“Red Bull inspires” - this is what the well-known slogan used by the Austrian manufacturer in its advertising campaign for more than 20 years says. Red Bull GmbH specializes in the production of non-alcoholic energy drinks, including the tonic of the same name, which we will talk more about here.
History of occurrence
The story of Red Bull power engineer began with the fact that the Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz first tried tonic drinks in Thailand. During his visit to this country, he worked as the Director of International Marketing at Blendax. The drink from which the Red Bull originated is called Krating Daeng.
Energotonik, tested by him, helped to cope with the syndrome of changing the time zone: this encouraged the businessman to open his own production. The enterprising Austrian decided to acquire a license for the production and use of the local drink formula, and then he began to release the product in his homeland in Austria. The product hit the European market in 1992, and two years later - on the American one.
What is Red Bull?
This is an energy drink that does not contain alcohol, in translation its name sounds like “red bull”. It is an energy carbonated drink. It has a light brown color, sweet and sour, somewhat tart taste, as well as a spicy smell. Like any carbonated drinks, it is made by saturating the aqueous mixture with carbon dioxide. The content of substances in 100 g of the drink: proteins - 4.3%, carbohydrates - 95.7%, fats - 0%. Calorie content - 43 kK. Available in cans of 0.25 and 0.5 liters. In addition, in some countries, the drink is produced in glass bottles.
Red Bull: roster
The main active substances in this drink are caffeine and taurine. The first of them is an alkaloid that stimulates the central nervous system, the second is a biologically active substance, which is characterized by some as an amino acid, and by others as a vitamin-like substance. It should be noted that one can of Red Bull contains 80 ml of caffeine. This indicator corresponds to the amount of this substance in one cup of coffee.
According to the data on the label, Red Bull contains the following substances: water, glucose, sucrose, caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginseng, acidity regulators (sodium citrate, magnesium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, carbon dioxide, citric acid), glucuronolactone, inositol, B vitamins, flavorings, natural and artificial colors (sugar color and riboflavin).
The non-nutritive acesulfame sweetener contained in the Red Bull Shugafri drink is 130-200 times sweeter than sugar. According to some reports, it is safe for the body, according to others it leads to leukemia and tumors of the mammary glands. The same applies to aspartame: opinions about it are also opposed. Inositol is a vitamin-like substance and does not harm the body; substances such as sodium citrate and xanthan gum were recognized as safe. Sugar color contained in this energy can have a negative effect on the stomach and liver. Thus, “Red Bull” is an energetic whose composition is typical of most tonics, but at the same time it has a high content of B vitamins.
Effect on the body
The very formula of the drink is approved for use, and it is noticed that in moderate doses it has tonic properties. However, Red Bull is a drink that has received opposing reviews because of its ambiguous composition. As a result, there are both supporters and opponents of this energy tonics.
Caffeine affects the stimulation of the brain, which helps to activate conditioned reflexes and increase motor activity. Taurine has a wide effect on the human body, fruitfully affects metabolic processes. According to a study in France, caffeine in the drink is present in excessive amounts. However, toxicologists claim the opposite in this regard: the content of this substance in the energy sector is within normal limits. Drinking a drink, especially if it is immoderate, has a negative effect on the nervous, cardiovascular system and leads to severe dehydration.
The manufacturer claims that “Red Bull” is a drink that creates a vigor effect, increases working capacity, improves emotional state, attention becomes more concentrated, however, according to observations, this sensation occurs quite quickly, and besides, with frequent use of the drink, this effect no longer occurs .
If you drink, then right
There are cases where excessive or improper use of Red Bull led to death. So, the young Irish basketball player Ros Cooney died during the game, after drinking several cans of energy tonics. In addition, a case was recorded when two cans of this drink with alcohol drunk caused the death of one girl who was dancing at a disco. And this is not the only case when, when combined with alcohol, this explosive mixture was fatal.
By the way, about glucuronolactone: there is a version that this substance, recognized from a medical point of view as a stimulant, was used by the US Department of Defense in the 60s of the last century in order to increase the morale of troops based at that time in Vietnam. He had a calming effect in stressful situations, but the remedy had many side symptoms, such as hallucinations, prolonged headaches, liver diseases, and brain tumors. Glucuronolactone is a metabolite formed from glucose, and is present in some quantities in the human body.
Prohibition in some countries
The health authorities of Germany found traces of cocaine in the drink, which is due to the use of a flavoring agent, for the manufacture of which an extract of coca bush leaves is used. In this regard, a ban on Red Bull was also introduced in France, the composition of which caused distrust, and this also happened in some lands of Germany and even in Thailand - in the homeland of this power engineer, where Red Bull Cola also fell out of favor. Later in France, the ban on the sale of the drink was lifted, due to the lack of sufficient evidence of its harm to health. The power engineer was also banned in this country because the taurine contained in it was found to be detrimental to the nervous system.
Instead of taurine, arginine was used in the production of drinks in France - this is the only country for which the company allowed to make changes in the recipe. In some countries, Red Bull is sold exclusively in pharmacies, as it is considered a drug there.
Conclusion
One way or another, Red Bull, whose composition contains stimulants, has become widespread throughout the world: it is represented in more than 140 countries. In our country, it is sold in several forms, namely Energy Drink, Sugafree, Energy Shot, Energy Shot Sugafree, Cola. Varieties of this drink are slightly different from each other in composition. So, Red Bull Cola is saturated with caffeine from coffee beans, but Sugafree contains aspartame and acesulfame, but it does not contain sucrose and glucose.
According to experts, if you use "Red Bull", the composition of which includes caffeine, then only during mental and physical activity, of course, subject to moderate use. It should be remembered that you can not drink it in combination with alcohol, as well as people suffering from certain diseases, including cardiovascular. It is proved that even in a healthy person, after using it, symptoms appear that indicate a negative effect on the heart of the energy of Red Bull. Its price is about 70 rubles per can of 0.25 liters.