This energy drink is one of the highest-selling drinks not only in United States but all throughout the world. It’s known to boost your energy and provide great mental and physical strength, which it certainly does but even after all its benefits, the question remains the same- is Red Bull bad for you?
However, it will not be apt to say that it’s completely safe for your health. There have been various speculations about the potential side effects of having Red Bull on a regular basis. In this article, this is what we have brought about for you – how it could impact your health, its possible side effects, and whether it is safe or not to drink it on a regular basis. And the biggest question of all – is Red Bull really bad for you?
What is Red Bull?
Most of us know Red Bull is an energy drink but what really is it made of? It’s basically a carbonated drink with caffeine, several B vitamins and taurine (which are all energy-boosting components).
It also constitutes different levels of sugar, citric acid, baking soda, carbonated water, glucuronolactone, magnesium carbonate, and other food colorings and flavors. Though, Red Bull also has sugar free options in which the sugar is replaced by artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame K.
It was first sold in Austria in 1987. And this is what 260 ml of Red Bull provides:
- Calories: 112
- Caffeine: 75 mg
- Fat: 0 grams
- Carbs: 27 grams
- Sugar: 27 grams
- Protein: 1.2 gram
While Red Bull is known to provide an energy boost to our body but it may also pose a potential threat to our health if taken over longer periods of time and those threats could be short term or long term.
What are the possible side effects of Red Bull?
Is Red Bull bad for you?
Although Red Bull has been a popular energy drink over a period of time if we look at the research and studies that have been performed over the past few years, we will see that Red Bull can pose a threat to our health and can cause various side effects. Some of them are listed below.
High blood pressure and heart rate:
It goes without saying how important these two measures are for our heart and overall health. If by any chance there is a high level of any of them it could pose as a risk of hypertension which generally means high blood pressure and the consequent risk of heart disease.
Several studies in this aspect have shown that drinking a 355 ml can of the drink Red Bull can excessively increase the heart rate and blood pressure within 90 minutes and up to 24 hours of intake. All these studies were conducted over healthy and disease-free adults.
Well, this increase in both heart rate and blood pressure can be traced over to the caffeine present in Red Bull. In a 355 ml can of Red Bull, there is 108 mg of caffeine which is quite high and therefore results in the increased blood pressure and heart rate.
Although if Red Bull is taken in a controlled and occasional manner then it doesn’t really pose as a risk in healthy adults. But a regular and excessive intake and especially in the younger generation – can really pose a risk to their heart and can cause abnormal heart rhythm, high blood pressure and can even lead to death.
And for those who have pre-existing heart diseases or disorders really need to check on their intake of this energy drink as it could cause a serious threat to their life.
Increased risk of Type 2 diabetes:
Diabetes is directly connected to sugar, as we all know and an increased Red Bull intake means an increased sugar intake which can heighten your risk of type 2 diabetes.
According to a study made in healthy adults drinking these sweetened beverages once or twice a day is associated with increasing your risk to type 2 diabetes by a good 26%.
One serving of a 260ml can of Red Bull contains 29 grams of sugar so should really, really monitor your intake of this energy drink.
Your teeth health:
The tooth enamel which is the outer covering of your tooth which is also responsible to protect your tooth from any decay or damage is found at risk by increased intake of sugar and acidic beverages – both of which are Red Bull.
Therefore regular intake can severely damage your tooth enamel and in some cases of excessive intake, the damage can also be irreversible. It has been found through a lot of studies that soft drinks are far better for your teeth healthier than energy drinks.
Kidney health:
As it goes for most of the other risks that it poses – an occasional intake of this drink wouldn’t necessarily pose a threat to your health but similarly a regular and excessive intake can surely damage it severely.
Although there hasn’t been a study on humans regarding excessive Red Bull intake and decreasing kidney health, it has been observed that excessive sugar can really, severely damage your kidney health and since Red Bull is high in sugar levels, therefore, regular intake can surely damage your kidney health. So it’s better to take it in monitored and occasional amounts.
Conclusion:
We have been hearing this saying for a long time by our ancestors – an excess of anything is harmful. This goes correctly for this energy drink that is Red Bull.
Though drinking in lesser amounts can give you an energy boost and a good mental and physical performance, taking it on an excessive level can reverse the benefits and cause risk to your health.
Therefore, it’s better to take it in a monitored amount and put great emphasis on your health. Because really, health is wealth.
Also Read- Are you sure you are following the Right Diet Plan?