Red Bull
Zero Calories. This drink is heaven for my food addict mind because it gives me a ton of energy and I don’t have to obsess about getting fat. … but I did some research that I wasn’t shocked to learn.
Here’s a bit of an article I found in the Seattle Times written by Ari Bloomekatz:
“Red Bull says “it gives you wings.”
No way, say medical experts.
Not only do such drinks fail to offer a special boost, they say, their high caffeine and sugar content causes dehydration and could be dangerous for the young and active.
“These drinks are marketing ploys. I’m not aware of any scientific data that they do what they say they’re going to do,” said Mark Kantor, professor of family and consumer sciences and nutrition at the University of Maryland, who specializes in consumer education. “They don’t give you more energy.”
“A nutritionist defines energy as calories,” said Kantor. “If you refer to energy as something that gives you pep and zip and stamina, that’s just a myth. There’s nothing that provides that in food.”
Nonetheless, energy drinks, which have high amounts of caffeine and ingredients such as taurine and glucuronolactone, have exploded in the beverage market since 1997. There are now more than 1,000 different brands in the roughly $1 billion industry, said John Craven, editor of the Cambridge, Mass., based beverage-review site BevNET.com, “the beverage industry’s source for product reviews, news & more.”
Most of the explosion has been among young people. Some guzzle down the drinks at clubs and bars, mixing them with liquor; others tank up before playing in a sports event or grab a can to prepare for the work day or to stay awake and study.
Such uses trouble doctors.
“[Energy drinks] get to be problematic when used in combination with alcohol or when used before sports or with kids,” said Maher Karam-Hage, medical director of the Chelsea Arbor Addiction Treatment Center at the University of Michigan. Karam-Hage is an addiction specialist who has been a vocal critic of energy drink-alcohol cocktails.
The main cause of concern, doctors say, is that the drinks cause extreme dehydration. ”
I get it. I get it. Red Bull is not great for my body. … I want to be able to indulge in something that keeps me away from the goodies. And it can’t be something I have to worry about having very little of. I am someone who goes overboard. So … does this “thing” exist?
Leave a Reply