Fearmongering Central:  Energy Drinks Amp Up Blood Pressure 
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007

 

What a load of bull.  Get it?  Bull?  Red Bull?  Whatever, this just in from fearmongering media USA:  "Energy drinks boost blood pressure in even the young and healthy people and may leave hypertensive adults more charged up than they bargained for, researchers say."

From MedPage Today:

"Energy drinks typically contain high levels of caffeine and the amino acid taurine. These compounds have been shown in previous studies to have an impact on cardiac function and hemodynamic status, although the data available for caffeine are controversial, Dr. Kalus said.

The study included 15 healthy volunteers (53% women) with an average age of 25.9 who abstained from caffeine for two days before and during the study.

After participants' blood pressure and heart rate were measured and an electrocardiogram was taken at baseline, they drank two cans of an energy drink containing 80 mg caffeine and 1,000 mg taurine. The same tests were repeated at 30 minutes, and at one, two, three, and four hours after consumption while the volunteers sat around watching movies.

The men and women drank two cans a day for the following five days with another regimen of testing on the last day."

I've got to tell you, I don't like coffee, and those of you who know me know that I drink one can of Sugarfree Red Bull every morning instead.  I've been doing this for nearly five years.  A couple of weeks ago, I had my blood pressure checked at the Cleveland Clinic when I was there for an appointment, and the nurse said that my blood pressure was phenomenally good.

I'm also a smoker, though.

So then of course, based on the "mights" and "maybes" of this study, a million mass media outlets jump on the story.  I'm going to chalk this article up to one of the "You'll never look at your ______ the same again" BS stories.

    

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