What's the downside to energy drinks?

[cantdrv55]

I just tried Red Bull for the first time at 6 PM tonight. It is now midnight and I'm still wide awake. If I didn't need to stay alert so late in the evening, I never would have taken it. Normally, I would drink a couple of cups of coffee but because I suffer from reflux, I'd feel sick to my stomach the rest of the evening. With Red Bull, however, I feel no ill effects. There has to be a downside to energy drinks, no?

By the way, I drank the sugar free, low cal stuff.

[livi]

No downside, at least not for Red Bull. How they have managed to make a fortune on that nonsense is beyond me.

On the other hand there are people arguing the same about a car manufacturer that keeps putting the engine behind the rear wheel axle..

[Sonic dB]

Red Bull stoled their flavor from Faygo Rock and Rye...if you know what that is.

I heard that the owner of Red Bull was a billionare before they started Red Bull.

Red Bull does nothing for me.

[red-beard]

Red Bull Energy Drink

Ingredients: carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, sodium citrate, taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, inositol, niacin, D-pantothenol, pyridoxine HCL, vitamin B12, artificial flavours, colors

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size: 8.3 fl. oz Servings per Container: 1 Amount per serving: Calories: 110 Total Fat: 0g Sodium: 200mg Protein: 0g Total Carbohydrates: 28g Sugars: 27g


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Red Bull Sugar Free

Ingredients: carbonated water, sodium citrate, taurine, glucuronolactone,caffeine, acesulfame k, aspartame, inositol, xanthan gum, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hcl, vitamin b12, artificial flavors, colors

Nutrition Facts: serving size 1 can; calories 10; fat 0g; sodium 200mg; total carb 3g; sugars og; protein less than 1g; niacin 100%; vitamin b6 250%; vitamin b12 80%; pantothenic acid 50%

It's the caffeine and the Inostil.

Coffee and Zantac are cheaper and taste better, unless you put vodka in.

[MichiganMat]

Oh man Chris, that stuff is poison. I pay the price big-time when I have that level of caffine. Major withdrawls. Headache, insomnia, breathing problems, clouded thinking, dizziness.

It probably has less acidity than coffee, but theres no way I could handle the caffine.

[VINMAN]

The ingredient Taurine is know to cause blood clots. A guy I work with ended up in the hospital with seious problems, after his doctor warned him over and over to stop drinking that stuff.

[jyl]

Yeah but Red Bull uses some of its profits to support motor racing including F1, so I don't mind buying a can sometimes. If Starbucks sponsored motorsports, I'd go there too.

[Jims5543]

I was introduced to Red Bull about 5 years ago by my wife. She was into kick boxing at the time and her trainer turned her on to it. I hated it! It tasted like bad cough syrup to me.


Fast foward 5 years and I have the local distributor deliver to me office. Instead of a coffee service we have a Red Bull service. We buy about 5 cases every 2 weeks. I drink 2-3 a day depending on the day.

I was alarmed to read that Taurine was linked to blood clots. I am searching for some info on it right now and not finding anything about that.

This article actually brings out that Taurine is used to treat heart disease.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/is_1_6/ai_71948215

Negative side affects:
http://www.tuxedo-es.org/blog/archives/4-Caffeine,-taurine-and-other-brain-boost-drugs.html

Red Bulls FAQ - I am sure thay are not going to be objective.
http://www.redbull.com.au/faq.action

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by jyl
Yeah but Red Bull uses some of its profits to support motor racing including F1, so I don't mind buying a can sometimes. If Starbucks sponsored motorsports, I'd go there too.

Red Bull went on a driver search in the USA to get an American back in a Formula 1 car. Scott Speed debuts in Red Bull sister team. This made me a huge fan of Red Bull both the product and the race team.

http://www.planet-f1.com/teams/team_news/jaguar/story_21353.shtml

[legion]

I've been caffeine free for about two months now...with one relapse in the middle.

I have an extremely low tolerance for caffeine. If I have a coffee in the morning at 7:00 or 8:00, I won't fall asleep that night until 1:00 or 2:00. The more caffeine I drink, the less effect it has in waking me up in the morning, but it still keeps me up at night just as well.

I notice that the lack of sleep in me leads to clouded thinking and even occasional stuttering (never had that happen before). I've also noticed that while it will give me a short-term boost in energy, my metabolism slows down when I drink a lot of caffeine over an extended period. I'm actually more lethargic in general.

And then there's the eating. When I'm on caffeine, I snack all the time. I have no self control. I've dropped about 5 pound in the past two months, and it looks like that will accelerate as long as I stay off the juice...

[widebody911]

THERESNODOWNSIDETOENERGYDRINKSATALLWHYWOULDYOUSAYT HATWHATMAKESYOUTHINKTHERESASDOWNSIDECAFFFEINEISGRE ATi !

[cantdrv55]

Originally posted by widebody911
THERESNODOWNSIDETOENERGYDRINKSATALLWHYWOULDYOUSAYT HATWHATMAKESYOUTHINKTHERESASDOWNSIDECAFFFEINEISGRE ATi !

LOL!

[Rich76_911s]

DOn't know if Red Bull is in the group or not, but I heard a recent study that said that sports drinks are harder on your teeth than soda.

[1967 R50/2]

I'd be more concerned about the sucrose and glucose. It's just sugar. And drinking sugar suspened in a liquid is one of the worst things for you. It basically spreads out over your digestive tract covering the maximum amount of surface area and therefore get's absorbed into the blood very quickly.

Your body says "Hey, I've got this great source of energy, but being I am not doing anything right now, I'll just store it away.....as FAT!!"

The sugar free stuff seems to just be caffeine and water.

Steer clear.

[bryanthompson]

Originally posted by MichiganMat
Oh man Chris, that stuff is poison. I pay the price big-time when I have that level of caffine. Major withdrawls. Headache, insomnia, breathing problems, clouded thinking, dizziness.

Exact same here.

A few years ago I was at a campout with a bunch of students from all over the state... I knew these people from Speech and Summer Honors, so we were all friends. Anyway, 12:00 came around and I was getting sleepy, so I drank one of those energy drinks. I was so awake it wasn't funny. Someone suggested digging a fire pit on the beach, so I had one dug in no time. I was all hopped up on whatever's in those, digging a hole. They don't have quite that effect on me anymore.

[nostatic]

drink it? Hell, I wondered what the fuss was about...my nose was getting sore.

[motion]

Originally posted by widebody911
THERESNODOWNSIDETOENERGYDRINKSATALLWHYWOULDYOUSAYT HATWHATMAKESYOUTHINKTHERESASDOWNSIDECAFFFEINEISGRE ATi !

Funny stuff, Thom!

I read a Scientific American article on energy drinks... they were proven to improve performance in people when used in moderate amounts. They definitely do make you a bit sharper and increase your focus.

[cantdrv55]

Figures there'd be a downside.

I finally fell asleep around 1 AM but woke up, ready to go back to work at 6. Whooo, this stuff is great! I'll race ya to the corner and back!

[vash]

your pee yellow?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Red Bull does wonders for me with no immediate known side effects. One at 4PM and I'm good to go another 4 hours plus, and it does for me everything advertised. I drink it only now and again to keep the magic special. when I was putting the private placement together, I'd have one every day for about 2 weeks. Couldn't have done it without Red Bull.

I just gave up coffee today BTW. I'm drinking hot water in the morning as a substitute.