Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice. All statements are merely the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to energy drinks.
Bang Energy is one of the most popular energy drink brands, often used by younger generations as a coffee alternative or pre-workout. The brand describes its product line as "innovations that fuel the mind, body and spirit."
But is Bang Energy unhealthy? Which ingredients provide the energy boost? Does Bang have any questionable additive ingredients? And why was Bang Energy sued over a missing ingredient?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze the ingredients in Bang Energy based on medical studies to give our take on whether the brand is healthy or not.
We'll feature some unsponsored customer reviews and compare the healthiness of Bang Energy to other popular energy drink brands like Monster and Red Bull to pick a winner.
We'll also explain why the brand was successfully sued in 2022 over a missing ingredient that may force it to go out of business.
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in the Bangster Berry flavor of Bang Energy are shown above.
Caffeine is the predominant active ingredient, at a dose of 300 milligrams (mg). This is equivalent to around three cups of coffee.
Caffeine is one of the most well-studied ingredients that can enhance both physical and mental energy.
This dose of caffeine can also provide athletic benefits. A clinical trial cited by Bang Energy on their product page proves that caffeine at this dose can increase athletic endurance.
This dose of caffeine should be tolerable for healthy adults, but may be inadvisable for children, and people with high blood pressure or anxiety, since caffeine can exacerbate both conditions.
Bang Energy has a wide range of additive ingredients we consider questionable from a health perspective.
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that can negatively affect insulin function.
A clinical trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that sucralose consumption decreased insulin sensitivity in young and healthy volunteers. Insulin sensitivity is important for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.
Potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate are preservatives which were found to alter gene expression in a 2016 medical review. The study authors concluded that “...some of the food preservatives and colorants can contribute to the activation of inflammatory pathways.”
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer.
As we documented in our recent review of the popular hydration brand Pedialyte, there is medical research showing that this ingredient causes whole-body inflammatory reactions in some individuals.
Vitamin C, Vitamin B12 and magnesium are part of a blend of added vitamins and minerals.
Added vitamins and minerals are frequently included in energy drink formulations, and we don’t understand why because we have never come across any medical research suggesting that consuming added vitamins and minerals improves energy.
SUPER CREATINE is a blend in Bang Energy that contains creatine bonded to an amino acid called l-leucine.
While creatine has exercise performance enhancing properties, the dose of this ingredient is not published by Bang Energy, so we cannot evaluate if the dose is effective.
We cannot identify any medical studies on humans suggesting that creatine improves energy, nor does Bang share any on their product page, so we’ll consider this ingredient ineffective for an energy drink formulation.
Overall, we consider Bang Energy to be bad for you.
Like most foods and drinks, it may be acceptable in moderation, but we don't currently recommend it from a health perspective due to the ingredients highlighted above.
We do believe that Bang Energy is likely to improve energy levels due to its effective caffeine dose.
But how do real users rate the experience and healthiness of Bang Energy? We'll feature some unsponsored customer reviews in the next section of this article, before comparing the healthiness of Bang Energy to other popular energy drinks.
Real People Review Bang Energy
A Registered Dietitian (RD) named Addie Roberts reviewed the healthiness, taste and overall experience of Bang Energy in an unsponsored video with over 12,000 views:
A fitness influencer and YouTube creator named "MPFitness" compared Bang Energy to another popular energy drink called Ghost Energy in an entertaining video that ranks both drinks on a scale from 1-10 across various categories like company reputation, caffeine, energy and more:
Bang Energy vs. the Competition
There are a wide variety of energy drinks on the market, but three of the most popular are Monster, Red Bull and Ghost Energy.
Below is our quick comparison between Bang Energy and each of these three drinks in terms of healthiness, along with a winner in each category.
Monster vs. Bang
Monster contains a significant amount of added sugar (while Bang has none).
Monster also contains a mix of three stimulant ingredients (caffeine, glucuronolactone, taurine) that have been found in medical research to be particularly harmful to young adults when combined.
Winner: Bang
Red Bull vs. Bang
As we documented in our article on are Red Bulls bad for you, Red Bull contains 27 grams (g) of added sugar per can, and many of the same ingredients in Bang that we find questionable; namely citric acid and vitamin blends.
The added sugar versus no sugar in Bang is the key difference here.
Winner: Bang
Ghost Energy vs. Bang
Ghost Energy has an extremely similar formulation to Bang. Ghost provides slightly less caffeine (200 mg), but has citric acid, natural flavor, sucralose, two preservatives and a vitamin blend.
Winner: Tie
Even though we noted a significant number of ingredients in Bang Energy that we recommend avoiding, we still consider it to have a healthier formulation than many of the leading energy drinks on the market. We consider the product category as a whole to be rife with unhealthy additive ingredients.
Bang Sued Over Missing Ingredient
In 2022, Bang Energy was sued by the manufacturer of Monster Energy over alleged false advertising.
Bang Energy has a proprietary blend called SUPER CREATINE (as we documented in our ingredient analysis section), but this blend actually contained no creatine, according to Reuters.
This lawsuit appears to have pushed Bang Energy into bankruptcy because it was settled for over $300 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
We consider this to be a red flag about the brand as a whole, and given that the bankruptcy and ownership change appear to be still in progress, we would assume there is still no creatine in this product.
Our Clean Energy Picks
Pique Breakfast Black Tea Sticks is our top whole food energy pick.
Black tea consumption is "associated with rapid increases in alertness and information processing capacity" according to a clinical trial, and Pique's tea is organic and comes in convenient stick packs that can be mixed into water, so a teapot or kettle are not needed.
Performance Lab Energy is our top multi-ingredient energy supplement.
This supplement contains acetyl-l-carnitine which can "improve energy status" according to a medical review published in the Neurochemical Research journal, as well as CoQ10 which "is an effective and safe treatment for reducing fatigue symptoms" according to a 2022 meta-study.
Illuminate Labs Panax Ginseng Extract is our top herbal energy pick.
Panax ginseng extract has been clinically shown to reduce mental fatigue and reduce physical fatigue, and our supplement is third-party tested to ensure its purity and potency.
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.
