caffeine energy drink

"g.daniels" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

paasssinginging thru the library? there's an article on RED BULL plus
in the NYTimes Science News Section this weekteusdaymay11!!!!!!!!!!

The nearest library to the little rural town where I live is probably 40
miles. Would you mind sharing what you gleaned from the article? I'm quite
curious about the topic as I just had a bout of ventricular arrythmia which
my cardiologist suspects might have been induced by a high-voltage dose of
caffeine in a sports drink.

Thanks,
Bob C.

psycholist said:

The nearest library to the little rural town where I live is probably
40 miles. Would you mind sharing what you gleaned from the article?
I'm quite curious about the topic as I just had a bout of ventricular
arrythmia which my cardiologist suspects might have been induced by a
high-voltage dose of caffeine in a sports drink.

Google "red bull" "new york times" and you'll get:
===================================
When Coffee Doesn't Do It, Turning to Canned Energy
By VICKY LOWRY

Published: May 11, 2004

Debra and Patrick Doyle of Aspen, Colo., go skiing every weekend in the
winter and, in summer, take long mountain bike rides in the hilly
terrain where they live.

What helps this 36-year-old couple feel so energetic?

They say it is the cans of Red Bull they consume every morning.

"It jump-starts my day," Ms. Doyle said of the so-called energy drink,
made in Austria and sold in supermarkets and delicatessens around the
United States.

Once the province of young extreme athletes and the nightclub crowd,
which mixes it with vodka, Red Bull has gone mainstream. Sleepy college
students drink it because they say they like its amphetamine-like
effect; weekend athletes vouch for the buzz it gives them while
exercising.

A Red Bull spokeswoman said 1.5 billion cans of the drink were consumed
worldwide in 2003, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. In the
United States, Red Bull controls roughly 50 percent of the $1 billion
energy drink market.

According to the information printed on its slender blue-and-silver can,
Red Bull "improves performance, increases concentration, improves
reaction speed and stimulates the metabolism."

But if its ingredients are any guide, the boost provided by Red Bull and
other energy drinks - SoBe Adrenaline Rush, Snapple Fire and 180 Orange
Citrus Blast, for example - may differ little from the lift offered by a
strong cup of joe.

Gatorade and other sports drinks are caffeine-free, low in carbohydrates
and high in sodium to replace the electrolytes lost when people sweat.
Red Bull and other energy formulas, experts say, deliver mainly a jolt
of caffeine and a fairly high dose of calories. Each 8-ounce can of Red
Bull has 80 milligrams of caffeine, slightly less than a cup of
Starbucks coffee and more than twice as much as a 12-ounce can of Coke.

"Caffeine can be ergogenic - a fancy word for performance enhancing -
because it appears to perk up the central nervous system, and that
becomes increasingly important as the length of exercise increases,"
said Lawrence Spriet, professor of human biology and nutritional
sciences at the University of Guelph in Ontario, who has studied the
effects of caffeine on athletes.

Expectation - and the fact that Red Bull is often chugged rather than
sipped - may add to the effect.

Although the International Olympic Committee recently removed caffeine
from its list of restricted substances, several countries ban the sale
of Red Bull to the public because of its high caffeine level.

Carbohydrates are another main ingredient in Red Bull, which tastes like
fizzy cherry cough syrup. In addition to glucuronolactone, a
carbohydrate found in plant gums and red wine, a can of Red Bull
contains about two teaspoons of sugar. Endurance athletes easily burn up
Red Bull's 110 calories. But some doctors have concerns about any drink
that contains so much sugar.

"The average Joe weekend warrior, he would have to exercise for 15 to 20
minutes just to burn the calories in this drink," said Dr. Lori Mosca,
director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in
New York. "I would not recommend picking up one of these drinks when
you're buying lunch at a deli."

Consuming large quantities of carbohydrates in hot weather can
compromise hydration by slowing the rate at which fluid is absorbed into
the bloodstream, and it can be tough on the stomach, said Douglas Casa,
director of athletic training education at the University of Connecticut
in Storrs.

"If someone needs calories in those conditions, there are better
alternatives than Red Bull," Dr. Casa said. "I recommend rehydrating
with a properly formulated sports drink and getting calories from a
properly formulated sports bar."

Like other energy drinks, Red Bull also contains healthful-sounding
additives like the amino acid taurine and vitamin B, a total of 30
milligrams in the form of niacin, pantothenic acid, B6 and B12. Taurine,
which the body produces on its own, is found in high concentrations in
the heart. But as Malcolm Watford, director for the graduate program in
nutritional sciences at Rutgers University, puts it, "We haven't got a
clue to what it does."

psycholist said:

The nearest library to the little rural town where I live is probably
40 miles. Would you mind sharing what you gleaned from the article?
I'm quite curious about the topic as I just had a bout of ventricular
arrythmia which my cardiologist suspects might have been induced by a
high-voltage dose of caffeine in a sports drink.

Complete story follows:

May 11, 2004
When Coffee Doesn't Do It, Turning to Canned Energy
By VICKY LOWRY

Debra and Patrick Doyle of Aspen, Colo., go skiing every weekend in the
winter and, in summer, take long mountain bike rides in the hilly
terrain where they live.

What helps this 36-year-old couple feel so energetic?

They say it is the cans of Red Bull they consume every morning.

"It jump-starts my day," Ms. Doyle said of the so-called energy drink,
made in Austria and sold in supermarkets and delicatessens around the
United States.

Once the province of young extreme athletes and the nightclub crowd,
which mixes it with vodka, Red Bull has gone mainstream. Sleepy college
students drink it because they say they like its amphetamine-like
effect; weekend athletes vouch for the buzz it gives them while
exercising.

A Red Bull spokeswoman said 1.5 billion cans of the drink were consumed
worldwide in 2003, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. In the
United States, Red Bull controls roughly 50 percent of the $1 billion
energy drink market.

According to the information printed on its slender blue-and-silver can,
Red Bull "improves performance, increases concentration, improves
reaction speed and stimulates the metabolism."

But if its ingredients are any guide, the boost provided by Red Bull and
other energy drinks - SoBe Adrenaline Rush, Snapple Fire and 180 Orange
Citrus Blast, for example - may differ little from the lift offered by a
strong cup of joe.

Gatorade and other sports drinks are caffeine-free, low in carbohydrates
and high in sodium to replace the electrolytes lost when people sweat.
Red Bull and other energy formulas, experts say, deliver mainly a jolt
of caffeine and a fairly high dose of calories. Each 8-ounce can of Red
Bull has 80 milligrams of caffeine, slightly less than a cup of
Starbucks coffee and more than twice as much as a 12-ounce can of Coke.

"Caffeine can be ergogenic - a fancy word for performance enhancing -
because it appears to perk up the central nervous system, and that
becomes increasingly important as the length of exercise increases,"
said Lawrence Spriet, professor of human biology and nutritional
sciences at the University of Guelph in Ontario, who has studied the
effects of caffeine on athletes.

Expectation - and the fact that Red Bull is often chugged rather than
sipped - may add to the effect.

Although the International Olympic Committee recently removed caffeine
from its list of restricted substances, several countries ban the sale
of Red Bull to the public because of its high caffeine level.

Carbohydrates are another main ingredient in Red Bull, which tastes like
fizzy cherry cough syrup. In addition to glucuronolactone, a
carbohydrate found in plant gums and red wine, a can of Red Bull
contains about two teaspoons of sugar. Endurance athletes easily burn up
Red Bull's 110 calories. But some doctors have concerns about any drink
that contains so much sugar.

"The average Joe weekend warrior, he would have to exercise for 15 to 20
minutes just to burn the calories in this drink," said Dr. Lori Mosca,
director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in
New York. "I would not recommend picking up one of these drinks when
you're buying lunch at a deli."

Consuming large quantities of carbohydrates in hot weather can
compromise hydration by slowing the rate at which fluid is absorbed into
the bloodstream, and it can be tough on the stomach, said Douglas Casa,
director of athletic training education at the University of Connecticut
in Storrs.

"If someone needs calories in those conditions, there are better
alternatives than Red Bull," Dr. Casa said. "I recommend rehydrating
with a properly formulated sports drink and getting calories from a
properly formulated sports bar."

Like other energy drinks, Red Bull also contains healthful-sounding
additives like the amino acid taurine and vitamin B, a total of 30
milligrams in the form of niacin, pantothenic acid, B6 and B12. Taurine,
which the body produces on its own, is found in high concentrations in
the heart. But as Malcolm Watford, director for the graduate program in
nutritional sciences at Rutgers University, puts it, "We haven't got a
clue to what it does."

Red Bull's director of corporate communications, Patrice Radden,
declined to allow anyone from the company to be interviewed. But in an
e-mail message from Austria, the company said taurine loss "can occur in
some other physiological situations, such as high stress and physical
exertion."

The message went on: "Studies also demonstrated increased excretion of
taurine in perspiration and urine during physical exertion. Dietary
supplementation of taurine during athletics thus seems reasonable."

A 2001 study from the European journal Amino Acids noted an increase in
stroke volume (the amount of blood, oxygen and nutrients that the heart
can pump to the working muscles) in a group of athletes who drank Red
Bull, and not in a group that drank a caffeinated drink without taurine.
According to Red Bull, the company did not sponsor the study but
provided the drinks.

Many scientists, however, remain skeptical. Dr. Spriet of the University
of Guelph is conducting a study on trained cyclists to determine if
taurine can affect performance. So far, he said, "it doesn't look like
taurine does anything."

Nor is there any scientific evidence that vitamins affect sports
performance.

"Taking B vitamins won't hurt you," Dr. Watford said. "You just get
expensive urine." A can of Red Bull sells at a suggested retail price of
$1.99, but bars charge as much as $8 for the drink.

At that price, Red Bull is probably not for the frugal.

"At as much as a dollar an ounce, I certainly wouldn't use a fluid like
that during a race," said Dr. William O. Roberts, president-elect of the
American College of Sports Medicine and medical director for the Twin
Cities Marathon in Minnesota. "I'd rather save the money for after the
race and have a good glass of wine."

Still, Red Bull's claim for having performance-enhancing powers may be
attractive to people who are very active, or very tired.

"There aren't many easy ways of getting energized," said Dr. Paul D.
Thompson, director of preventive cardiology at Hartford Hospital in
Connecticut. "Wishing doesn't make it so."

(g.daniels) said:

paasssinginging thru the library? there's an article on RED BULL plus
in the NYTimes Science News Section this weekteusdaymay11!!!!!!!!!!

When it gets humid and hot in the upper 80's here in Florida, I get a
migraine if I workout hard after consuming caffeine so it's decaf all
summer for me.

Caffeine is a diuretic and a vasoconstrictor. I think the headaches I
get are from caffeine rebound when the blood vessel dilation is
exacerbated by the heat. Anyone else have trouble with caffeine and
heat causing headaches after hard workouts?

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Caffeine is a diuretic and a vasoconstrictor. I think the headaches I
get are from caffeine rebound when the blood vessel dilation is
exacerbated by the heat. Anyone else have trouble with caffeine and
heat causing headaches after hard workouts?

well, i only have caffeine AFTER a workout...none at all during the
week. after my 50-80 mile rides in the heat on saturday and sunday,
i've found that a headache is a foregone conclusion *unless* i have
a little caffeine shortly after exercise. my saturday afternoons
used to be hell until i accidentally discovered the 'cure'.

dunno why it works, dunno even IF it works. it may be "all in my
head". but i know that my incidence of headache after a ride has
been greatly reduced since i started chugging a pepsi afterward.

never tried it BEFORE a workout. after your post, i'm not inclined
to experiment...!

hg