I got a good laugh out of a "low cal" energy product. Apparently the active ingredient is Quercetin (300mg), a powerful antioxidant, that can also be purchased at a drugstore ($15 for 500x500mg or ~120x better value). I've taken multiple statistics courses and a health care ethics course, so I am a little interested in performing a study to see if this stuff really works. FRS's operations are a little shady (a "free trial" where they automatically renew your order and charge you for it), so I will feel no guilt when I either prove that their product is "not very effective" or if it is effective, suggest that quercetin should be purchased from a drugstore.
Experimental Design: I propose a blind, placebo controlled paired test. I will be the subject and I will be randomly served either a placebo (wild berry flavoured juice mix) or FRS per day without knowing what I am served. I will then describe how I feel, specifically my energy level, and at the end of the study, I will compare the serving (juice mix or FRS) to how I felt, and draw some conclusions.
A couple of potential issues with this experimental design:
-Although I will not know what I am taking (juice mix or FRS), if the two have significantly different flavours, colours, textures, etc, then that may influence the results as I might recognize what I have been given and my impression will be influenced by a previous impression. Hopefully the flavours are close enough, and I will use an opaque bottle.
-Days after hard workouts/races or after less sleep will generally have lower energy levels. Maybe I should eliminate those days from the test...
-Should I be taking 2 servings per day?
Anyways, for over $2 per serving, I would hope to see some measurable results!
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