Omnivore - Guarana Nation

“An iced Americano, please.” The barista smiled, punched in my order and suggested, “Would you like to try one of our new energy drinks? They have ginseng, B-vitamins, and guarana.”

Ginseng, B-vitamins, and guarana. I thought of “guano” (Incan for bat shit). “Um, no. Thanks.” I turned away, slurping my Americano, perplexed.

I knew she wouldn’t put bat shit in my coffee, but I certainly didn’t want to chance a potential Central American bat disease.

Trying to be unbiased and forget my fecal association with the word, I went home and did a little research. From what I gathered, if you’re a smoker, pregnant, have high blood pressure, heart problems, or simply a healthy human, you should approach the ingestion of guarana as if it were a high-speed rollercoaster or crack-cocaine.