Chemical Evolution + Me = Kick Ass Energy

Anytime I've opened for suggestions on what you guys want to read here at Ribbons & Pearls, I usually get one of three answers: sex, energy or health.

 I love all those things, and I'm lucky enough to be enjoying all three lately. And since another one of my favorite things are you guys, I'm going to share with you my latest energy stash from Chemical Evolution, no less. Gotta love them!

And I'm a firm believer that every girl (and guy) should have an energy stash... 

Chemical Evolution has absolutely everything an energy product enthusiast could ever need, which is why they're my BFF.

As you can tell from the energy stash pictures, Chemical Evolution has energy in gum form, sucker form, chocolate form, tart form, etc. I'll start by talking about the ones I've tried from this stash so far --  the Think Gum and the Double Kick Candy Tarts, both of which are awesome. 

I love the Think Gum! Hell, I love all of it, but the Think Gum has something neat about it. It's good for those days when you want energy big time, but you still need to keep your head on straight. As the Think Gum pack says "stop cheating and start thinking." I like that. It says for best results, "chew while studying or learning and again to recall information." And just how do you think I was able to quote that? By chewing Think Gum while I type this, of course! No, not by reading the pack as I type. 

Anyways, Think Gum's cute slogan isn't just cute. Their ingredients back up their claims. The key ingredients are effective "according to a published peer-reviewed study, Think Gum improves memory by over 25%." 

That is a quote straight from the Think Gum pack. And Think Gum has actually published all the information about the studies behind the gum online.


Ginkgo Biloba, for example is one ingredient in the gum and it's been shown to have effects on the brain and memory. And seriously, who wouldn't want both energy and a sharp mind? What would you do with all that energy if you didn't have good thinking to put with it, right?

  Some of the other awesome think-boosting ingredients in Think Gum include: Bacopa, Guarana, Vinpocetine, Rosemary and Peppermint. 

Let's talk about those ingredients and how they work:

Ginkgo Biloba:   A cognitive enhancer. Promotes mental health and prevents forgetfulness.  It also has the ability to protect cells from oxidative stress.


Peppermint: brightens mood, enhances the memory, helps with mental clarity. There's even a study that shows the aroma of peppermint alone helps improve performance such as careless errors. And I happen to know that peppermint can be very helpful for stomach upsets.

Rosemary: Relieves headache, eases tension, improves memory and mental clarity and also improves your mood.

Vinpocetine: Vinpocetine increases blood flow to the brain. It enhances cognitive function, has shown to improve performance on short-term memory tests.

Bacopa:  Contains brain-boosting compounds. Improves speed of information processing, verbal learning rate and memory. Helps repair damaged nerves, when used over the course of around a couple weeks.

Guarana:  Increases performance and energy (from the caffeine content in the Guarana berries), and boosts brain, quickens perceptions.

Think Gum also contains antioxidants, which fight free radicals, do a lot of other wonderful things and provide protection for the brain.

What else do I adore about Think Gum? 
- The ingredients are herbal (and safe, for most people) and I'm an herbal fanatic because they have so many great benefits. Like giving you energy!

-All of the ingredients underlined above have actually proved their effectiveness.

-Think Gum contains 20 mg of natural caffeine. Let's give it up for natural! I love natural stuff. 

-Lasts a nice while. I've been going for 3 hours. I did combine it with a Double Kick, too, though.

Double Kick Energy Tablets

Now, for the Double Kick Candy tarts, I'm fond as heck of them, too. The watermelon flavor is fabulous. It tastes great -- almost like the watermelon flavored Jolly Ranchers, only it isn't so hard on your teeth. They look something like a Tums and they chew about the same only they aren't chalky.

 Something else I like about them is that you can actually taste the "energy" in them, and by that I mean the potent taste of something that has a lot of energy ingredients. It lets me know I'll be talking someone's ears off before I finish chewing, and that's always something I look forward to. They also come in several flavors, which are labeled as: Crush, Squeeze, Fresh, Blast and Splash. Strange, I know. I could not tell the exact flavor of the Squeeze -- somewhat cherry flavored I think -- but knew the Crush was watermelon. They all taste fruity and very tasty!

Each pack comes with two tablets of Double Kick Energy. 

1 Tablet is 1 serving. Each contains 5 calories and has 0 grams of sugar, and contains 80mg of caffeine. 

So they're ideal for people who like a boat load of energy but not sugar. 

The back of the packs say 1 tablet is equal to an 8.oz energy drink, and I have to agree. Just one of these tablets gets me wired! Also, earlier, I ate one tablet and a few minutes later chewed a piece of the Think Gum. Talk about busting at the seams. I really haven't shut up since. The only reason my mouth isn't moving now is because my fingers are (typing). 

I also love that these Double Kick Energy Tablets have Vitamin B6 and B12 in them. Those are great not only because they have health benefits, but they provide fabulous energy. And lasting energy, at that. I'd say I've got at least another hour before I even begin to feel a decline. I ate my first one 3 hours ago. That's pretty impressive! I can have one cup of strong, strong coffee and come down in an hour or less. So these are definitely ideal for long-lasting energy.

It says not to consume more than 3 every 24 hours. That means, as it stands, I could maybe have one more tablet  tonight (if we don't count the piece of Energy Gum I chewed earlier). Shhh.


 I've yet to feel any kind of hard crashing off either the Think Gum (which really shouldn't cause a crash anyways since the ingredients are so good) or the Double Kick. No "jitters," either, but then again, it does take a lot to make me jitter.


And onto another Energy Gum --  one of my favorite ways to get energy. 

                   This is the X8 Energy Gum. It even looks like a badass, huh?



It too is a fabulous energy source that's low in sugar, calories and fat. It contains 0 grams fat, 5 calories, 2 carbohydrates and only 2 grams sugar alcohol. 

The X8 Energy Gum contains B Vitamins and Caffeine, which is always a surefire way to light a fuse under your... behind. And even more interesting, X8 Gum uses "Pure performance science," which refers to the X8's dual layer compression technology & controlled released formula. The pack says it "scientifically delivers performance."

The name X8 is chalked up to the Energy Gum's "8 times faster absorption, 8 pieces = 5 energy drinks and 8 pieces in your pocket."

X8 Energy Gum has a provides  outstanding performance and I honestly can't think of anyone who could chew a piece and not be hyped. 

What can we thank for all this amazing energy? 50% Thiamine, 50% Riboflavin, 50% Vitamin B6, 50% Niacin, 50% Vitamin B12 and 50% Pantothenic Acid. 

The flavor is a well-tolerated peppermint that X8 calls "Powermint." The minty flavor is great because it masks what would otherwise probably taste like energy hell. 

Wow. I can't express how totally furious I am right now. I had just finished typing up an entire two hour's worth of information on the Rockit Pops, also from Chemical Evolution, and near the very, very end, my internet had a random f&!* up and bam. I lost every last bit of it. So, I'm going to try and re-do it all, but I doubt it'll be as kick-ass as it was the first time 'round, so bear with me. I'm kind of really down about that. Let me try and remember what I had typed...

I don't think I've ever met someone who doesn't like candy. I also don't think I've met anyone who doesn't like having energy. Rockit Pops are like a 2-in-1 candy+energy. They come in different flavors (grape, blue raspberry, chocolate, cherry and orange.) So far, my favorite is blue raspberry.

Rockit Pops contain 4 B Vitamins ( B3, B5, B6, and B12), which is a pro because they're a big source of energy and have health benefits.

As the Rockit Pops wrapper claims, it does provide an even boost of energy rather than a huge, sudden burst. That's because you eat it like a sucker, and it says not to chew. I imagine that's why -- because eating it like a sucker provides more of an on-going boost.

How long does a Rockit Pop Keep Me Going?

For me, the average energy product keeps me going good for 3 hours before I start to notice a change. In products like Rockit Pops, the change happens gradually, so I don't feel a strong, sudden change or crash. Rockit Pops are no exception. I'll feel the results for at least 3 hours before noticing a change, 2 if I'm exhausted. However, I know some people who can eat a Rockit Pop in the evening and still be awake late into the night.

Rockit Pops are made in the USA, are  convenient, contain as much caffeine as a cup of coffee an are tasty. Each Rockit Pop contains 50 calories. They're fat, cholesterol and sodium free. The back of the wrapper says "Kosher Pareve." 

And there's more to love:    Rockit Pops do not contain  artificial sweeteners, salt, fat, trans fat, cholesterol, yeast, gluten, or preservatives, and is not manufactured in a facility that processes wheat, milk, egg, crustacean shellfish, fish, peanut, tree nuts, or soy products.

   

That's impressive! It's very tough to find energy products that don't contain loads of nasty ingredients that are really harmful for our health. I know, you'll probably say caffeine isn't the healthiest -- and studies are forever contradicting themselves on this -- but that doesn't mean us energy lovers want to poison ourselves with unnecessary artificial crap. So, kudos for healthier ingredients!

The taste is very much like a candy sucker, but it certainly does provide energy and there's no doubt energy causin' ingredients that are noticeable to the taste buds, and the vitamins are as well.

The ingredients are as follows:

Ingredients: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Taurine, Glucoronolactone, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Inositol, Caffeine, Niacinamide, Natural and Artificial Color (Includes FD&C Red 3 & 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5 & 6), Calcium Pantothenate, Pyrodoxine HCI, and Cyanocobalamin.

Okay, so I know this isn't nearly as peppy as it was when I first wrote it. I'm silently cursing my internet service provider right now for losing all that precious typing. But, I think, for the most part, I've included most of what I had said.
Next week, you'll see the remaining stash, which contains two more of my very favorite things: sex, chocolate and of course, energy!