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Risks of Red Bull Ingestion

Red Bull is a popular brand of energy drink, first launched in the United States in 1997, and now enjoyed by consumers including workers and party-goers, who drink Red Bull to increase productivity and to stay awake into the early hours. Studies have been conducted into the negative effects of consuming Red Bull, however, with some concerned about the consequences of Red Bull on the human body.

  1. Risk of Mania

    • Some medical professionals have expressed concerns about the potential of Red Bull to induce a manic episode in individuals. These worries mostly concern taurine and inositol, two ingredients found in the energy drink. According to a report by Verinder Sharma, printed in the German Journal of Psychiatry in 2010, and entitled "Red Bull and Mania," taurine has in the past been responsible for triggering psychotic episodes, while inositol has also been associated with manic problems, especially in patients suffering from bipolar disorder.

    Induces Reckless Behavior

    • Many drinkers of Red Bull combine this energy product with large amounts of alcohol, particularly with vodka, which is often promoted by alcohol vendors as a highly-suitable accompaniment. Consumers view the combination as supplying a lot of energy, allowing them to keep partying all night, but the downside is that Red Bull and alcohol make drinkers especially reckless. This recklessness can lead drinkers into dangerous situations like drunk driving or sexual activity they later regret. Research from North Carolina's Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Centre, published in 2007, found that of 4,271 U.S. college students questioned, those who combined Red Bull and alcohol were two times more likely to receive medical attention after drinking than those who stuck to alcohol alone.

    Perception of Drunkenness Reduced

    • Another problem for individuals combining alcohol with Red Bull is that drinkers suffer from a reduced perception of how inebriated they are when Red Bull is added to the equation. This means they are more likely to drive while drunk, for example, since their perception of their own motor coordination is likely to be incorrect. Research from Brazil's Universidade Federal do Parana found that when compared to alcohol alone, ingesting both Red Bull and alcohol had a significant effect on an individual's ability to perceive symptoms of weakness and headache, in addition to motor coordination; essentially, the individual feels less drunk than she actually is.

    Heart Problems Risk

    • Red Bull contains high levels of caffeine, and some experts have highlighted this ingredient as inducing heart risks in long-term consumers of the product. Researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide University in Australia, who surveyed students in their 20s, found a link between even small doses of Red Bull and an increase in the risk of blood clots in a person. The caffeine in Red Bull has also been linked to heart attack incidents, as reported by the Times Online newspaper website.

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