Doctors warn schoolgirl addict to 'stop drinking Red Bull or you will die'

Doctors warn schoolgirl addict to 'stop drinking Red Bull or you will die'

www.dailymail.co.uk

A girl of 13 who drank up to 50 energy drinks a week has been warned to beat her addiction or risk a heart attack.

Naomi Haynes had always liked the buzz she got from the caffeine-laced drinks.

But when she collapsed on a holiday with the Sea Cadets and fell unconscious, the sinister consequences of her over-indulgence became evident.

The schoolgirl was taken to hospital where doctors discovered her heart rate was soaring - and warned that her caffeine addiction could cause health problems.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is he danger of these so-called 'energy' drinks.

Nobody really knows the full affects of such things until it becomes all to obvious that it's too late.

France actually banned Red Bull from ever being sold as the French government deemed it to have addictive qualities, therefore, a drug.
It was illegal to sell Red Bull, and the like, anywhere in France

It has only been recently that France and Red Bull came to an agreement where Red Bull would reduce the levels of the 'influencing' additions to the drink.

www.dailymail.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Come on, dude. The same could be said for tea and coffee. Drink enough of any caffeinated drink, especially WHEN YOU'RE 13! and your heart will begin to act unnaturally.

reply to post by burdman30ott6


Many drinks have caffeine, but red bull has the most. Especially for it's size, so it is pretty bad for you. Has anyone else had an upset stomache after consuming these? I first tried red bull about 8 years ago and immediately realized that it was terribly un-natural and horrible for me. Don't drink any sodas anymore. I drink tea which while having caffeine in it, also provides tons of antioxidants & polyphenols.

Here's a LINK for comparing caffeine content of drinks.

edit to add info:

Okay, so coffee has more caffeine in it, but I only know of one person who drank around 13 cups a day. He had to stop after going to the hospital! Had major back pains. He thought he had kidney problems, and really feared for his life! They found nothing after testing him, and discharged him saying not to drink too much coffee!

Moderation is key! If someone consumes an energy drink a day, they will probably not have too many problems if any, but to take in more than a gram of caffeine a day is no bueno..

[edit on 22-11-2008 by unityemissions]

reply to post by burdman30ott6


Which still doesn't answer the question why an entire country deemed it so bad they banned its sale and declared it an illegal drug.
It doesn't stop the UK or the USA adding Aspartame to a majority of soft drinks.

This also touches on the alcohol problem with teens too, there is an increase in liver related problems of those under 30 years who have spent a long tie binge drinking.

If an 'energy' drink such as Red Bull (which is usually advertised as sponsorship over almost every major sporting event) can cause any problems at all, then surely there should be some re-classification of its purpose.

I've had a few cans of Red Bull before, and the physical difference between a cup of coffee and red Bull is really odd. Yo get much bigger rush off Red Bull than coffee, yet coffee can sometimes contain more caffeine
caffeine content of popular drinks

So it may not be the caffeine that is the prime culprit, so which of the list, or combination of items, is the damaging part(s)?

Marketed as an energy drink "to combat mental and physical fatigue", it contains, per 250 mL (8.3 U.S. fl. oz.) serving, about 21.5 g sucrose, 5.25 g of glucose, 50 mg of inositol, 1000 mg of taurine, 600 mg of glucuronolactone, vitamin B — 20 mg of niacin, 5 mg of vitamin B6, 5 mg of pantothenic acid and 5 μg of vitamin B12 , 80 mg of caffeine-and 50 mg of alchohol . The caffeine in one serving is similar to that found in an average cup of brewed coffee (typically 100 mg/250 ml cup, but 72 mg for a U.S. regular 6 fluid ounces cup of coffee) or twice as much as found in a can of Coke (40 mg/330 ml can). A sugar-free version has been available since the beginning of 2003. Sugar-free Red Bull is sweetened with aspartame and sucralose, as opposed to sucrose and glucose.

Red Bull is commonly used as a mixer with alcoholic drinks such as vodka, and is the base ingredient in a Jägerbomb.

en.wikipedia.org...

I can't believe the French banned red bull. Do people there still smoke? If so . If I drink more than one of these in a day I feel like hell. At almost three bucks a pop it isn't worth. What kind of girl has that much spare cash?

reply to post by Raustin


A typical spoiled brat that who!!! I have tried both Red Bull and a few others that are around a time or two and like you, I feel like hell afterwards.

Zindo

That's scary but I have to question why her parents allowed her to drink these energy drinks at such a young age! My oldest child is 10 and I still don't allow her to drink sodas. Occassionally I'll allow my children to drink root beer at a restaurant because it doesn't contain caffeine but that's on the rare occassion.

My husband drinks a lot of energy drinks. Probably 5 or 6 a day and he switches around the ones that he drinks. I worry about what he's putting into his body but at the same time I have to admit that he's the healthiest person in this house and never gets sick. He's convinced that the stuff in the energy drinks kills sick germs. He may be correct but I hope it doesn't ultimately end up killing him!

Jemison

reply to post by Jemison


Her parents actually told the local shop to stop selling the stuff to her, but she was soon using other shops for her 'fix'.

this is a clear cut case of addiction.
Makes pure sense to me as to why France had it banned.
This bit of news from 2004;

Health concerns over the Red Bull energy drink were fuelled yesterday after Europe's highest court upheld a French ban on the product.

The fizzy drink has been linked to several deaths and some experts have criticised its high levels of caffeine and other stimulants.

Red Bull is Britain's best-selling energy drink, with 213 million cans consumed last year.

www.medicalnewstoday.com...

Energy drinks should be treated like alcohol and tobacco. You need to be a certain age to buy them.
This type of getting wired has become quite prevalent in my area with the teens, and they are getting very creative as to what they mix it with.

2 weeks ago a friend of my son's who is 14, called him for help to his house which is just a few doors down.
The kid had overdosed on Redbull and his mom's anti-depressants.
A stomach pump and a grounding later, and the boy is ok.

But kids have taken to mixing it with cold medicines too.

It may seem harmless, but it's far from it.

Personally, I can't drink more than 2 cups of coffee or cola a day.
A Redbull would send me to the ER.

I laugh at those of you that are freaking out at the 80 mg of caffeine in Red Bull. When I used to work two jobs and go to school I only got 2-4 hours of sleep a night, and had to drink coffee and energy drinks to function. It got to the point where I couldn't afford them anymore, so I went to caffeine pills. Caffeine is HIGHLY addictive. These little pills have 200 mg of caffeine per pill and I take around 5 a day just to function.

No one has picked up on this yet! I am amazed!

Look at all the commercials for Red Bull. And now we find out it really does give you wings (like an angel)!

TheRedneck

reply to post by goldbomb444


Yeah, considering that it has less caffeine than coffee, I really don't see it as a big deal in that respect. Though, I swear there is something in those energy drinks besides caffeine that has an addictive quality, because I drink coffee but still crave an energy drink.

And I have this girl beat, hands down.

Jeez. I swear some won't be happy until everything is banned. No more gum, you might choke. No more cars, people get in accidents. No more kitchen knives, people may be stabbed. If you ban Red Bull you have to ban coffee too. The normal Red Bull has about the same amount of caffeine as Red Bull. Look it up. These dumb kids are going to get their fix however they can. Take away Red Bull, they'll switch to something else. Surely you understand that banning the product isn't the answer. Changing the behavior is the answer. Anything is bad if you abuse it. Are you going to ban rope because people hang themselves? I could see placing age restrictions on caffeine. Now that makes sense. But banning a specific product that appears no more harmful than coffee and allowing coffee to still be purchased and abused is stupid.

reply to post by Raustin


You've almost contradicted your own argument.

you said 'appears'.

It does not appear to be similar to coffee according to some people/countries/courts etc.

if you read up a few posts you'll see we've provided data that shows the difference between a general cup of coffee and the ingredients in a cn of red bull.

It has to be a combination of the ingredients with the caffeine that gives it is kick. this is the problem, not the caffeine alone.

Originally posted by niteboy82
reply to post by goldbomb444

 

Yeah, considering that it has less caffeine than coffee, I really don't see it as a big deal in that respect. Though, I swear there is something in those energy drinks besides caffeine that has an addictive quality, because I drink coffee but still crave an energy drink.

And I have this girl beat, hands down.

Yeah, this chick really doesn't consume that much...she is young though so that might play a factor. Taurine might me doing it to her, but seriously, I used to drink so many red bulls it isn't even funny. Maybe she has an undiagnosed heart issue.

Oh noes, take red bull off the market. It says on the can to drink 1 - 2 PER DAY

Not 50.

Take water off the market, it kills too.

reply to post by Extralien


Taurine is an amino acid that is naturally created in our bodies. It comes from some meats etc as well. Most of the articles I have read about it suggest that it is actually good for you. Glucuronolactone is not too well researched, and I admit I could not find definite proof that it is not bad for you. As I understand it is supposed to detoxify but the 56 milligrams is not enough to do even that. The fact that France has lifted the ban is fairly telling. I do agree that a person should not be drinking a ton of these a day, it's just not wise. That does not mean the product should be banned.

en.wikipedia.org...

On August 15, 2008, researchers from the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital reported that just one can of Red Bull can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, even in young people: "One hour after they drank Red Bull, [their blood systems] were no longer normal. They were abnormal like we would expect in a patient with cardiovascular disease." Lead Researcher Scott Willoughby added that Red Bull "could be deadly when combined with stress or high blood pressure, impairing proper blood vessel function and possibly lifting the risk of blood clotting.

Man oh man i Don't like Red bull because of the after taste but i sure do like the Hot girls they have driving around in that red bull car with the can on top.

OK sorry about that rant,as i said i don't like the after taste from red bull but i must say i do like some of the other energy drinks that are on the market... Here in Australia we have one called V and i do like that drink, another we have is Monster now that gives me a buzz and i can feel my heart start to race after drinking one.

Just a warning to every one Please don't drink red bull and then slam down a can of coke you go mad .