food

You are what you eat: The Gut as the “second brain”

Monster. Cocaine. Red Bull. Venom. Whoop Ass. Just a few years ago, these names might look like a list of fears. But they aren’t—in fact, those are the names of something that young adults seem obsessed with getting: energy drinks. You can find them at the school bookstore, the drug store, or restaurants you go out to, either to help you stay awake to study or give you energy as you rush from activity to activity. Though energy drinks are not marketed specifically as “health” beverages, their potential dangers have certainly raised many new questions in the health world. Like most consumer products, these drinks are not made primarily to give people energy; they are created and defined through their “brand” to make money. But how does brand work as a scientific story?