22MOON.COM
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WHAT IS IN

 

 

Glucose

Like most

popular soft drinks,

Red Bull is largely

sugar water.

 

But don’t count on

its glucose to

“give you wings,”

as the ad says.

 

Multiple studies have

debunked the so-called

sugar high.

 

Taurine

Also known as

2-aminoethanesulfonic

acid,

taurine was originally

isolated from

bull bile in 1827.

 

Now made synthetically,

it is the magical elixir

said to bring out the

kitesurfing extremophile

in any Web-surfing nerd.

 

Taurine’s actual effects,

while not as drastic

as the hype,

are pretty wide-ranging,

even from the amount

found in a single can.

 

Not only is it an inhibitory

neurotransmitter

(in some cases acting

as a mild sedative)

and an age-defying

antioxidant,

it even has the potential

to steady irregular

heartbeats.

 

 

Glucuronolactone

Internet rumors claimed

this was a Vietnam-era

experimental drug that

causes brain tumors.

 

Luckily,

that’s not true.

 

But don’t crumple up

your tinfoil hat yet —

hardly anyone has

looked into exactly

what this stuff does.

 

So little research

has been done on

glucuronolactone

(and most of it

50 years ago)

that almost all information

about it is mere rumor.

 

Users generally believe

it fights fatigue and

increases well-being,

but that could turn

out to be bull,

too.

Caffeine

Ah,

here are Red Bull’s

wings.

 

All the things this drink

is supposed to do

for you —

increase concentration

and reaction speed,

improve emotional state,

and boost metabolism —

are known effects of this

white powder,

a distant

cousin of cocaine.

 

 

Niacin

(niacinamide)

Also known as

vitamin B-3,

niacin increases so-called

good cholesterol (HDL)

by preventing the formation

of triglycerides,

making it a terrific

cholesterol drug.

 

Unfortunately,

there isn’t enough niacin

here to have this benefit.

 

And it’s not even pure

enough to give you the

mild head rush dubbed

the “niacin flush.”

 

 

Sodium citrate

Commonly used as a

preservative in soft drinks

and spreadable cheeses,

sodium citrate also helps

convert glucose into

lactic acid during exercise,

producing a measurable

effect on athletic

performance.

 

In at least one test,

it shaved an average

of 17 seconds off

a 5K run.

 

 

Inositol

A carbohydrate found

in animal muscle

(sometimes called

“meat sugar”),

inositol is turning out

to be a wonder drug

that significantly

reduces depression,

panic attacks,

agoraphobia,

and obsessive- compulsive

disorder.

 

It might even be what

makes whole grains

effective cancer fighters.

 

Instead of being a bit

player in Red Bull

(you’d need to drink

as many as 360 cans

a day to get its benefits),

inositol probably deserves

a drink of its own.

 

 

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