caffeine and others say it's not. Just how strong is it and is it dangerous? Thanks

[MeSarah]

From what I've heard, I think it contains caffeine but a higher dose than regular caffeine, but I could be wrong about that.

[brightstar]

Stay away from that stuff. it's really bad for you. It’s banned in some countries and some other ones require you to be 18 or older to buy it.

[TinaDancer]

It's the stuff that is in a lot of energy drinks. It gives me headaches and the shakes

[PennyThoughts]

If you have a high tolerance to caffeine, you might be ok with this.

[TracyK]

Stay away from that stuff. it's really bad for you. It’s banned in some countries and some other ones require you to be 18 or older to buy it.

I agree with brightstar. It's best to just stay away from it. Anything that is suppose to super-charge your energy like that has to be bad for you! Not to mention, if you're going to to take stimulants like gaurana, you really need to pay attention to how many other stimulants you are ingesting throughout the day. So many of us drink tea, coffee, cola and eat chocolate without even thinking about the caffeine content in these foods and beverages.

[suzieQ]

It's the stuff that is in a lot of energy drinks. It gives me headaches and the shakes

Really? They put it in energy drinks? I always just thought energy drinks were filled to the brim with regular old caffeine. Yikes. That's actually kind of scary, especially considering I see kids drinking those things all of the time!

[M-Stark334]

Guarana is caffeine. And yes SuzieQ, they put it in energy drinks all of the time. Worse still, it's often used in diet pills that contain other stimulants. You need to be really careful if you take anything with Guarana in it. Also, keep in mind that it goes by other names including Brazilian Cocoa, Guarana Seed Extract, Paullinia Cupana, Guaranine, and Zoom to name a few.

[Charlotte]

Yikes! That's scary. I had no idea that it was that powerful. I knew it was a stimulant, but I didn't realize it was actually stronger than regular caffeine. I think I'll stay away from products that contain this. Regular caffeine makes me jittery enough as it is.