....wings? So says the advert.
Not so, say researchers at the State University of Buffalo, New York. Red Bull and other high caffeine drinks are more likely to give you 'toxic jock syndrome'. Sounds quite unpleasant and something you might want to see a medic about.
If you needed something else to worry about in relation to your teens, read on.
In a paper published in the Journal of American College Health in March, it is reported that high consumption of these kind of energy drinks can result in risky and aggressive behaviours including violence, unprotected sex and substance abuse. While the study doesn't demonstrate causality between drinking energy drinks and bad behaviours, the study author, Dr. Miller, points out that those heavily into drinking energy drinks are the ones more inclined toward risk-taking.
Of course, it could also be that those more inclined to this kind of behaviour in the first place are simply the same people who buy more of this kind of drink.
A catchy name, I guess the 'toxic jock' label resulted from the fact that the study was based on athletes. Plenty of women indulge in these kind of drinks, many for the desired side effect of weight loss, believing such drinks speed up the metabolism. Syndrome suggestions people?
There is no doubt that over consumption of these drinks can have some nasty side effects, including irregular heart beat and there have been stories of people hospitalised as a consequence of overindulgence. Like everything else, moderation is key.
