BACKGROUND:
Red Bull was invented by Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian, in 1984 based on a Thai beverage called Krating Daeng. It is was originally manufactured by a pharmaceutical company who received 51% of the firm in exchange for making the product.
RB was introduced to the world in 1987, originally marketted towards young urban professionals. 18 years later, RB's advertising focuses on its "stimulant properties."Advertising pitched the drink as being 'youthful', was given to DJ's and handed out at parties. They even went as far as intentionally leaving empties at key locactions in trendy clubs. Now RB pours a lot of its advertising into (extreme) sports, everything from "soapbox events to Formula One". How much money does it spend on advertising? About $400,000,000 last year. It is safe to say that RB created a market, a market of which it know owns 70-90%. That works out to making $1.3 billion in sales last year alone.
CLAIMS:
The ads say that RB will "give you wings." It has been nicknamed "liquid speed" and "crack in a can", but consumers buy it because it is an "energy drink."
RB, they claim, is for any occassion when you need a jolt of energy: take one when you're studying or driving late to stay away, have some to fight the effects of jet lag, take it as a boost before a race or work out, or drink while partying.
All the ingredients, they say, are natural and healthy, when consumed according to the recommendations.
PROS:
The three main ingredients in RB are caffiene, taurine, and glucuronolactone. There is 80 mg of caffiene in each can (3 times the regular amount to a can of Coke or about 2 cups of coffee), 1000 mg of a taurine (an amino acid), and 600 mg glucuronolactone (a carbohydrate). The last two are supposedly detoxins and naturally occur in the human body. Also in RB are a handful of vitamins that speed up your metabolism (support energy production). On paper, this drink would definitely keep anyone awake and give their body a jolt.
CONS:
The drink was approved for sale in Canada, but with strings attached. Though the ingredients are natural, in RB they are all synthetically produced. At least three countries have banned RB completely (Norway, Denmark, and France) because there has been no studies into the long term effects of how caffiene, taurine, and glucuronolactone interact in the body.
In France, rats, when fed taurine, were observed demonstrating "anxiety, irritability, high senstivity to noise and worst of, self-mutilations."RB is being promoted as an energy drink, "but it doesn't replenish the body after physical exertion", like drinks such as Gatorade etc. In fact, because of the large amounts of caffiene, RB actually dehydrates the body, never good for anyone who is about to engage in some serious activity. But further, a dehydrated body under physical exertion places strain on the heart.
In 2000, an 18 year-old in Limerick, Ireland died after drinking 4 cans of RB before a basketball game. The connection between his death and RB has never been proven, but the report said he died of Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome, "sudden death due to cardiac arrest brought on by a arrhythmic episode" (that's when your heart doesn't beat regularly).
In Sweden, the National Food Adminstration is investigating RB after it has been "linked to three deaths." Two people died after mixing it with large amounts of vodka, while another died while drinking RB after working out.
All of a sudden RB's marketting ploy of associating with extreme sports seems hypocritical at best, criminal at worst.
In Canada, at least two cases of serious health problems have been reported after drinking RB, but Health Canada refuses to say what happened and why.
RB is commonly now being mixed with alcohol at raves, dances, and bars around the world. Says a bar owner in Toronoto, RB & Vodka is the trendy drink of choice.
The RB warning label says "not recommended to mix with alcohol," by why then did RB apply to be sold in Alberta liqour stores?
The danger is that both caffiene and alcohol are diuretics, and the combination can lead to dehydration and damage to heart muscle.
There is danger in also mixing a stimulant (caffiene) with a depressant (alcohol). College students have turned to mixing RB with alcohol as a means of getting high without getting sleepy, drinking longer, and combating hangovers. But hangovers are a result of dehydration, which would only get worse with consumed caffiene. And since large amounts of caffiene will increase your heart rate and blood pressure, simultaneously consuming large amounts of alcohol will put your body under a huge stress as it is getting served mixed messages.Studies show that RB does not reduce nor reverse the affects of alcohol on the body, contrary to popular belief.
That said, dieticians will admit that mixing RB with alcohol will not harm the drinker if consumed in moderate amounts, but encourage people to mix it with non-alcoholic beverages to stave off dehydration.
RB Sales Reps have been heard to promote the mixing of RB & vodka "off the record" when the cameras aren't rolling, prompting Health Canada to put RB and its advertising practices under review.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
I have never seen Coke or Starbucks sold with disclaimers for children and pregnant mothers, though both definitely could harm young children and unborn babies if comsumed excessively. Nor have I ever heard of anyone dying because they drank 4 Cokes before a basketball game. In fact, when I hear the warning label written out on the back of RB, I immediately associate it in my mind with alcohol and cigarettes, which carry a similar kind of warning to those people (but written by Mr. Surgeon General).
Furthermore, I might go as far as to say that it is healthier for the individual to comsume 4 cans of beer than it is to have 4 cans of RB. Please note I'm not endorsing the drinking of alcohol, especially since I find beer revolting! With the alcohol you'll have bad breath, maybe will puke, lose any sense of motor skills so physical exertion is out of the question, most likely have a headache the next day, and if it becomes a habit you will develop a disgusting gut and a slowly dying liver. But for the excessive drinker of RB, you have immediate and serious heart concerns, that, depending on any previous conditions or level physical exertion, could prove fatal. Excessive and uninformed drinking of RB has been known to serious harm and to kill. It's your choice.
Drink Responsibly. Please.
My Sources:
www.redbull.com
www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/rebull/
www.spikedonline.com/Articles/00000002D1AF.htm
www.bized.ac.uk/compfact/rebull/redbull7.htm
www.economist.com/people/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1120373
*Used with permission from my friend Andrew Haak*
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