Energy drinks can often be a key part of college students’ daily diet. We all have that one friend who can always be seen with a Monster or Red Bull in hand, and with access to a Powerade slot at every soda fountain, students here at UND certainly don’t have to worry about where to find their next boost of energy.

With so many brands and flavors to choose from, we often just pick a drink based on what our friends are drinking or on superficial reasons, such as which tastes the best or which logo is the coolest. Five Hour Energy, for example, is very popular, and it also happens to come in shot form. With the massive advertising assault that big companies launch from every direction, it’s no surprise that we might be consuming energy drinks for the wrong reasons, regardless of the negative health effects they are reported to cause.

A few days ago, I came across a video on YouTube of a kid who opened his Monster energy drink to find a dead mouse at the bottom. He finished the entire can before realizing that he got more than he bargained for. That would be more than enough to stop most people from ever consuming Monster again.

According to an article published by MSN.com, energy drinks high in caffeine — practically all of them — may strain your heart and cause it contract more rapidly. I don’t know about you, but the extra boost of energy for that morning class isn’t worth heart failure. I’ll stick with my coffee.

Thankfully, there is a new energy supplement called Vemma available on the market that aims to be healthier than others.

On top of that, the company that puts it out is allowing young people to share in the profits it’s making by signing up to join the company. The company’s name is Vemma, and after a few years preparation, the company is finally ready to explode with an estimated profit of $250 million this year. By 2016, it is expected to rake in $1 billion, all this according to Alex Morton, a senior member of the company ranked by Vemma as a “Royal Ambassador” — he also gets paid $1 million a year, so there’s that.

After being introduced to Vemma through my friend Jake Jankow, who attends William Paterson University, I found myself more than interested. Jankow purchased a builder pack and has been marketing the drink to his classmates at school for Vemma this past August and is set to earn a brand new Mercedes leased from the company.

Vemma, the official drink of the Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Coyotes, stands for Vitamins Essential Minerals Mangosteen Aloe Vera and is the healthiest energy supplement on the market.

According to a clinical trial published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, Vemma “up-regulated both the innate and acquired immune responses (and) resulted in an enhancement of the quality of life.”

Some might call Vemma a pyramid scheme, but I can confidently say  neither Red Bull nor Monster have medical journals supporting their nutritive qualities.

Morton, like Jankow, started from scratch, buying into the company with a starter pack purchase of 48 drinks that he marketed to his friends and family, and look at where he is now. Jankow’s adviser in the company, Steven Graziani, has earned enough cash in the 14 months he’s worked for Vemma to retire his mother, and currently makes $120,000 a year, with two leased Mercedes to show for it.

It’s quite possible the Powerade spout at the soda fountains in Wilkerson will someday dispense Vemma.

Dusk Crescenzo is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at dusk.crescenzo@my.und.edu.