Rage Coffee and Borecha kombucha (strawberry version) have Panax Ginseng and Gingko Biloba have in them. Are they safe?
I am not making this post to scare anyone. I just want to inform everyone so that they can take appropriate action depending on their circumstances.
The two brands I will talk about are Rage Coffee and Borecha kombucha from Latambarcem Brewers.
Rage Coffee was launched in 2018 and it became popular during the Covid lockdowns. A famous Indian cricketer became its brand ambassador. Advertisements appealed to the Gen Z demographic with visuals of heavily tattooed women enjoying their cup of Rage Coffee. I started drinking it as well, and loved it. Some flavours let you enjoy the same premium experience you get in a coffee shop. Today, Rage Coffee is even sold in Indian defence canteens.
However, there are some serious problems. If you go to Rage Coffee’s Amazon page, it shows you that it contains “natural plant-based vitamins” but doesn’t include their names in the textual description. It is mentioned in an image but not in the description. So most of us would be too lazy to look it up.
Rage Coffee purposely uses vague language describing the ingredients as boosting vitality, endurance etc. The hidden meaning is that some of it causes enhanced male sxual performance and also increases sxual desire in women. It is the side effects of these adaptogens that should cause concern.
Panax Ginseng is one of the ingredients in Rage Coffee. It is also known as Korean Ginseng. It improves the symptoms of ED (erectile dysfunction/impotence) and also increases women’s sexual desire. It helps in blood sugar regulation. But it also creates some other problems. Panax Ginseng is said to potentially cause birth defects in animals. It causes growth in midbrain and other parts of the brain of young rats. Pregnant women must not take it. This is according to WebMD (not an official medical website), PubMed NCBI (top medical research website) and MedLinePlus.gov (official US govt website). California law says all Panax ginseng supplements sold in the state must have this warning on its label. But why Indian authorities cannot do so?
Panax ginseng also increases the activity of the autoimmune system. Our immunity system protects our body from foreign organisms. But when the immune system is compromised and it begans attacking the normal cells of the body, it results in autoimmune disease. In patients with systemic lupus erythamatosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), this adaptogen (ginseng) must be avoided. it could interfere with the medicines given for these conditions and potentially create problems. Elderly people with bone or joint pains may be rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Some diabetic medications work by decreasing blood glucose levels. Since panax also does the same it can result in blood sugar levels becoming too low. Panax is similar to estrogen and should be avoided in people with uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, or breast cancer. There are a few cases in which boys who took ginseng developed gynaecomastia (male breast/moobs).
It creates sleep disturbance and agitation in schizophrenia patients. Panax also has drug interactions with antidepressant medicines, meaning it alters their biochemistry and affects your treatment.
Gingko Bioloba: It is produced from the leaves of the gingko tree. Its seeds are poisonous and should be avoided. According to Mayo Clinic, you should not take it if:
If you are epileptic or prone to seizures, avoid ginkgo. Large amounts of ginkgotoxin can cause seizures. Ginkgotoxin is found in ginkgo seeds and, to a lesser extent, ginkgo leaves.
If you are older, have a bleeding disorder or are pregnant, don’t take ginkgo. The supplement might increase your risk of bleeding. If you’re planning to have surgery, stop taking ginkgo two weeks beforehand.
Ginkgo might interfere with the management of diabetes. If you take ginkgo and have diabetes, closely monitor your blood sugar levels.
Some research has shown that rodents given ginkgo had an increased risk of developing liver and thyroid cancers.
Its drug interactions (one medicine interfering with the action of other medicines):
Interactions
Possible interactions include:
Alprazolam (Xanax). Taking ginkgo with this drug used to relieve symptoms of anxiety might reduce the drug’s effectiveness.
Anticoagulants and anti-platelet drugs, herbs and supplements. These types of drugs, herbs and supplements reduce blood clotting. Taking ginkgo with them might increase your risk of bleeding.
Anticonvulsants and seizure threshold lowering drugs, herbs and supplements. Large amounts of ginkgotoxin can cause seizures. Ginkgotoxin is found in ginkgo seeds and, to a lesser extent, ginkgo leaves. It’s possible that taking ginkgo could reduce the effectiveness of an anticonvulsant drug.
Antidepressants. Taking ginkgo with certain antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem) and imipramine (Tofranil), might decrease their effectiveness.
Certain statins. Taking ginkgo with simvastatin (Zocor) might reduce the drug’s effects. Ginkgo also appears to reduce the effects of atorvastatin (Lipitor).
Diabetes drugs. Ginkgo might alter your response to these drugs.
Ibuprofen. It’s possible that combining ginkgo with ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) might increase your risk of bleeding.
These two ingredients are found in Rage Coffee. However, it is also found in some flavours (strawberry) of Borecha from Latambarcem Breweries, a Goan company from a village of the same name. They invested 25 crores (250 million rupees) of their own money and only took loans later (source: QuickCompany.in and interviews). Last year they got funding from angel investors for expansion into the European market. They are already selling it in foreign countries. Their social media says they know sugar is bad and therefore their products have only 8 grams of sugar, compared to so much more in Coca Cola and other soft drinks. WHO says 24 grams of sugar is the daily limit.
I request these companies to either responsibly disclose the side effects of these ingredients or remove them from the products. Borecha is very delicious, and I think removal of Panax Ginseng and Gingko Biloba will make it safer while ensuring a safe experience for its consumers. Rage Coffee should also disclose it and explain why they haven’t revealed it in the past 7 years.
US government website: https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/natural/1000.html
WebMed: https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1000/panax-ginseng
Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-ginkgo/art-20362032
PubMed: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8020288/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18204104/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panax_ginseng
P.S. I was unable to post this to Reddit as they shadowbanned my VPN account. They didn’t reinstate it after I appealed the ban. Lemmy.ml and Feddit.uk seem to be good websites (I am relatively new) so if this post gets shared online and goes viral, please check them out :)