Guarana berries are the main ingredient in a popular soft drink called guarana soda, which is sold worldwide but most popular in Brazil and Argentina. Guarana extract is also used in energy drinks, juices, and teas, and is believed to have potential health benefits such as killing cancerous tissue and improving brain function.
Guarana berries, sourced from the Amazon River Basin of South America, form the cornerstone of a popular soft drink called guarana soda. Providing energy like caffeine, these berries are also suspected of being effective for treating several different medical problems, from overeating and impotence to headaches and even cancer. While this type of soda is sold worldwide in 2011, mostly by companies like Goya and Guarana Antarctica, its main market is in countries like Brazil and Argentina. In Brazil, it’s not Coca-Cola or Pepsi, but rather “Coca-Cola or Antarctica.”
Second only to Coca-Cola in popularity in Brazil, the Guarana Antarctica brand of guarana soda is reportedly the most visible brand in the early 21st century. According to this product’s label, a single can contains just 140 calories, mostly from simple sugars which are the second most common ingredient behind soda water. Aside from the standard soda constituents such as citric acid and other preservatives, guarana extract and other “natural ingredients” add a distinctive fruity flavor to the final product.
Guarana Antarctica has absolutely no monopoly on guarana soda. This drink is also produced in countries such as Portugal and as far east as Japan, producing dozens of store-bought beverages in a wide range of flavors. One New Zealand company has even produced a guarana-based “epop,” which is a lollipop in various flavors that also contains a lot of caffeine, B vitamins, and taurine.
Guarana extract or guarana sodas in bulk form are regularly used as the basis for energy drinks, juices and teas sold around the world. A typical 2011 energy drink might contain a combination of guarana or guarana soda and other well-known stimulant ingredients like gingko biloba, acai, caffeine and ginseng. In turn, bartenders have been known to use guarana soda or guarana energy drinks to further enhance the alcoholic effects of various cocktails in an essentially natural way.
Some attribute not only energizing effects to the guarana berry. Though it urges further study, New York City’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center preliminary studies on its website show the berries are demonstrating success, as of 2011, for killing cancerous tissue in vitro, quelling anxiety and stimulate brain activity. Additionally, the center says that studies on guarana supplementation appear to have revealed the berry’s effectiveness in improving brain function and metabolism. Beyond these potentially life-saving qualities, however, lie those who believe the berry is also a powerful aphrodisiac.
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