Energy Drinks and Alcohol Don't Mix

Red Bull won't make drinkers less drunk, study finds

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

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MONDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- Mixing alcohol and energy drinks such as Red Bull have become increasingly popular, but the combination can result in a disconnect between perception and reality, Brazilian researchers report.

Although drinkers said they felt less tired and had a heightened sensation of pleasure after quaffing a Red Bull, in actual fact their abilities were still significantly impaired.

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"This is just the combination that might lead to very bad judgments," said Dr. David L. Katz, an associate professor of public health and director of the Prevention Research Center at the Yale University School of Medicine. "Feeling less intoxicated and more alert, one might get behind the wheel of a car, but with impaired coordination and reaction time, that decision might spell disaster."

The study, by researchers at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, appears in the April issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

The effects of the Red Bull and alcohol mix might be due to the ingredients in the drink. Red Bull contains caffeine plus taurine, an amino acid that plays a significant role in brain and retinal development and may enhance the effects of caffeine. The drink also includes glucuronolactone, which is supposed to stimulate the basal metabolic rate.

"Popular reports suggest that the use of energy drinks might reduce the intensity of the depressant effects of alcohol," said lead researcher Maria Lucia O. Souza-Formigoni, an associate professor and psychobiologist. "However, there was little scientific evidence to support this hypothesis."

In their study, Souza-Formigoni's team assigned 26 young, healthy volunteers to two groups that received 0.6 or 1.0 g/kg of alcohol (vodka) respectively. All the volunteers completed three experimental sessions. These included alcohol alone, Red Bull alone or alcohol plus the energy drink.

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