A few months ago Orbana Healthy Energy got in touch with me and asked if I would like to sample their product. After a long delay, I am finally getting round to reviewing their product. I will be breaking this Orbana Healthy Energy review down into the following sections:
- 1) PRODUCT OVERVIEW:- In this section I will be discussing Orbana Healthy Energy and outlining its proposed health benefits.
- 2) HOW DOES IT TASTE?:- In this section I will be discussing how Orbana Healthy Energy tastes and how this taste compares with rival brands.
- 3) NUTRITIONAL BREAKDOWN:- In this section I will be providing a full nutritional breakdown of Orbana Healthy Energy and comparing this to other leading energy drinks.
- 4) GOOD POINTS:- In this section I will be sharing what I liked about Orbana Healthy Energy.
- 5) BAD POINTS:- In this section I will be discussing what I disliked about Orbana Healthy Energy.
- 6) DOES IT WORK?:- In this section I will be answering the key question; “Does Orbana Healthy Energy live up to its claims?”
- 7) OVERALL RATING:- In this section I will be summarising the review and giving Orbana Healthy Energy an overall score out of 10.
1) PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Orbana Healthy Energy is a powder based energy drink. Unlike the majority of its competitors, Orbana claims to be both healthy and provide energy. It contains no caffeine, colours, preservatives or sweeteners and contains high levels of amino acids, complex carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. Orbana also claims to delay fatigue for up to 2 hours and provide all the benefits of an energy drink, a hydration drink and a recovery drink in one. Finally, it is environmentally friendly because it requires less fossil fuel than liquid beverages to transport.
2) HOW DOES IT TASTE?
For a powder based drink, Orbana Healthy Energy tastes surprisingly good. In fact it is probably one of the best tasting supplements I have sampled. The flavour is very similar to Lucozade except that it is still and tastes of pineapple. Orbana Healthy Energy tastes much better than many of the leading energy drinks, health drinks and sports drinks on the market. If it was sold in the shops then it would definitely hold its own in terms of taste.
3) NUTRITIONAL BREAKDOWN
As I discussed above, Orbana Healthy Energy claims to offer the unique proposition of being an energy drink, a healthy drink, a hydration drink and a recovery drink all in one. But just how does it compare to its competitors? The table below provide a full nutritional breakdown of a 100 millilitre (ml) serving of each of the following:
– A) Orbana Healthy Energy.
– B) Leading Energy Drink.
– C) Leading Fruit Drink.
– D) Leading Hydration Drink.
– E) Leading Protein Drink.
– F) Leading Sport Drink.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| CARBOHYDRATES (GRAMS – g) | 14.1 | 11.3 | 6.8 | 4.6 | 0 | 6.4 |
| Of which Simple Carbohydrates | 8.9 | 10.7 | 6.8 | 4.6 | 0 | 3.5 |
| Of which Complex Carbohydrates | 5.2 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 |
| WATER (g) | 85.9 | 88.3 | 93.2 | 95.4 | 0 | 93.6 |
| AMINO ACIDS (MILLIGRAMS – mg) | 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 221 | 0 |
| Of which Isoleucine (Essential Amino Acid) |
26 |
0 |
0 | 0 | 70 | 0 |
| Of which Leucine (Essential Amino Acid) |
112 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
84 |
0 |
| Of which Methionine (Essential Amino Acid) | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Of which Valine (Essential Amino Acid) | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 0 |
| MINERALS (mg) | 88 | 80 | 0 | 80 | 9 | 59 |
| Macrominerals |
87 |
80 |
0 |
80 |
9 |
59 |
| Of which Potassium | 43 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Of which Sodium |
44 | 80 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 50 |
| Microminerals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Of which Chromium |
0.3 |
0 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Of which Zinc |
0.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VITAMINS (mg) | 33.2 | 11.41 |
6.29 |
10.54 | 0 | 0.76 |
| Fat Soluble Vitamins |
0.64 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Of which Vitamin E |
0.64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Water Soluble Vitamins |
32.56 |
11.41 |
6.29 |
10.54 |
0 |
0.76 |
| Of which Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) | 0.4 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Of which Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) |
1.3 |
0 |
0.13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Of which Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | 3.04 | 8.36 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0 | 0.57 |
| Of which Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) | 1 | 1.65 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.15 |
| Of which Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) | 1.12 | 1.4 | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0 | 0.04 |
| Of which Vitamin B7 (Biotin) | 0.019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Of which Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid) | 0.08 | 0 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Of which Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) | 0.0007 | 0.003 | 0.00015 | 0.00015 | 0 | 0.00005 |
| Of which Vitamin C (Ascrobic Acid) |
25.6 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| CREATINE (mg) | 224 | 0 |
0 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
As you can see, Orbana Healthy Energy has a very good nutritional profile. It contains more carbohydrates per serving than all the leading competitors, making it an excellent source of energy. In terms of amino acids (which facilitate the growth, maintenance and repair of your muscle cells after an intense workout), Orbana Healthy Energy is second only to protein drinks. It also contains a good mix of minerals and vitamins which have multiple health benefits. In addition to this, Orbana Healthy Energy contains creatine which can increase energy levels during workouts.
4) GOOD POINTS
1) It has a good nutrient profile:- As discussed in the nutritional breakdown above, Orbana Healthy Energy contains a great mix of amino acids, carbohydrates, creatine, minerals and vitamins. It has the best nutrient profile by far when compared to leading competitors. Most importantly, the amounts of nutrients it contains are within the recommended daily allowance (RDA) which means you will not be in danger of mineral overdose or vitamin overdose when taking Orbana Healthy Energy.
2) It tastes good:- In my opinion Orbana Healthy Energy tastes much better than most energy drinks and slightly better than most sports drinks. As I already said, if Orbana Healthy Energy was available on supermarket shelves it would be one of the first drinks I looked for because of its flavour.
5) BAD POINTS
1) It is relatively expensive:- Even when you buy in bulk, Orbana Healthy Energy comes in at just under £2 per serving. Even the leading energy drinks, fruit drinks, hydration drinks, protein drinks and sports drinks come in at around £1 per serving which makes Orbana Healthy Energy quite an expensive choice.
2) There are more competitive health supplements available:- As a direct competitor to off the shelf energy drinks, Orbana Healthy Energy is nutritionally one of the best. However, there are better and cheaper health supplements available on the market. For example, if you shop around you can get high quality creatine for less than 20p per serving, high quality protein for less than 50p per serving, high quality vitamin and mineral mixes for less than 20p per serving and high quality energy mixes for less than 35p a serving.
6) DOES IT WORK?
Unfortunately, I did not feel that Orbana Healthy Energy significantly boosted my energy levels during my workouts. I did notice a slight, temporary lift whilst drinking Orbana Healthy Energy but nothing substantial enough to improve my workout performance.
7) OVERALL RATING
5/10
I think the main problem with Orbana Healthy Energy is that it tries to be too many things. Whilst it does some of these things quite well (for example, it provides you with quite a good mix of minerals and vitamins) it does not really excel in any area. If you are looking for energy, then there are better and cheaper pre-workout mixes available. If you want amino acids, protein shakes contain a much richer blend at a much lower cost. Even as a direct competitor to off the shelf energy drinks such as Lucozade and Red Bull, Orbana Healthy Energy falls short because it is almost twice the price. Although it is nutritionally better than many off the shelf energy drinks, it does not warrant such an expensive price tag.
