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Dubious research tied to Red Bull has shaped energy drink policy

theexamination.org

91–100 of 263 posts

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

#91

I really don't know why people go so nuts over energy drinks. People casually chug coffee like crazy and then act like you're drinking nuclear waste when you drink a monster, and then you look at the ingredients list and it's like - Water - Sugar - Vitamin B - Caffeine and the caffeine is basically equivalent to one cup of coffee.

>> then you look at the ingredients list and it's like >> - Water - Sugar - Vitamin B - Caffeine I'm drinking a sugar-free Monster at the moment. The list is way longer than that. It also contains citric acid, erythritol, taurine, sodium citrate, natural & artificial flavors, L-carnitine L-tartrate, sucralose, sorbic acid, benzoic acid, ester gum, acesulfame potassium, inositol.

I was exaggerating a bit, but afaik none of the ingredients in that list are any kind of mysterious harmful ingredient specific to energy drinks. That's all pretty normal soft drink stuff, plus the carnitine and tartrate which are not very exotic supplements.

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

#92
post #87
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 €.

You pay a significant markup getting it at gas stations, but looking at a Monster on Walmart.com, it's still like $2.68. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Monster-Energy-Zero-Ultra-Energy-...

I guess it's cheaper in Europe.

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

#93
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

It's an acid, which softens your enamel. You should ideally rinse with something that remineralizes the enamel, i.e. flouride.

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

#94
post #21

Opposition to energy drinks seems like a moral panic to me. Like I don't see anyone calling for bans on coffee and Irish coffee.

Well, are either of those sold in cans and marketed to children?

Anything with any sort of flavor is argued as being sold to children these days. Except bubblegum flavored vodka I guess. Somehow that has always gotten the pass while people handwring over juul pods.

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

#95
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, you could say the same thing about coffee.

As a coffee drinker the "bizarrely addictive" comment does not resonate with me at all. I don't really have trouble keeping myself to, like, 1.2 coffees a day. I can't imagine drinking 6-7 coffees in a day to get to 800 mg caffeine. Unless you add ice or sweetener it's bitter and hot, so it's a lot harder to slide down the slippery slope of just drinking it whenever you're thirsty and simultaneously getting addicted…

I don't particularly like coffee, so it's not addictive for me as well. But neither are the energy drinks that I actually like. Conversely, there are people heavily addicted to coffee, whether you want to call that "bizzarely" or not.

So, we can haggle over details, but overall I don't see a dramatic qualitative difference.

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

#96
post #31
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Different than coffee?

There certainly is kind of a different culture around people who chug energy drinks compared to people who drink coffee. Energy drinks in the fridge at a job sort of signals that this company is part of that "grindset hustle culture" startup, which itself likes to employ a certain..."type".

I think there's a certain type that you're talking about that does tend towards energy drinks like that, but it's not true in the other direction, as that type is a minority of energy drink drinkers. Just a particularly noticeable one.

I've not been a fan of them myself since I was a teenager years ago, but I've worked with quite a few people in all sorts of roles, whose drink of choice was whatever their favourite energy drink was, either having one occasionally or between one and a few a day, while being completely relaxed, mature, and just nothing to do with any sort of stereotypes you might think of in connection with energy drinks.

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

#97
post #8

Feels like common sense to avoid energy drinks. The best case is it does no harm. Im definitely in the minority but there’s just zero value to me in drinking an energy drink. If you need energy that bad, there’s several options that are less artificial with similar effects. I’ve tasted a Celsius here and there, don’t get me wrong. I get the appeal, but it’s just silly to not consider the health effects. I’m also anti…

> The best case is it does no harm. No it’s not. The best case it gives you energy (it’s in the name!) to do whatever you want and it does no harm. Assuming it actually does no harm, why wouldn’t you want more energy any time you want it, any time you drink some delicious fizzy neon green liquid? I’m saying this as someone who doesn’t drink energy drink (because I assume and feel that it actually causes harm, not bec…

what harm are you thinking of? any pointers?

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

#98

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.

red bull doesn't taste great personally but most flavors of monster actually do to me. and they're less bitter than coffee and carbonated, which is nice.

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

#99
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…

You're describing caffeine addiction. This also happens with coffee.

People at the office sometimes ask me how I manage to get up in the morning and be in a good mood without having a cup of coffee. I suspect that most of them are only in a bad mood after waking up because they have mild caffeine widthrawal.

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

#100
post #50
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, you could say the same thing about coffee.

You could but you'd be quite disingenuous if you did considering that coffee delivers caffeine without a bunch of added sugar.

Sugar free/low sugar energy drinks are really common, and most coffee drinkers I know are mixing in sugar or creamer or something in their coffee, so I don't think they're that different. Personally, as someone who is super sensitive to bitterness, coffee has never worked for me, so if I need a caffeine boost, I go for a sugar free Red Bull or a white Monster
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