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Red Bull, Does it Give You Wings?
by: Barrett Niehus
I was driving to
work the other day, enjoying my obligatory glass of morning
stimulant. This morning it was a can of Red Bull, I didn’t have time
to stop at Starbucks, and I noticed that the primary ingredient in
Red Bull is Taurine. After hearing their commercial on the radio, I
got to thinking. How exactly does Red Bull work, and does it really
give you wings? Does it give you more energy? Does it make you more
alert?
Well, upon
inspecting the ingredients and doing some research, which wasn’t
hard working as a bulk vitamin distributor, I found that the Red
Bull wings reference may be more geared to mental well being than to
actual body energy. At least this may be the case with Taurine. As
it turns out, Taurine is an amino acid that is used in our body for
a number of activities. A couple of which are to act as a neural
regulator, and to protect heart function. Substantial amounts of
Taurine are also found in our eyes and stomach bile. There is no
doubt that Taurine is beneficial, but I could not find any data that
indicated it would give you an energy boost.
After searching and
searching, I realized that the "wings" reference may be geared more
toward your mental state. As I indicated, Taurine acts as a neural
regulator. In fact, it is one of those chemicals in our brain that
is responsible for a calm positive mood. Perhaps the wings effect is
referring to the fact that the Taurine in Red Bull will make you
calm and clear-headed. There has certainly been data to demonstrate
that Taurine is effective when dealing with stress. Another
ingredient that would indicate that the "wings" tag line may refer
more to your mental state is the ingredient Inositol. This is
another compound that has been shown to have a positive, calming,
effect on your mood.
What about an
energy boost? In looking at the ingredients, Caffeine certainly
jumps out as a major stimulant. Other than that, sugar is always
effective at providing a good short-term energy boost. These are
probably the main ingredients that will make you more "vitalized."
So does Red Bull
give you "Wings?" Well, the Taurine and Inositol in it will
certainly make you feel good. It has caffeine, so there should be a
small energy boost, and the other compounds listed can help with
your metabolism. Overall, it should have a positive effect on your
body, and at least make you feel a little calmer and more energized.
As for wings, well, what would we do with them if we had them
anyway?
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