FRS Clinical Studies: Men are not Mice

Baltimore, MDThe Wild West prevails when it comes to FRS energy drinks. The US has some of the most lax regulatory requirements of energy drinks, including health warnings and content labeling, which often opens the floodgates to aggressive marketing, false advertising and inevitably lawsuits.

According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, caffeinated drinks are an ongoing concern, mainly because there is no limit to the amount of caffeine they can contain. Manufacturers of energy drinks like the FRS Company are thrilled that they can market their products as dietary supplements: they don't have to undergo the scrutiny of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), unlike cola drinks, for which the FDA has capped the amount of caffeine to 70 milligrams per 12 ounces.

Compared with other energy drinks, FRS has a low dose of caffeine, with 38 mg of caffeine per 11 oz serving. (Coca-Cola Classic has 35 mg, Dr Pepper has 41 mg, and some energy drinks can pack up to 150 mg caffeine.) So the amount of caffeine in an FRS energy drink isn't as troubling as is its false advertising.

FRS is being heavily marketed to athletes as a performance-boosting drink. It also claims to reduce inflammation and help the immune system, for which the company says it has proof through clinical trials with mice.

Herein lies the problem: There is no proof that quercetine does not increase mitochondria production or boost athletic performance in humans in any way. Quercetin is a type of plant-based chemical, or phytochemical, known as a flavonoid. It can be found in apples, onions, teas, red wines, and many other foods. Some health professionals are concerned that consumers, particularly young men, will substitute energy drinks for fruits and vegetables, which would mean a lack of fiber in their diet and could pave the way for serious health issues.

When the lawsuit for Coca-Cola's VitaminWater was initiated, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) nutritionists said that "the 33 grams of sugar in each bottle do more to promote obesity, diabetes and other health problems than the vitamins in the drinks do to perform the advertised benefits listed on the bottles." FRS healthy energy drink contains 19 grams of sugar per 11 oz bottle.

And this from the FRS website: "Getting adequate amounts of beneficial antioxidants is important to help maintain good health. A recent DARPA-funded clinical study conducted by Appalachian State University demonstrated that quercetin, one of the key active antioxidant ingredients in FRS, can help reduce susceptibility to viral illness and help maintain mental performance in physically stressed individuals."

In fact a study by researchers at the UGA College of Education (results were published in the Journal of Applied Physiology) may have FRS backpedalling:

"We did not see any performance enhancing effect of quercetin," said Professor Kirk Cureton, head of the department of kinesiology. "To a certain extent that was disappointing because our hypothesis, based on previous studies in mice, was that we would see positive effects. But our findings are important because they suggest that results from the animal studies shouldn't be generalized to humans."

Cuerton says his study recruited 30 men who were healthy but not endurance-trained and randomly assigned them to either an experimental group or a placebo group. If there had been a performance-enhancing effect of quercetin, he and his researchers would have found it. Cuerton also said that several other [quercetin] studies currently in review for publication also have found no performance-enhancing effect.

Interestingly, the research was funded by the Coca-Cola company. After the findings were published, Coca-Cola seems to have lost its interest in FRS and Pepsi-Cola became its distributor. "The take home message here is that promising results in mice don't necessarily translate to humans," Cureton said.

Consumer rights attorneys are currently investigating FRS Healthy Energy and the legality of The FRS Company's marketing claims and billing practices. Those attorneys are interested in hearing from FRS customers who have had problems either with the performance of the product or with The FRS Company's billing practices.