Red Bull

I know I could look this up in Google, but I'd like to know this from people who actually drink the stuff. Does it give you energy for workouts? Better than a coke?

Tue. Oct 10, 12:53pm

as i understand it, you don't want to put chemicals into your body to give you energy to workout. you instead want to workout the energy you already have stored as calories. taking a stimulant to get a better workout isn't wise.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 1:04 PM

If you’re looking to watch your calories I’d avoid both. I’m not sue if the Red Bull has High Fructose Corn Syrup but the coke does and it’s not good for anybody. The only part of your body that can process HFCS is your liver, which can cause problems down the road. See these two links:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL

http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html

There is a company that makes energy drinks without caffeine and sugar. They are mostly the B vitamins. Most of them have around 10 calories. See link:

http://www.xsgear.com/info/drink_info.asp

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 1:07 PM

Red Bull has caffeine in it. Caffeine isn't energy in the sense of calories (although it has those, too). It is a stimulant of the parasympathetic nervous system, which will help your "fight or flight" reaction kick in for a more intense and possibly longer workout.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 1:08 PM

I highly recommend not using Red Bull. It's way worse then caffine.. don't belive me? Drink 1-2 cans in one day then wait for the headache the next-- horrible! Anything that does that to your body is a bad idea. I loved the stuff until I realised how bad it was for my body.

Side note- the ingrediant Taurine is a chemical drived from the bile in a bull's intestines (hence the name "Red Bull") . Yes Taurine is said to have many benefits, however enough natural taurine is consumed through the meat we eat - so I see no reason to drink it in an "energy drink".

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 1:22 PM

Oh for goodness sake! Read the Wikipedia entry on taurine, at least -- it's present in many foods, not just meat. However, strict vegans DO need to supplement for it.

I'd recommend against Red Bull because it tastes TERRIBLE. But it's not "worse than caffeine" -- its main active ingredient IS caffeine.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 1:48 PM

actually, the above is not entirely correct, either. this is copied from a supplement website:

"Vegans (vegetarians who eat no dairy or eggs) consume virtually no taurine but usually make enough to avoid deficiency. Infants do not make enough, but taurine is found in human milk and most infant formulas. Diabetics have been reported to have lower blood levels of taurine.

Most people, even vegans, do not need taurine supplements."

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 2:01 PM

I will give a positive feedback for Red Bull. I drink the sugar free kind on occasion before a workout and definitely notice a difference. I usually wear a heart rate monitor when working out and believe that my heart rate is usually a little higher for workouts when I have had a Red Bull, hence a higher calorie burn.

I am not saying anything about the negatives from the ingredients, only just what I've noticed in my workouts.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 2:23 PM

Love it. I drink it at night instead of alcohol. Much better buzz.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 3:42 PM

sugar free red bull is the best! i love that stuff.... it definetly gives me energy and its only 10calories in a can.... sugarfree tastes wayyy better than regular and this is coming from a girl that can't stand the taste of diet drinks

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 3:45 PM

1:22 poster here...

1:48- why are you so bitter? I was expressing my personal opinion to the OP who wanted to know if Red Bull was better... imo it's not. And as I recommended, drink 1-2 cans and then wait for the headache the next day, if you don't have one- great! Drink Red Bull to your little heart's content.

I did read the wikipedia entry (btw- wiki is publicly-edited reference material use at your own risk)- along with many other (more reliable) documentation. Taurine was first discovered in Ox bile... it is a non-essential amino acid that naturally occurs in most living things. Mammals do need some taurine in their systems to help break down fats, but there is not enough research that recommends an exact "daily" amount. Taurine is also being used as an experimental treatment for many things including Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and epilepsy. All in all it's not a terrible thing, but does it need to be in an energy drink? Makes me nervous and I wanted to share that information with people who may care about that sort of thing like I do.

Plus... if your vegan can you even have taurine since it's an animal product? (Real question I'm not trying to be a smartass)

2:01- <3 thx!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 4:42 PM

I love sugar free Red Bull too. Not a daily thing but it is a great pick me up especially before a work out. I can actually drink it and still yawn during my workout which surprises me!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 8:12 PM

taurine happens to be in bull intestines YES-however it is not just an animal product as it is also found in nature in fungi and some plants . . .so while products w/ taurine that comes from animal sources would not be vegan. taurine that comes from plant sources is fine.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 10:42 PM

TV NEWS STORY

I'm a national television news producer working on a story about drinking energy drinks, like Red Bull, before working out. If this is something you do, would you contact me at mtoccin@newspronet.com.
Thanks!
Marisa

Thursday, January 4, 2007, 1:13 PM

Since I've started my weight-loss journey, I've been drinking 1-3 redbulls on the weekends instead of having alcoholic drinks. I love it! It doesn't bring me down like alcohol, it doesn't make me want to eat like alcohol, I am high energy and can still drive everyone home at the end of the night! I drink the regular redbull because I believe sugar-substitutes are really aweful for you.

I would recomend drinking them before workouts, but if you want REAL energy, try sweet potatoes!

Thursday, January 4, 2007, 4:47 PM

Red Bull - something isn't right

That's really interesting cuz I had the exact same experience. I always drink diet coke but suddenly had a huge project 2 weeks in a row n was scared I'd freakin pass out so I bought and drank 6 red bulls all night. I NEVER had headaches but both weeks in a row the day after I had the weirdest, most horrible headache and it lasted and lasted no matter what I do. Do a google search on "Red Bull" and "Sweden" (Im from there originally) there are huge campaigns to have it banned pple have died in nightclubs. I dont know I usually don't believe hyped up stuff about 'dangerous' drinks. Don't know the truth all I can say is in Sweden and some European countries there are MAJOR newspapers and MAJOR doctors saying there is something WRONG with Red Bull. Really wrong. I'm not taking it again.

Monday, January 5, 2009, 3:20 PM

Red Bull - Something isnt right

All I can say is in Europe there has been bhuge debate and I mean dead serious with top doctors saying something IS NOT RIGHT with Red Bull. REALLY not right. France BANNED Red Bull and fought all the way to the European Court of Justice (the "supreme court of Europe") and WON, but this was later reversed on a TECHNICALITY (Look here in Medical News: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/5753.php ). Sweden adamantly opposed Red Bull after in a small country they claimed 3 teenagers dropped dead from Red Bull with Vodka. And yes the Taurine is a real factor of concern (read this medical field article above). My brother is a doc what pple don't always understand is that a substance, like Vitmain B, or taurine, or Caffeine, does not always act the same way in the body no matter how it is extracted or produced. Sometimes the same substance or materials can act VERY different inside your body if it has been extracted artificially. Sometimes it works, sometimes its fine, and sometimes it doesn't work n sometimes can be poisenous.

Monday, January 5, 2009, 3:36 PM

did those folks die b/c they were awake and kept drinking when they normally would have passed out (alcohol poisoning)? Red Bull & vodka was a pretty bad combo for me - got wasted and didn't remember anything but was up and running around when normally being that drunk I would have been slow/passed out. I stay away from engergy drinks period these days though.

Monday, January 5, 2009, 4:01 PM

it works but

It does give you energy then you fall down from that energy so bad, you will be searching for a bed.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009, 9:42 PM

there are so many other natural ways to get a boost for exercise, why would you even consider Red Bull? And I'm not a crunchy, tree hugging lover of all things natural either. Eat some fruit before a workout. No it may not be as big a boost, but really shouldn't the "boost" come from an increased stamina level and not be artificially induced? Again, I'm not a processed food free fan (not that there's anything wrong with that), but I'm just leery of it. I think back to when Jolt soda came out and how they quickly pulled it off the market because of side effects.

Thursday, January 15, 2009, 10:24 AM

red bull seems to create headaches the next day

I came across this site while googling red bull and headaches. I supected that red bull was the cause of headaches, and this was somewhat confirmed by the comments I have read here. I will experiment by going without, then trying some red bull and see if i get headaches.

Friday, November 27, 2009, 5:16 AM

Red Bull has half again as much caffeine as most soft drinks, eg Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Jolt, etc. Red Bull has 80 mg of caffeine. Soft drinks have around 55 mg of caffeine. The increased amount of caffeine in Red Bull drives your body noticiably more than the drinks with less caffeine. Think of it as a caffeine/drug high.

Friday, November 27, 2009, 8:58 AM

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