ONGO Energy Shot

In the course of consuming energy drinks, you come to read labels when bored and finding that there are tons of calories and carbs and sugar… all this stuff that in moderation is okay for you, but jam-packed into one huge drink? Holy crap.

Now I’m not the poster child for healthy. If you were to see me, that'd be fairly obvious... even to a blind man.

So in needing another shot for a trip, I had several different ones to choose from when at the register. I opted to go with one that I hadn’t tried before called ONGO (which I’m assuming is supposed to be more two words than one even though pronounced the same).

Now on the front of the bottle, it says “no carbs, no sugar, no crash” then right below that it says “stamina, focus, endurance”… and below that “energy for hours”. (The thing about the bottle that made me laugh the most was the tiny words at the bottom right of the front of the bottle that says “try chilled”. Me being me, I picture this tiny 2oz bottle sitting at a fifteen-degree angle in a bucket of ice waiting for me by the fireplace.)

The bottle is eight calories with no calories from fat. Even though there’s no “sugar” in it, there are other sugary sweeteners in it. (Yes, this Jane Consumer reads labels. Yay for the literate!) In reading the bottle some more, it says:

For maximum energy, shake the bottle and then drink the whole thing at once.
For moderate energy, shake and drink half the bottle at once. Re-seal the bottle after use. No refrigeration required. Toss out remainder of product after three days.

The “caution” part interests me:

Caution: Contains about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. Limit caffeine products to avoid nervousness, sleeplessness, and occasionally rapid heartbeat. You may experience a Niacin Flash (hot feeling, skin redness) that lasts a few minutes. This is caused by Niacin (vitamin B3) increasing blood flow near skin.

Not for use by children under 12 years of age. (Well, all I have to say to that is DUH!)

Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine. (Dare you to say that ten times real fast.)

I think the best part of the bottle is this: This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any diseases. When I see stuff like that that doesn’t have a stamp of approval by someone like the FDA… it always leaves me with a bit of a quirked eyebrow and suspicion.

But I drank it anyway. (Daring, I know.)

It was sweet but had that strong caffeine aftertaste that most energy products have. Still, it wasn’t as bad as some of the others I’ve had, but sweet and heavily caffeinated aren’t all that I want in an energy drink… even if it is a supplement. Is that too much to ask for?

Would I ever try this again?: Perhaps. Most energy shots taste like crap or just really, really sweet. I’d prefer something with more flavor than what’s out there.

www.ongoenergy.com