Column: Effect of Red Bull is bull
Samara Alpern
Issue date: 10/18/05 Section: Opinion
by Samara Alpern
Daily Lobo columnist
Whether you're facing a boatload of homework, a double shift at work or just a plain old boring life, nothing gives you cracked-out vigor like a Red Bull. Sure, it may taste like medicine, but that's how you know it works, right?
The Red Bull we are familiar with is an Austrian version of a Thai energy drink. Krating Daeng - red bull in Thai - was developed by a pharmaceutical company in Bangkok, hence the curious list of ingredients in every can. Does Red Bull speed metabolisms, improve reaction times, heighten concentration and enhance mood, as the Austrian manufacturer claims?
Out of a recipe of taurine, glucuronolactone, B vitamins, sugar and caffeine, something in there definitely gives you a wicked chemical vibration.
There are 1,000 milligrams of pharmaceutical-grade taurine in every can of Red Bull. Taurine is basically an amino acid, whose major function in the body is to help metabolize dietary fats. You might be tempted to conclude that this is the ingredient behind Red Bull's claim that the drink speeds metabolism - and while burning fat, too. Sorry, but no.
Healthy people's bodies make all the taurine necessary for optimum physical function, and consuming more taurine through diet has not been shown to amp your metabolism further. If anything, consuming high doses may have adverse health effects. France, Norway and Denmark do not permit Red Bull to be marketed as a regular soft drink because of its taurine content, and - no kidding - recommend consumers get medical advice before imbibing.
Another unusual ingredient in Red Bull is glucuronolactone, a metabolite which naturally occurs in the body. Among the scientific community, little is known about glucuronolactone. In fact, the term is absent from most medical dictionaries. Only a relative handful of medical journal articles in the last 50 years refer to the molecule, let alone investigate its physiological effects in any detail. Compare that to the more than 12,000 articles examining taurine. What on earth does glucuronolactone do to enhance performance? Literally, nobody knows.
Daily Lobo columnist
Whether you're facing a boatload of homework, a double shift at work or just a plain old boring life, nothing gives you cracked-out vigor like a Red Bull. Sure, it may taste like medicine, but that's how you know it works, right?
The Red Bull we are familiar with is an Austrian version of a Thai energy drink. Krating Daeng - red bull in Thai - was developed by a pharmaceutical company in Bangkok, hence the curious list of ingredients in every can. Does Red Bull speed metabolisms, improve reaction times, heighten concentration and enhance mood, as the Austrian manufacturer claims?
Out of a recipe of taurine, glucuronolactone, B vitamins, sugar and caffeine, something in there definitely gives you a wicked chemical vibration.
There are 1,000 milligrams of pharmaceutical-grade taurine in every can of Red Bull. Taurine is basically an amino acid, whose major function in the body is to help metabolize dietary fats. You might be tempted to conclude that this is the ingredient behind Red Bull's claim that the drink speeds metabolism - and while burning fat, too. Sorry, but no.
Healthy people's bodies make all the taurine necessary for optimum physical function, and consuming more taurine through diet has not been shown to amp your metabolism further. If anything, consuming high doses may have adverse health effects. France, Norway and Denmark do not permit Red Bull to be marketed as a regular soft drink because of its taurine content, and - no kidding - recommend consumers get medical advice before imbibing.
Another unusual ingredient in Red Bull is glucuronolactone, a metabolite which naturally occurs in the body. Among the scientific community, little is known about glucuronolactone. In fact, the term is absent from most medical dictionaries. Only a relative handful of medical journal articles in the last 50 years refer to the molecule, let alone investigate its physiological effects in any detail. Compare that to the more than 12,000 articles examining taurine. What on earth does glucuronolactone do to enhance performance? Literally, nobody knows.
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