Energy drinks, sports drinks, and the like have long been a vice of mine. I say vice because in general these drinks either aren’t good for you, being high in sugar, or they have nearly zero nutritional value. They even have potentially negative impacts on your health given the highly processed artificial ingredients. Sports drinks can definitely be a guilt-inducing aspect of many athletes’ diets, and I suspect many would breathe a sigh of relief if they could find a healthy alternative.
So along came Amara. The creators of the Amara sports drink had exactly this in mind – to make a healthier, unprocessed version of an athletic drink. They also wished to blend the various types of drinks, such as traditional sports drinks, energy drinks, and superfood drinks, and it’s pretty clear to me that they’ve accomplished that.
The Amara sports drink from top to bottom and from inside to out has been thoroughly and painstakingly created down to the finest details. You can tell that Amara is passionate about making something effective at producing energy without sacrificing health, or compromising their integrity as a business.
The drink is a superfood drink because it includes the high antioxidant contents and flavor of the organic and fair trade maqui berries, as well as the organic coffee berry. The coffee berry contributes also to the energy aspect of the drink, providing caffeine. In addition to these aspects, there are also electrolytes in the form of sodium, chloride, potassium, and calcium.
Interestingly, Amara does not pasteurize their drink in order that it may retain all of the nutrition. Instead they use a microbial system to keep the drink safe without using heat. They do admit this does break down in part to methanol, a substance that is toxic in high amounts, but the truth is methanol is present in small quantities in several foods found in nature and should only be a problem to people sensitive to it.
Speaking to the detail the company puts into their drink and social responsibility, the bottle itself and the label are completely recyclable. They have also sacrificed a glossy finish for a matte finish, which is easier for a sweaty athlete to grip while exercising. Pretty thoughtful, if you ask me.
Amara sports drink is low calorie, in part because it’s sweetened by stevia. I don’t personally love the flavor of stevia, but the drink tasted good regardless, and the other natural berry flavors were good.
The only potential downside to this drink, which is also an upside for many, is the caffeine content. With 75mgs of caffeine per serving, and two servings per container, each drink has a little more than the content of 1.5 cups of black coffee. This will certainly help with performance, especially in anything cardiovascular, but not everyone wants the caffeine, especially if they workout close to bedtime.
Amara puts an impressive level of detail and care into their product. Considering that, and the fact that it can be purchased from their site with no shipping cost and at roughly the cost of many energy drinks on the market, it should be a no brainer to make the switch to Amara. This drink is deal for paleo dieters, people eating raw or organic, and – honestly – it’s right for anyone interested in a sports drink.
Amara sports drink is available in a 12 pack for $29.99 at DrinkAmara.com.
