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Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

theexamination.org

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Re: Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

#81
post #25

I have always hated coffee so I've previously had some kind of energy drink in the morning for weeks at a time. Those suckers are bizarrely addictive. It's one thing to have one shortly after you wake up, but I found myself craving them later and later in the day, and of course that makes it harder to sleep...which makes me more likely to have energy drinks the next day. I stopped the daily consumption when I realize…

coke etc will destroy your teeth, if not cleaned off regularly. ( don't "ask me how i know" ! )

> if not cleaned off regularly.

Just rinse it off with water?

Re: Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

#82
A strong indication of addiction is mental backflips to avoid discussing the problem.

The story seems to be grain alcohol is as healthy for the human body as rainwater or mother's milk, its only the evil mixer that is causing ALL the problems. The problem isn't getting drunk and going driving, or getting drunk and going swimming, its... the mixer. Uh huh.

The story and the moral panic over it is big alcoholic energy. Now go out and have the standard several daily servings of ethanol, as long as you stay away from those evil energy drinks I'm sure you'll be OK because they're the only problem WRT excessive alcohol consumption.

Re: Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

#85
post #60
post #25

I have always hated coffee so I've previously had some kind of energy drink in the morning for weeks at a time. Those suckers are bizarrely addictive. It's one thing to have one shortly after you wake up, but I found myself craving them later and later in the day, and of course that makes it harder to sleep...which makes me more likely to have energy drinks the next day. I stopped the daily consumption when I realize…

Feeling miserable for three days seems ... unlikely after 800mg/day of caffeine. I say that to mean, it should be much longer (been there, done that, took many months) Caffeine use especially at that level massively grows the amount adenosine receptors your brain has, and they don't just disappear overnight. A 500ml Diet Coke (assuming you don't mean the caffeine free version) also contains about 65 mg of caffeine, w…

My goal wasn't to completely quit. The goal was to keep my caffeine intake less than or equal to 400mg (the FDA's recommended max) and to cut it off at 2pm. I didn't cold-turkey cut off caffeine.

I stopped getting acute headaches after about three days; other prolonged side effects are harder to quantify.

I should also clarify, it wasn't 800mg every day (which I realize I didn't make clear), it was just one thing where I saw that at least a few days of the last week I had consumed 800mg.

Re: Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

#86
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am with you here, especially given that the examples listed in the article were basically: * Some young man downed 6 beers and "several" energy drinks, then dove into a lake, and subsequently died. His mother said that he grew up near a lake and a was a good swimmer, so their conclusion was to blame energy drinks. * An 18 year old woman downed 10 jagerbombs (a mix of jagermeister liquor and an energy drink) and sub…

> consumed an equivalent of 10 energy drinks+10 shots of hard liquor a jagerbomb is not typically an entire energy drink. it's typically 3oz/90ml of energy drink. 10 jagerbombs would be ~3 redbulls. (which is still obviously a lot of energy drink and alcohol in a short time)

Fair point, but yeah, it is still quite a crazy amount, esp in terms of alcohol, even for someone like me. And I am saying this as someone with very strong alcohol tolerance, not as a (likely) smaller 18 year old woman with way less tolerance.

Re: Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

#87
post #76
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$3-4 is a lot. They are 0.99 € here (tax included).

It very much depends on the brand. I was initially buying the Monster drinks at a local gas station where I believe they were $3.25. Eventually I transitioned to the Aldi brand which was I think around $1.

I meant specifically the Monster drinks. Red Bull for example is closer to 2 € here. The cheapest Aldi energy drinks are 0.29 €.

Re: Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

#88

To all RB/Energy Drink consuments ... why do you drink RB instead of a good ol cup of coffee/tee? Please ... don't just write "it tastes good" ... no it don't. A strawberry or a cherry from the tree tastes good but not RB.

I use on-the-go packets of energy drink powder that I drop into a small plastic bag when I travel. This allows me to have access to tasty caffeine anywhere I have water because I bring a bottle. Coffee does not offer the convenience or portability that energy drinks do.

I suppose I could bring instant coffee and drink it at room temperature or cold, but that seems sub-optimal.

I used to just carry caffeine pills with me, but people thought I was some kind of drug addict.

Re: Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

#89
post #60
post #25

I have always hated coffee so I've previously had some kind of energy drink in the morning for weeks at a time. Those suckers are bizarrely addictive. It's one thing to have one shortly after you wake up, but I found myself craving them later and later in the day, and of course that makes it harder to sleep...which makes me more likely to have energy drinks the next day. I stopped the daily consumption when I realize…

Feeling miserable for three days seems ... unlikely after 800mg/day of caffeine. I say that to mean, it should be much longer (been there, done that, took many months) Caffeine use especially at that level massively grows the amount adenosine receptors your brain has, and they don't just disappear overnight. A 500ml Diet Coke (assuming you don't mean the caffeine free version) also contains about 65 mg of caffeine, w…

Everybody's physiology is different, but I drank a full pot of coffee every day, for about 15 years.

After Getting Older™, I was noticing more and more effects that I didn't like, so I made the decision to (mostly) detox off caffeine using decaf beans. Cold turkey would have destroyed me. I went with the following schedule:

* Week 1: 75% caffeinated/25% decaf beans

* Week 2: 50% caf/50% decaf

* Week 3: 25% caf/75% decaf

* Week 4: 100% decaf

At week 4, I entered a full failure mode I hadn't yet experienced, namely migraines that were untouchable by OTC medications. Only caffeine helped. I tried to get through the week to "be done" with the weening but couldn't. So...

* Week 5: back up to 25% caf/75% decaf!

* Weeks 6-12: decreasing caffeine by half each week (to the point I was measuring beans using my home scale).

After week 12, I was able to go without caffeine, and now I drink 1 cup of coffee and, if I'm feeling wild, I'll occasionally get an espresso.

My physiological dependence on caffeine was no joke, but I feel a heck of a lot less anxious and jittery after cutting it down to where I'm now at.

Re: Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

#90

anyone in the thread old enough to remember when we trusted the tobacco industry to run its own studies on the safety of tobacco which found that tobacco was definitely safe, then later found that no one knows whether tobacco is safe or not so we can't regulate it until we're sure, then eventually found that the whole time everyone knew it was dangerous?

The problem with rational decisionmaking is there are vast areas where only irrational opinions are acceptable. Try the same line of logical reasoning for vaccines, low fat high carb diets, statins, uncontrolled immigration, various economic policies, and let us know how long until you get wrongthink attacks. There are vast irrational areas of discussion where even the faintest hint of rationality is double plus ungood.
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