| | Each season a new designer cocktail debuts and becomes the rage in bars and dance clubs across the country. A few seasons ago, it was the Cosmopolitan, then the Mojito. And this season: Red Bull and Vodka. But is keeping up with the latest trend actually harming your health? Every weekend, elementary school teacher Alison, 26, and her girlfriends frequent Seattle dance clubs. It’s their time to have fun and relax after a long week of work. Last year Alison’ drink of choice was Vanilla flavored Stoli Vodka mixed with orange juice. But this year she has a new favorite: Vodka and Red Bull - the leading energy drink, known for its caffeine jolt at twice the intensity of a can of Diet Coke. “Whenever we go out dancing, we order Red Bull and Vodka,” Alison says. “Even though I hate the taste, I drink them for the instant energy boost so I can stay on the dance floor all night!” After a night of drinking her Vanilla Stoli and O.J. Alison says her hangover is nothing a big greasy breakfast can’t cure, but after a night of pounding Red Bull and vodkas it’s a different story. “The next morning, my whole body has the shakes and I feel like absolute crap,” she says. But what Alison and women like her may not know is that there is controversy brewing over the combination of alcohol and energy drinks. Some experts say the cocktails are not harmful while others say the mixture may be a recipe for disaster. More than 200,000 web sites debate the topic yet little research has been done to determine what exactly these cocktails do to your body. The only thing for certain is that the amount of conflicting information available is enough to give you “the spins.” In order to get to the bottom of the glass, Emily Moffet, interviewed energy drink companies, bartenders, doctors, and alcohol specialists. Here’s our report. Energy Drinks - Straight Up With the promise of an instant energy boost and increased concentration, energy drinks are now being chugged by athletes, college students, and soccer moms. Super svelte pop stars, Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears have publicly declared their Red Bull addiction and even St. Louis rapper Nelly, has his own energy drink brand, “Pimp Juice.” So what exactly is an energy drink? Most energy drinks are a mixture of caffeine, soda, sugar or aspartame, and other natural ingredients. Their metallic packaging and cylindrical frames make energy drinks stick out among their carbonated kindred. The energy drink craze all started 17 years ago when Red Bull came on the scene. Austrian businessman, Dietrich Mastechitz, who during his travels to Asia, discovered a Thai herbal energy booster which was popular among businessmen. They would use it to stay awake when they needed to travel for work. Mastechitz combined the energy elixir with soda and sugar and called his potion: Red Bull. Red Bull became a huge success in Europe and other companies followed suit and created their own energy beverages. Currently in the US there are more than 250 different energy drinks on the market, despite differing ingredients all of them have extremely high amounts of caffeine. An 8.3 oz can of Red Bull has 80 mg of caffeine, which according to Red Bull representatives is equivalent to a 20 oz bottle of Diet Coke or a 5 oz diner-size cup of coffee. Even though that may not seem like that much caffeine, some national authorities feel that these amounts are too high. Countries like France and Denmark have banned Red Bull because of its high caffeine levels. After French manufacturers tried to lift the ban against Red Bull, the European Court of Justice upheld that Red Bull contained an excessive amount of caffeine and the ban was upheld. As a result, the court ordered that the entire European Union must require all energy drink brands to carry a health warning starting in 2004. But what makes these energy drinks different from your usual Starbucks skim latte are its other stimulating herbal ingredients such as taurine, guarana, and glucoronalactone. At least one or all of these ingredients are prevalent in most energy drink brands yet there have been no studies that have been done to prove what exactly they do to your body, because energy drinks are not regulated by the United States FDA. What concerns experts the most about energy drinks is the combination of high caffeine levels and these mysterious herbal ingredients. Uncorking the Trend With such a prominent place in mainstream culture it is not surprising that energy drinks have made their way into the local bar. Energy drink cocktails have always been a fixture on the international dance scene but have only recently created a stir in the U.S. Bars across the country have added energy drink cocktails to their menu in response to the recent trend. “Jagerbombs [shots of Red Bull and the infamous licorice flavored liquor, Jagermeister] are one of the three most popular shots,” says a bartender at the 1800 Club in Evanston, Ill. “And Red Bull and Vodkas are one of the top five most popular cocktails.” To keep up with the growing popularity of these cocktails, 1800 club offers both cans of Red Bull and has added an unnamed energy drink to the soda tap. Whether you order energy drinks as a chaser, in a shot, or in a martini glass, chances are, you are, like Alison, hoping that these cocktails will help increase your energy. “I don’t drink vodka and Red Bull when I am just hanging out at home, just when I need to get pumped up,” Alison says. According to a Brazilian survey, 136 Brazilian nightclubbers said they drank energy drinks mixed with alcohol, 76% of them said they did it in order to reverse the depressing effects of alcohol and to increase the stimulating effects. Indeed most companies pitch their product to be “formulated in increase energy and endurance,” as clearly stated on the Rush! website. But brands seem to revel in their product's role as an alcohol chaser, such as Monster and Amp, which promote their energy drinks at clubs across the country, offering product samples and merchandise to bar patrons. The Monster Energy web site even offers recipes for cocktails, such as the “Jager Monster.” Now there is even a product called Sparxx on the market, which is an energy drink and alcohol concoction. Last Call in Europe The most dangerous claim against mixing energy drinks with alcohol has been in Sweden where deaths have been linked to these cocktails. Currently Swedish officials are investigating the deaths of two people who died after drinking Red Bull and Vodka. As a result of these deaths, Sweden and Greece, have issued warnings against mixing energy drinks with alcohol. Sweden no longer serves Red Bull in restaurants where alcohol is served. “We have looked into these reports and through a thorough investigation it has been concluded that there is no established link between these cases and Red Bull,” says Patrice Radden, a representative from the Red Bull US offices in Los Angeles about the controversy in Sweden. The Austiran Minisitry of Health, is the only international organization that has deemed mixing energy drinks with alcohol, safe. Ironically, Austria also happens to be the birthplace of Red Bull. While energy drinks are stirring up controversy across the ocean, the energy business in America is still booming. The Crowd Pleaser At the center of the controversy is Red Bull, the best selling energy drink in the world; in Europe it is the third best selling soft drink after Coke and Pepsi. Red Bull is now sold in 120 countries and according to Red Bull, consumers drank 1.6 billion cans in 2003. Every year Red Bull sales in the US double. Though Red Bull claims it doesn’t keep track of its bar and restaurant sales but a look at any bar menu in American would tell you that Red Bull makes a huge profit. But even though Red Bull is in high demand at bars, the company does not promote mixing their product with alcohol. “Some consumers do like to mix it with different types of alcohol but we do not promote Red Bull as a mixer with alcohol as this might impair the positive effects of Red Bull Energy Drink as advertised,” Radden explains. “Red Bull hires students to distribute their product on college campuses, my job was to give it to kids who needed to study not the frat guys,” says Jackie, 23, a recent Northwestern graduate was a Red Bull campus representative for 15 months. “The three pillars of Red Bull are study, driving, and sports. I would always keep cold Red Bull in my bag, so that if I saw somebody at the library asleep, I would leave them one and also a little note,” Jackie says. At Northwestern, Jackie’s job was to distribute Red Bull on the basis of the product’s functionality. That meant she would provide free Red Bull to athletes and other campus groups that needed a caffeine boost in order to achieve their goals. Despite Jackie’s efforts, “about half the time people came to me because they needed it to study, but the other half was for alcohol use,” she says. Red Bull defends its product’s safety. “There is no reason why Red Bull Energy Drink should not, like any other drink, be mixed with alcohol,” Radden says. “Everyone knows that the excessive and irresponsible consumption of alcohol can have adverse effects on human health and behavior but it should be clear that this is due to the alcoholic drink, not the mixer, be it cola, orange juice, tonic or whatever else is mixed with alcohol.” Bad Aftertaste? So what’s really going? Will these cocktails kill you or cause you some discomfort? In all honesty, doctors can’t say for sure- no published studies exist to confirm our fears but several doctors we spoke to urged caution when mixing energy drinks and alcohol- especially women. Dr. F, a professor of cardiology at Northwestern Medical School, believes that drinking these beverages is unwise, a belief based solely upon his knowledge of factors that effect the heart. “The mixing of energy drinks and alcohol might not be safe since alcohol causes the heart rate to increase and caffeine does too,” Dr. F says. “A substantial proportion of the population is predisposed to the heart condition, supraventricular tachycardia, but in particular this condition is commonly found in more young women than in men,” Dr. F says. Supraventricular tachycardia occurs when the heart’s electrical impulses go into an abnormal pattern resulting in a rapidly fast heart beat and a limited oxygen supply to the brain. “If you are predisposed to this condition, drinking these highly caffeinated cocktails might catalyze supraventricular tachycardia,” Dr. F says. After a night of drinking energy cocktails you might end up in the ER if you have this condition Caffeine on the Rocks, With A Twist The ingredient glucoronalactone, which is in both Red Bull and Monster, has never been the subject of any scientific studies. Some medical professionals believe that glucoranalactone is structurally similar to the popular club drug, GHB. GHB or gamo hydroxy buterate is a known chemical solvent and dietary supplement that is popular on the club scene for its relaxing and euphoric properties. According to Project GHB, a web site dedicated to spreading awareness about this drug, GHB overdoses have surpassed Ecstasy overdoses, the site was not clear if these overdoses has resulted in death. The drug has also been tied to date rape offenses. Red Bull has 600 mg of glucoronalactone in one can, while a liter of wine has 20 mg. “Glucoronalactone is an important part of Red Bull since it helps remove toxins from the body,” says Jackie about what she was told by the people at Red Bull about the ingredient. Taurine and Guarana, other main ingredients that are both in Red Bull and also in Rock Star, another popular energy drink, also have not been the subject of medical studies. Most energy drinks have 1000 mg of taurine per can, while a typical diet rich in meat provides at most 40-400 mg of taurine a day. It makes medical experts nervous that these beverages include extremely high amounts of ingredients that there is little information about. Red Bull feels that they are doing nothing wrong since they comply with the simple guidelines of the FDA. “Red Bull is regulated under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990,” says Red Bull’s Radden. “Those guidelines call upon food and beverage manufacturers to label a product so that a consumer understands what it contains and provides insight into the nutritional content of the product, as Red Bull does on its own label.” Another Round of Controversy All this scientific information maybe a little daunting, so it may me comforting to know that the claims by these next experts are easier to grasp. Some experts are concerned that the high caffeine levels from energy drinks gives club go-ers a false sense of sobriety and leads to increased alcohol consumption. Since the placebo effect is there people become empowered by the alleged energy boost from the cocktail and lose the indicator that let’s them know when they are drunk. At Bar Louie in the Bucktown section of Chicago, about one can of Red Bull is used to make 2.5 Jagerbomb shots. Therefore, if a woman has four shots over a course of two hours, she has had almost two cans of Red Bull, the maximum amount that is suitable for night workers to drink in 24 hours according to a study published by the Internal Medicine Journal in March 2004. It turns out that energy cocktail drinkers claims of instant energy may be all in their heads. Recently a small study from Brazil has shown that when energy drinks are combined with alcohol they do not enhance a person’s physical performance. The researchers observed that the subjects who mixed alcohol with an energy drink showed similar physical performance levels to those who drank alcohol alone. Serving The Truth? So what about the people that are actually serving these drinks? Are they at all phased by these claims of danger? A resident bartender at Bar Louie in the Bucktown section of Chicago, does not seem too concerned. “I’m aware of the dangers but it’s not in the front of my mind when I’m pouring drinks,” he says. With one Jagerbomb shot costing a hefty $8, he is making a nice profit off the trend “My job is to mix drinks and sell them, I am not there to lecture,” the bartender says. “If more information was released, it might have an effect but for now I am still gonna sell them.” Eileen Driscoll, the manager at Excalibur, one of the hippest dance clubs in Chicago, even though Red Bull and Vodka is one of the club’s best-selling drinks, “I had no idea there was an [energy drink] controversy or that these drinks could be dangerous,” she says. Two Parts: Controversy, One Part: Mystery We know what you are thinking. “Thanks a lot, Emily, you gave me all this information but no answers!” Trust us, we are thinking the same thing. Currently researchers in Brazil are conducting a study with mice, in which they test the way their bodies react to different amounts of energy drinks and alcohol. Until these results are published and the FDA starts testing the ingredients of these beverages, it’s up to you to use these facts to make the best decision for your body.
If you’re wondering how our hot investigative reporter gets her energy, email e-moffet@northwestern.edu
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