Off The Record
Here’s What Really Happens To Your Body 24 Hours After Drinking A Can Of Red Bull
An infographic has surfaced that explains the impacts of energy drinks, following the revelation of what occurred to our bodies after consuming a can of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke an hour earlier.
What occurs 10 minutes, 15-45 minutes, 30-50 minutes, one hour, five-six hours, 12 hours, and 12-24 hours after downing a Red Bull is depicted in the Personalise.co.uk image.
From the first ten minutes, during which your blood pressure and heart rate increase, to the last twelve to twenty-four hours, during which your body starts to experience withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, irritability, and constipation.
Additionally, the effects wear off seven to twelve days after consumption.
But is the data in the image accurate from a scientific standpoint?
Dr. Stuart Farrimond, a food researcher and science communicator, provides FEMAIL with his professional analysis of the effects of energy drinks on the body.
Energy drinks are a horrible method to receive caffeine, according to Dr. Farrimond, who was speaking to FEMAIL on the effects of energy drinks on the body overall.
“They have a lot of sugar—some terrifyingly so.” The so-called “added extras,” such as taurine, are hocus-pocus and serve only to increase the drink’s marketability.
Since carbonation makes all fizzy drinks acidic, drink producers typically add more acid to give their products a “zing.”
The pH of Red Bull is 3.3, which is the same as vinegar. When mixed with sugar, they are ideal for corroding teeth enamel and leading to dental issues that last a lifetime.
“Moderate coffee consumption has been associated with longer life expectancy, but energy drinks most likely do not fall into this category.”
Furthermore, caffeine doesn’t make us smarter—rather, it only makes us feel more awake and aware. According to several studies, coffee actually reduces our capacity for original thought.
“Tea and coffee are much better options.” Naturally, though, everything in moderation!
Within the first ten minutes: As soon as the caffeine enters your system, your body reacts by raising your blood pressure and heart rate.
15 to 45 minutes: Depending on how quickly you drink it, the amount of caffeine in it will peak during the first 15 to 45 minutes. This is when you’ll feel awake and notice an improvement in your ability to concentrate. Caffeine is a stimulant chemical. If you feel that you need to be more awake when driving, now is the time to have a drink.
Dr Farrimond said: “These times are about right: after drinking a caffeinated drink, caffeine passes from the intestines into the blood and then into the brain and around the body.”
It is a stimulant medication that acts by blocking the brain’s “tiredness signals.” Adenosine, a neurotransmitter that accumulates in the brain throughout the day and makes us feel sleepy in the evening, affects our level of fatigue.
The cunning drug caffeine works by momentarily blocking adenosine pathways, which gives you a boost and facilitates the production of “feel good” chemicals like dopamine in the brain. You have greater awareness and self-confidence!
30 to 50 minutes: Your liver will frequently react by absorbing extra sugar after you’ve finished drinking and your body has fully absorbed the coffee. Your body has also absorbed the majority of the drink’s initial sugar during this time.
Dr Farrimond said: “Yes, ordinarily you would expect all the caffeine to be absorbed by about 45 minutes after drinking, although it could be longer if drunk as part of a meal.”
Because the liver metabolizes coffee, it raises blood sugar levels. But it’s not as simple as the infographic makes it seem.
For example, caffeine can exacerbate hypoglycemia in diabetics. It’s interesting to note that coffee has been connected to a lower incidence of liver cancer and liver illness, suggesting that caffeine may be beneficial for the liver. However, this hasn’t been demonstrated for energy drinks.
60 minutes: After an hour, you’ll probably experience the dreaded “sugar crash,” which is typically caused by a combination of your blood sugar levels falling and the benefits of the caffeine wearing off.
Dr Farrimond said: “Lots of scientists don’t think the’sugar crash’ actually exists. We think we know when our sugar levels are high or low, but we usually can’t.”
There are additional reasons why eating a meal makes us feel fatigued, and caffeine can cause a hangover that can begin at this time. Additionally, as the “happy hormones” in our brains begin to wear off, we may experience a little depressive episode.
Five to six hours: Caffeine has a half-life of around five to six hours. This indicates that your body needs this many hours to completely eliminate the 50% of caffeine from your system. This period is doubled for women who take oral contraceptives.
Dr. Farrimond said: “This is accurate for normal weight adults. The oral contraceptive pill will make the half-life longer, although it may not be double as it depends on the precise tablet.”
Pregnancy, liver disease, and other medications can also slow down the rate at which the body excretes caffeine.
Importantly, compared to adults, children and teenagers’ bloodstreams will retain caffeine for longer periods of time and at higher levels due to their much longer half-lives. For this reason, children who consume caffeinated drinks may experience behavioral problems as well as anxiety.
12 hours: The majority of people will have completely eliminated all caffeine from their bloodstream 12 hours after drinking their energy drink; however, each person will experience this at a different rate and duration.
Dr Farrimond said: “Yes, this is a fair approximation, excluding children and teenagers.”
12 to 24 hours: If you’re a frequent drinker, you’ll notice that the temptation to take a caffeine break sets in between 12 and 24 hours. Other side effects include headaches, irritability, and diarrhea.
Dr. Farrimond said, “Caffeine withdrawal symptoms are usually overstated and aren’t as bad as we think they are.”
When participants in blinded tests switch from caffeinated to decaffeinated drinks, the withdrawal symptoms are typically quite modest, if they manifest at all.
The duration of withdrawal symptoms varies based on the amount of caffeine consumed and might extend up to nine days. Naturally, each person is unique, but many of the so-called “withdrawal” symptoms appear to be mental in nature.
Seven to twelve days: Research indicates that this is the amount of time that your body will tolerate the amount of caffeine you take each day. In one study, participants who took a caffeine pill as opposed to a placebo displayed identical moods, alertness, and energy levels after eighteen days; the high-caffeine group had grown accustomed to their daily fix.
Dr. Farrimond said: “We do become tolerant of caffeine over time—needing more to get the same effect. It would be interesting to find out more about these’studies’.”
The graphic continues by outlining the potential benefits and drawbacks of consuming energy drinks.
It says that most items are OK when consumed in moderation and as part of a healthy, balanced diet. This also applies to energy drinks, although you should exercise caution because many of them include a lot of sugar.
Caffeine guidelines are 400 mg per day, so a can of this stuff per day shouldn’t exceed this limit. However, you should think about the added sugar and potential for addiction that come with this.
Research on energy drinks has been conducted all over the world; in the United States, admissions to emergency rooms connected to energy drinks more than doubled between 2007 and 2014, as per the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Dawn Report.
Energy drink manufacturers frequently draw comparisons between their beverages and coffee. For example, a Starbucks Venti Caffe Americano has 300 mg of caffeine, which is over four times more than a Red Bull 250 ml can. Many coffee shops also sell high-caffeine drinks.
Dr. Stuart said, “Tiredness is a big killer: about 500 deaths a year are caused by driving while sleepy. In moderation, caffeine can help you stay awake if you are driving late at night or in the afternoon slump after lunch.”
‘But it would be far better to pull over, drink a cup of coffee, and take 10 minutes to rest rather than attempting to get pumped up with a can of Red Bull.
“My original infographic and article were meant for my clients who suffer from health issues and for others who are on long-term medications for metabolic disease like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, who really want to get better or prevent them from happening,” said Niraj Naik, the graphic designer for Coca-Cola and Diet Coke on his blog The Renegade Pharmacist, in an interview with FEMAIL.
On the other hand, those who lead active, healthy lives and who effectively manage their stress are far less likely to suffer from illnesses linked to stress.
Therefore, occasionally consuming a can of cola or an energy drink won’t be too harmful. Problems arise when it is consumed excessively and in place of other, healthier foods or beverages.
I advise everyone, including my customers, to adopt a healthy lifestyle, control their stress, maintain an active lifestyle, eat a mostly pure, nutritional diet, and see beverages like energy and fizzy drinks as treats rather than foods to be consumed with every meal.
Gavin Partington, BSDA (British Soft Drinks Association) Director General, told FEMAIL: “Energy drinks deliver a caffeine or glucose-based energy boost and are enjoyed by millions worldwide. In fact, this year the European Food Safety Authority reaffirmed the safety of energy drinks and their ingredients. It’s worth remembering that a 250-ml can of energy drinks contains the same amount of caffeine as a typical cup of coffee.”
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