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From: crisology on 18 Aug 2008 00:37
Redbull info

Found at: http://news.aol.com/health/article/energy-drink-may-raise-stroke-risk/134824?icid=100214839x1207648343x1200431446

"Energy Drink May Raise Stroke Risk

CANBERRA (Aug. 15) - Just one can of the popular stimulant energy
drink Red Bull can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, even
in young people, Australian medical researchers said on Friday.
The caffeine-loaded beverage, popular with university students and
adrenaline sport fans to give them "wings," caused the blood to become
sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke.
Red Bull
AP


"One hour after they drank Red Bull, (their blood systems) were no
longer normal. They were abnormal like we would expect in a patient
with cardiovascular disease," Scott Willoughby, lead researcher from
the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital,
told the Australian newspaper.
Red Bull Australia spokeswoman Linda Rychter said the report would be
assessed by the company's head office in Austria.
"The study does not show effects which would go beyond that of
drinking a cup of coffee. Therefore, the reported results were to be
expected and lie within the normal physiological range," Rychter told
Reuters.
Willoughby and his team tested the cardiovascular systems of 30 young
adults one hour before and one hour after consuming one 250ml can of
sugar-free Red Bull.
The results showed "normal people develop symptoms normally associated
with cardiovascular disease" after consuming the drink, created in the
1980s by Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz based on a similar
Thai energy drink.
Red Bull is banned in Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health
risks listed on its cans, but the company last year sold 3.5 billion
cans in 143 countries. One can contains 80 mg of caffeine, around the
same as a normal cup of brewed coffee.
The Austria-based company, whose marketing says "Red Bull gives you
wings," sponsors Formula 1 race cars and extreme sport events around
the world, but warns consumers not to drink more than two cans a day.
Rychter said Red Bull could only have such global sales because health
authorities across the world had concluded the drink was safe to
consume.
But Willoughby said Red Bull could be deadly when combined with stress
or high blood pressure, impairing proper blood vessel function and
possibly lifting the risk of blood clotting.
"If you have any predisposition to cardiovascular disease, I'd think
twice about drinking it," he said.
Editing by David Fogarty
Copyright 2008, Reuters
2008-08-14 22:27:09
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