Are energy drinks haraam?

[Darth Ultor]

Do energy drinks that enhance your performance in sports considered intoxicants?

[Beardo]

I'm not sure about that. Is there a specific reason they should be?

Although, on many occasions, they tend to be not Halaal. I once heard that "Monster" uses cow sperm. Would anyone even want to drink it after hearing that?

And besides, they stunt your growth.

[Starrynight]

^NO WAY! seriously? gross

[Beardo]

^NO WAY! seriously? gross

Yep. Mountain Dew is also said to affect certain organs of your body. But I don't think you British people know what that is, so just forget it.

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[Salahudeen]

I heard something similar about Redbull also, it has something disgusting in it, can't remember what.

[User29123]

Yep. Mountain Dew is also said to affect certain organs of your body. But I don't think you British people know what that is, so just forget it.

lol, what you trying to say about British people eh?;D

[adz89]

it depends on the ingredients really, most of them contain alot of glucose/fructose which is just sugar really and loads of caffeine. and every one knows too much sugar and caffeine is not good for any one!
and urghh at the cow sperm never heard of that one before

[Reflections]

AsSalaamu 3alaykum wara7matullah,

The following are Halaal, but do utlise alcohol based flavouring carriers (see below for more details).
Red Bull Energy Drink (250ml)
Red Bull Sugarfree (250 ml)
Red Bull Energy Drink (355ml)
Red Bull Energy Drink (473ml)
Red Bull Sugarfree (355 ml)
Red Bull Simply Cola (355 ml)

Red Bull Cola:
Two UK based laboratories and several other laboratories around the world did not find any cocaine in Red Bull Cola. As a consequence and in line with national regulations Red Bull Cola is back on the shelves in Germany since August 2009.

Alcoholic Flavourings Clarification:
Alcohols used as a carrier for food colourings and flavourings are permissible as long as they are not sourced from dates or grapes.

Read the full article here:
Alcohol Flavourings Clarification - http://www.gmwa.org.uk/foodguide2/in...uestion&id=200

Source:http://www.gmwa.org.uk/foodguide2/in...uestion&id=150

[zakahmed]

I try not to drink too much energy drinks but I find Red Bull to help on those more difficult days, so I'm glad to hear its ok to still drink :)

[karimium]

the cow sperm thing is a typical example of why we are not progressing intellectually as an ummah, we accept quotes and sayings on blind faith and do not as for sources, and the ummah gets tricked every now and again with the stories about the "mysterious man from abasynnia" who saw visions of prophet Muhammed in his dreams warning him to warn all muslims about end times.. that gets passed around and forwarded on email.

when someone tells you about monster containng cow sperm, ask for proof. do not repeat it until you are convinced it's actually true.

now i dont know anything about monster, i dont drink it because taurine is terible for the heart, processed sugars are bad for your liver and digestive system and caffeine is terrible for regulating regular sleep patterms.

that said, i have to reject this cow sperm rubbish until you can provide proof, i dont think it's even economically viable to extrat sperm from boxing and use it in food, for what purpose would it be used? it will be in such small quantity, if it were to be useful how would they mix in into hundreds of thousands of cans of monster a day?

even if there was a reason for having sperm in drink, it's more likely they will isolate the individual chemical/substance they need and create it artificually in labs using enzymes

[Abz2000]

/\ bro I heard the same thing about red bull from my nephew, bull's sperm he told me, well I didn't believe him and laughed, continued to drink it until I heard it somewhere else, so I carefully went through all the ingredients, and this this what stopped me drinking it:
Taurine, or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic acid.
It is a major constituent of bile
and can be found in the large intestine and in the tissues of many animals, including humans.
Taurine is named after the Latin taurus (a cognate of the Greek ταύρος) which means bull or ox,
as it was first isolated from ox bile in 1827 by German scientists Friedrich Tiedemann and Leopold Gmelin.

I think that must've been the cause of the bull spunk theory,

Still was laughing at your question of how they'd get that much sperm from cows, I remembered how the milk them and thought: easy! :D

[karimium]

type: boxing should be bovine [cows and bulls]

[karimium]

abz2000, thanks for informing me of taurine. I looked it up and indeed it does originate from animals. However bear in mind that there are lots of supplements like creatine which are synthetically produced in labs rather than extracted from animals. I would image such trace amounts of chemicals would be very expensive to extract from the animal.

I looked up the red bull site, and it stated all the facts about taurine how it normally originates in animals but plants have some too. Most importantly I noticed that red bull stated their product is suitable for vegetarians. Which is crucial here. Obviously you cannot say since it's suitable for vegetarians then it must be hala, you have to also work out wether there is any alcohol and bodily fluids like urine or milk from non-halal animals.

I dont drink energy drinks so I wont do any more research further than that.

Another reason why it's not economially viable to extra bull sperm to use as in ingredient in food (again no idea why they would want to do this), is because bull sperm, in the current industry is worth more than it's weight in gold.

ALmost all male bovine are castrated, with the exception of the 0.01% which are kept for rearing other cows. A bulls balls spoils the meat of the animal, because testosterone makes the meat tough and bitter, so male cows are castrated from youth.

So this makes cow sperm a very precious commodity, a ferticle bull that does of old age, or is euthanised just before natural death never gets into the human food chain because the meat is too tough and bitter, it gets turned into pet food.

[SyrianFellow]

I honestly hate the taste of all energy drinks, and now I hate them even more after reading these posts :P

[ayesha.ansari]

i would never go for energy drinks. Well if i need energy i would prefer vegetables and fruits and fresh juices. ehhhhh bad stuff in energy drink.

[esperanza]

and waht about non aloholic beer. it has become so widespread here in an islamic country,,but in my opinion its the same as real beer

[Darth Ultor]

To me, it's like saying "I wish this was alcoholic beer". But what the real question is, is regular grape juice okay?

[Snowflake]

Yep. Mountain Dew is also said to affect certain organs of your body. But I don't think you British people know what that is, so just forget it.

There might be some truth in that, or there might not be. It's still bad for you. All fizzy drinks are. But this is why people say it's haram.




example of misleading info...

Fwd: Mountain Dew - Haram

As-Salaamu' Alaikum
�
JazakALLAH for sharing this information with us.� It is amazing how they manage to disguise pork products and bi-products to not lose sales.� We should be boycotting these soda companies anyway because they give money Israel but it is good to know that this "Yellow 5" is a pork derivative.
�
Shayhka Maulani Aeisha Muhammad
�
----- Original Message ----- From: Shabbeer Hussain��
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 2:14 AM
Subject: Fwd: Mountain Dew - Haram



Assalamu 'alaikum waRahmatullaahi wabarakaatuhoo.
�
Please forward this to all our brothers and sisters who have been mislead and are in the dark.
�
Yesterday we had a Muslim brother over and while we were serving food we had Mountain Dew "Pepsi" on the table when the brother looked at the ingredients he found that it has a product called Yellow 5 which is made out of pigs. The brother is a doctor and his wife is a chemist.� Please be careful about what you buy from now, every product that has "Yellow 5" is HARAM.�
�
Marina Hj Abu Bakar
Tel : (016) 3111 401, (03) 7118 2234
Fax : (03) 7118 2235




http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aawaz-e-dost/message/988

^^ I checked this with vegan sources and found it to be untrue. In fact yellow 5 is not haram, but it is bad for you regardless. However Yellow 6 is an animal derivative.

FD&C Yellow 5 (B): Tartrazine. Derived from coal tar. See Colors/Dyes.
FD&C Yellow 6 (B): Monoazo. Derived from coal tar. See Colors/Dyes.
Feathers (B): epidermal appendage of a bird. Most feathers are removed from birds, especially geese, ducks or chickens, during slaughter as a by-product of the poultry industry. They can also be plucked from live birds, especially ducks and geese, who are bred for either meat, foie gras or egg laying and breeding.

Click here for a comprehensive guide on suitable for V/Vegan ingredients and products.

Yellow 5 is also known as tartrazine or E102. Yellow 5 is widely used in the making of potato chips, jams, candy, drinks and even pet food. It is also added to shampoo and other cosmetic products, as well as vitamins and certain medications. Yellow 5 is banned in Austria and Norway, and other European countries have issued warnings about their possible side effects. It is still freely and extensively used in the US, however.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/37...#ixzz1esFHRLMC

allergies

Tartrazine can cause a variety of allergic reactions that vary from mild itching and skin rashes to serious allergy-like hypersensitivity. People who are allergic to aspirin have the strongest responses to Yellow 5. An early European study, published in 1998, showed that people who are allergic to aspirin are more likely to experience adverse reactions to yellow 5. This can include asthma attacks and bronchoconstriction or difficulty breathing.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/37...#ixzz1esFK4c5n

Hyperactivity

Yellow 5 seems to cause hyperactivity in some children. The Food Standards Agency, FSA, which is UK's equivalent to the FDA, issued a warning in 2008 about certain food colorings. The warning said that certain colorings, including tartrazine, can cause behavioral changes in children that included loss of concentration and impulsive, hard-to-control activity. The recommendation is to avoid or limit consumption of products that contain yellow 5. If a child develops hyperactive behavior, try eliminating this coloring from the diet and pay attention to the changes that follow.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/37...#ixzz1esFNVOcp


Other Risks

Yellow 5 has been linked to a number of health problems, including blurred vision, migraines, fatigue and anxiety. It might also cause chromosomal damage, although this hasn't been properly studied or documented.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/37...#ixzz1esFRhVDB

Risk of Cancer

According to board certified family physician Dr. Joel Fuhrman, some dyes can be contaminated by chemical carcinogens as they go through the manufacturing process. Yellow 5 is one of these colorings. As it is manufactured, yellow 5 runs the risk of coming into contact with carcinogenic substances, such as benzidine.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/37...#ixzz1esFUizNd

[Mellow]

Energy drinks are Not Haraam.

[Qaswa]

and waht about non aloholic beer. it has become so widespread here in an islamic country,,but in my opinion its the same as real beer

Beer by definition is "an alcoholic drink". why should something non-alcoholic called a "beer" then. As you said its nothing but beer.

[Neon Teen]

I am not sure but I live in Saudi Arabia and I can proudly say that they only allow/export hallal drinks here.

[Abz2000]

i went there and my cousin who worked there guided us around, when we went to the supermarket he took us to the refrigerator and (possibly because of our past) said in a conspiratory tone: "you've got to try this - it will zone you out", it was very difficult to explain to him that it said 0.0% alcohol,
it's funny how people drink it just to imitate kuffar

[esperanza]

I am not sure but I live in Saudi Arabia and I can proudly say that they only allow/export hallal drinks here.

yes but so many people drink non alcoholic beer which looks and smeels like beer..and there are tv adverts showing it as the coolthing to drink

[GuestFellow]

I'm not sure about that. Is there a specific reason they should be?

Although, on many occasions, they tend to be not Halaal. I once heard that "Monster" uses cow sperm. Would anyone even want to drink it after hearing that?

And besides, they stunt your growth.

Ah do you have evidence to support your claims? O____o

[Insaanah]

:sl:

I live in Saudi Arabia and I can proudly say that they only allow/export hallal drinks here.

i went there and my cousin who worked there guided us around, when we went to the supermarket he took us to the refrigerator and (possibly because of our past) said in a conspiratory tone: "you've got to try this - it will zone you out", it was very difficult to explain to him that it said 0.0% alcohol

Interesting that the drinks say 0.0% alcohol. Shame they don't add in another decimal place to give the true story. While they are marketed, presented and classified as alcohol free, they are, in reality, very low alcohol drinks, typically containing anywhere upto 0.5% alcohol.

The Holsten pictured above contains 0.02% alcohol. Becks, which also sells in Saudi contains 0.05%.

There are truly alcohol free beers, such as Kirin Free, produced by the Kirin Brewery Company of Japan, which contains 0.00% alcohol, i.e. no alcohol. This beer is produced without fermentation, while the low alcohol ones mentioned above, start off life being brewed and fermented, and are actually conventional beer but with the alcohol subsequently boiled/filtered off. However this will always leave a trace of alcohol behind.

Interesting that the Japanese are drinking truly alcohol free, while Muslims are not.

it's funny how people drink it just to imitate kuffar

I agree with the sentiment here. If the Kuffaar do it, Muslims feel they must imitate it. It's almost like an inferiority complex, that somehow everything they do is better, so we must copy them to not be left behind, to not appear "backwards", to fit in, to look the part, to look "modern" etc. So if kaafirs drink alcohol, we have got to somehow appear as though we are drinking it too. Laa howla wa laa quwwata illaa billaah.

It reminds me of this hadeeth:

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported Allah's Messenger :saws: as saying: You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah's Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words)" those before you"? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)? [Sahih Muslim, book 34, hadith no 6448]

is regular grape juice okay?

Yes. This is fine. We have to be vigilant about clear apple juice though. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but it is basically cloudy apple juice clarified by passing through a filter to make it clear. The filters are often gelatin, which can be animal in origin, and it can leave a residue in the final product. So we have to check with the manufacturers to make sure there is no animal residue in their clear apple juice, or that they use a different clarifying method. Better still, to avoid all this, drink it cloudy.

Interestingly, wine and beers undergo the same filtration - that is why vegetarians won't drink any old wine or beer, but one that is specifically marked as being suitable for vegetarians, as most of them aren't, due to these animal residues from the filters. So the conventionally produced beers above, contain not only small amounts of alcohol, but possibly non-halal animal residues as well.

And Allah knows best in all matters.

[Abz2000]

a lot of energy drinks use taurine, it's not bull sperm but it is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine :enough!:

[Abz2000]

this is where the taurine be's at:

[جوري]

There's a difference between 'alcohol free' and 'non-alcoholic' to those of you who remember anything from your organic chemistry courses, removing alcohol by way of distillation will never make any substance 100% non-alcoholic, the same way your disinfectant can't kill 100% of the bacteria.
It isn't about what will intoxicate you or what won't simply put 'ma askar katheroh fa qaleeloh haram'
would you have a drink knowing it only had trace urine? like 0.05% urine won't kill you, but if you find that unpalatable at any percent even if completely removed by a chemical process it won't be acceptable to you at 1% or 100% that is how most practicing Muslims view any form of alcohol in the beverage..

:w:

[UmmuShaheed]

Although I dont really drink energy drinks, that made me never want to drink it.
and I like the comment karimum made, we should go back and ask for sources before passing on information were not sure of.
-Allah Knows Best