Let's Have a Very Controversial (But Serious) Conversation About: Energy Drinks. Red Bull Gives You Wings - And Possibly a Heart Attack?

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I think people who are used to provincial small towns would get a culture shock when they come to the 'big smoke'
But just as many come to escape their narrow minded, gossipy small towns where everyone knows everyone and all their business.
 
Please don't do what I did.
I was feeling run down and thought I would buy a pick me up drink that had lots of vitamins and minerals in it. I saw how much drinking Ensure did for mum after being in hospital. I wasn't about to drink her prescribed formula but the nurses said if we ran out she could always drink 'Up and Go' boxes of milkshake we could buy from the dairy.

Well I was worried about the artificial flavours and colours and sugar so I didn't buy the Up and Go for myself (they come ready made in little boxes with straws) . Instead I bought a packet 'Natural' powdered smoothie - berry flavoured with 88 vitamins and minerals in it. I was going to mix it with unsweetened almond milk like I did with mum's Ensure.

The instructions said to mix 2 tablespoons with 250 mls of water or juice or milk. So I did that.

I drank the mixture and .....I had so much energy that I was bouncing off the walls
It was crazy.

I went crazy...and drove everyone else crazy with my craziness.

I had no idea of how I got so much energy until I saw the main ingredient of this 'natural' smoothie was ...polydextrose.
What is polydextrose?

It's SUGAR!!!!

So I had like 2 TABLESPOONS of sugar in one day in my body! Arrgh. I had to drink only water for several days just to get it out of my system.
 
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seoulsearch said:
Hey Everyone,

This thread idea was brought up by our very own @Godsgirl1983. We've all probably heard the tagline, "Red Bull Gives You Wings," but just how concerned should we be when it comes to energy drinks?

A quick Google search says this about caffeine consumption in the USA:

View attachment 291832



And while caffeine-related deaths are rare, there are still other troubling statistics such as:

"Liquid caffeine products such as energy drinks have driven up a 35% increase in poison center exposures, and emergency department visits for teenagers more than doubled between 2017 and 2023."

In some stores I worked at (especially during night shifts,) energy drinks were a badge of honor. People were always boasting about how many they were slamming per shift. One young co-worker claimed he had to go to the emergency room because of them (but he was known to exaggerate and never showed any proof of his stories.)

We all know that most of us, no matter how hard we try, are often sleep-deprived and find ourselves reliant on some form of caffeine or "energy drink" to make it through the day.

And we've all heard at least one story like that of Larissa Rodriguez, a 17-year-old cheerleader who died from an enlarged heart caused by stress and large amounts of caffeine found in Alani Nu energy drinks. In her family's lawsuit, it was alleged that the company gave inadequate warnings for the 200 mg of caffeine in their drinks -- about twice the 100 mg per day max suggested for teenagers.

Some drinks, like "Feel Free", are already under a 21 And Older restriction because of addictive nature of their ingredients, kava and kratom. I've watched several videos of people losing their lives to these drinks (marriages, money, jobs, families, etc.) just as with alcohol and hard street drugs.

But as of right now, I didn't see any age regulations for buying caffeinated products in the USA (unless, of course, they also contain alcohol.)

Do you agree with this?


* How many cups/cans/glasses of caffeinated products do you use per day, and in what form? (Coffee, tea, pills, energy drinks, etc.)

* How do you believe these products affect people's overall long-term health? Do you think they're safe for the long-term? Why or why not? Any personal stories you'd like to share?

* What about for young people? Should there be restrictions and regulations on what and how much teens can buy themselves (as with alcohol?)

* If you want to see an age limit for buying caffeine, what should it start at?

* Do you ever have to talk with (confront) others how much caffeine their consuming -- because you're worried about their safety?


With caffeine being such an accessible drug to everyone (at least here in the USA,) I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts about it's pro's and con's -- especially in concentrated products like energy drinks.
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I tried drinking red bulls around 2009 because a member here in chat mentioned how he drank like 13 of them a day and he was always full of energy and was a great chat host, but I found they didn't do much for me. I only tried drinking 1 or 2 a day.

What did work for me back around 1999/2000 was a workout supplement that contained ephedrine. I think it was called Xenadrine RFA-1. I lost 30 pounds with it and was lifting heavy weights in the gym and running 2-3 miles on the treadmill. And I still had energy left over. I felt like I wanted to jump out of my skin. BUT it soon got banned by the government (FDA) because 2 or 3 teen athletes died and they were taking it. :( They not only banned that supplement, they banned ephedrine which doctors say was the best nasal decongestant on the market. Oh the humanity.

Caffeine puts me to sleep. I've tried coffee and I've taken caffeine pills. I should use them as sleeping aids.
 
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Britney Spears (sorry Britney! I just read your story/memoir so I feel as if I know you) got locked up for substance abuse but she was just taking adderall I believe or some kind of energy pill to help her with the dance moves. Sustaining the energy for the high wire performances she did (like backflips on stage) must have been phenomenal.

The problem with adderall is that only people with genuine ADHD really need it, but you can get the drug or supplement over the counter prescription free in other countries, like Mexico. Adderall is otherwise known as 'speed' and is a type of amphetamine.
 
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Adderall combined with alcohol is a dangerous mixture.
If you are around people that drink, and are also taking prescription medicine or energy drinks/pills, the inevitable happens, even worse if you get behind the wheel, and become a danger to everyone else on the road. The cops will call you and you can be under arrest for DUI.

When I was a teen, we had no energy drinks, but coca-cola was often abused, and I had Ribena, which it was soon found to have zero Vitamin C like it claimed, and all the energy or vitality did not come from the blackcurrants but from the plain sugar that was in it!!

I cannot touch Ribena anymore even if it was really watered down and would not recommend it as a drink for children. The packets of Raro, (cordial like Kool-Aid) children would eat raw like they would pour the sugar straight into their mouths without even mixing it with any water. The stuff we did back then!

It was so bad that the govt had to regulate the sugary drinks like ban them from schools and provide only plain water. Well it would help if there were actually drinking fountains and taps at the school! I remember in high school, the only tap we could find was the one that attached to the hose and we had to drink water out of that.

Now some people have cottoned on to bottling this (free) water with plastic, and now we have a huge mountain of plastic bottles to deal with because a lot of people drink bottled plastic water and chuck away the bottle without even reusing it, then buying a new one. CRAZY!
 
seoulsearch said:
Hey Everyone,

This thread idea was brought up by our very own @Godsgirl1983. We've all probably heard the tagline, "Red Bull Gives You Wings," but just how concerned should we be when it comes to energy drinks?

A quick Google search says this about caffeine consumption in the USA:

View attachment 291832



And while caffeine-related deaths are rare, there are still other troubling statistics such as:

"Liquid caffeine products such as energy drinks have driven up a 35% increase in poison center exposures, and emergency department visits for teenagers more than doubled between 2017 and 2023."

In some stores I worked at (especially during night shifts,) energy drinks were a badge of honor. People were always boasting about how many they were slamming per shift. One young co-worker claimed he had to go to the emergency room because of them (but he was known to exaggerate and never showed any proof of his stories.)

We all know that most of us, no matter how hard we try, are often sleep-deprived and find ourselves reliant on some form of caffeine or "energy drink" to make it through the day.

And we've all heard at least one story like that of Larissa Rodriguez, a 17-year-old cheerleader who died from an enlarged heart caused by stress and large amounts of caffeine found in Alani Nu energy drinks. In her family's lawsuit, it was alleged that the company gave inadequate warnings for the 200 mg of caffeine in their drinks -- about twice the 100 mg per day max suggested for teenagers.

Some drinks, like "Feel Free", are already under a 21 And Older restriction because of addictive nature of their ingredients, kava and kratom. I've watched several videos of people losing their lives to these drinks (marriages, money, jobs, families, etc.) just as with alcohol and hard street drugs.

But as of right now, I didn't see any age regulations for buying caffeinated products in the USA (unless, of course, they also contain alcohol.)

Do you agree with this?


* How many cups/cans/glasses of caffeinated products do you use per day, and in what form? (Coffee, tea, pills, energy drinks, etc.)

* How do you believe these products affect people's overall long-term health? Do you think they're safe for the long-term? Why or why not? Any personal stories you'd like to share?

* What about for young people? Should there be restrictions and regulations on what and how much teens can buy themselves (as with alcohol?)

* If you want to see an age limit for buying caffeine, what should it start at?

* Do you ever have to talk with (confront) others how much caffeine their consuming -- because you're worried about their safety?


With caffeine being such an accessible drug to everyone (at least here in the USA,) I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts about it's pro's and con's -- especially in concentrated products like energy drinks.
Click to expand...

Yes I stopped drinking caffeine and daily energy drinks bc of heart palpitations. My cardiologist said energy drinks are very dangerous and my husband is cutting back and working on getting rid of it too.

When I first quit I did get a massive migraine. Of course I wanted to take Excedrin.... Which has caffeine in it. But I pushed through and didn't. It was not easy that day.

It doesn't bother me at all now though. I don't feel tired without it and wonder if I even needed it so much like I thought I did. Luckily my kids sleep through the night though. Not sure I would make it with babies/toddlers and no caffeine. Everyone's situation is different though.
 
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If you workout at the gym, jog, play a sport, always consume your water with a mix of electrolytes as you are losing sugar and salt from your body. Don't just drink water alone.

Protein shakes are good for post workout consumption and not pre-workout.
 
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in other words, add salt and bicarb soda

Drink 'mineral' water.

I had a job where I watered indoor plants, and we had to give them not just water but fertiliser dissolved in water that had NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). It was like giving them steroids.

Its better to feed them worm juice though. Because that is slow release, and has beneficial microbes and good for the soil as well as the plant. Artificial fertilisers give a lot of growth, but are quickly lost and leached out of soils, then ends up feeding algae and you get algae bloom which chokes out life in rivers and streams.

I mean just FYI.

What do I know.
 
I have never had an energy drink to know much about them, from personal experience. Soda messes with my kidneys, and I can feel it after one beverage, so when energy drink came to the market, I avoided them like the plague. However, my oldest daughter, in high school, began drinking them. When in high school, I was able to somewhat monitor her and keep her from drinking more than 1 or two in a day. Once she left for college, all bets were off, and she was drinking 4-7 per day and then adding even more to alcoholic drinks. Being a bartender through college, gave her an inside view with recipes even.

At 26, she was diagnosed with colon cancer for the first time. This was in 2019, and she has been cancer free for less than 2 years total since. SHe just began another round of treatment.....her FIFTH TIME FIGHTING CANCER IN SEVEN YEARS!!!!!!!! This is a cancer 60 year old men get, not 20some year old women who are fit and healthy otherwise.

My point in this story is: If you ask her, RedBull gave her cancer, not wings. Her oncologist agrees.
 
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