Hey party people oaf12 here and welcome to The Man Den!
So, I’ll admit it…..I am addicted to energy drinks! In all honesty though I’m not sure if I’d call it an addiction (I do believe that is what they call denial). Usually I drink at least one a day, some days it can be as many as three or four……BUT I did manage to completely (well mostly) stop drinking them recently while dieting for my wedding.
One thing I can confirm though is that I LOVE them……whether it’s Lucozade, Mountain Dew, Red Bull or, my personal favourite, Relentless (mmmmm a cold Relentless), they are generally my go to drink no just for the energy but because I love the taste too…….apart from Monster, which I actually dislike (sorry Monster fans).
My love for these drinks however has recently been getting me into trouble with my loved ones because of “how bad they are for you”…..apparently. I made a point today that lead me to the decision to blog about it, the point I made was that I have been drinking the stuff for at least 10 years (I remember going through a 4 pack of Red Bull one morning at work) yet this doesn’t seem to have caused me any issues. The idea that it is bad for you though is not uncommon, people moan about it all the time and say things like “it’s banned in France” but when you actually do some research it seems a lot of this is factually incorrect (the nice way of saying bollocks).
Let’s have a closer look…..
The statement below was taken directly from the Red Bull Website.
“Red Bull Energy Drink is available in more than 165 countries, including every state of the European Union, because health authorities across the world have concluded that Red Bull Energy Drink is safe to consume. More than 5 billion cans and bottles were consumed last year alone and about 35 billion cans since Red Bull was created more than 25 years ago.
One 250 ml (8.4 fl oz) can of Red Bull Energy Drink contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee (80 mg). With regards to the other key ingredients the European Food Safety Authority concluded in 2009 that these are of no health concerns.”
Then on livestrong.com I found this.
“Common vitamins found in energy drinks include riboflavin, vitamin B-2, niacin, vitamin B-3, pyridoxine, vitamin B-6, cyanocobalamin, vitamin B-12 and vitamin C. A single serving, of most energy drinks, contains high amounts of these vitamins, so energy drinks are considered a good source for obtaining certain essential vitamins”
Now there are other things that you can find online that give a different picture but the above two statements, coupled with my own health, provide me with some comfort.
Yes, I agree I maybe shouldn’t drink 4 a day very often but I bet people wouldn’t worry so much if it was coffee…..
Oh and to the people who say “well do you at least drink the sugar-free one?” I say hell no! Give me a can full of sugar over Aspartame any day of the week!
To end the blog I was going to jokingly say…..it’s not energy drinks that should be banned it’s energy drinks from ‘natural’ sources that should be banned….see below!
Then I found this and sometimes do wonder what the world is coming to.
Let me know your thoughts on energy drinks, do you love them? Do you hate them? Do you care?
Anyway I’m thirsty, who wants a Jagerbomb? lol
Cheers all
oaf out
