Red Bull vs Red Bull Sugar Free
Difference between Red Bull and Red Bull Sugar Free mainly exists in the fact that Red Bull Sugar Free does not contain sugar. “It gives you wings.” This is the slogan of Red Bull, one of the most popular energy drinks sold worldwide. Created in 1987, Red Bull is a brand owned by Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. The idea of this drink originated from a popular drink Krating Daeng sold in Thailand, and today, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world. In the year 2014, Red Bull company has sold more than 5.6 billion cans of Red Bull (according to the Red Bull Website). There are many variants of Red Bull being sold in the market with even a cola version that was mired in controversy as it was found to contain traces of cocaine. This article will, however, try to find out differences between the original health drink Red Bull and its sugar free version Red Bull.
What is Red Bull?
Red Bull is one of the most popular energy drinks of the world.The major ingredients of Red Bull are taurine, caffeine, Vitamin B, sucrose, glucose, alpine spring water and glucuronolactone. It can be said that Red Bull is a formulation that blends caffeine with many other ingredients to promote energy and concentration levels. People who use Red Bull say that they feel invigorated with high levels of mental and physical energy after their regular shot of Red Bull. Though it is true that in moderate amounts, Red Bull is a safe drink, excessive amounts, when consumed, can lead to many side effects.
Caffeine is a substance that is known to be a stimulant that activates central nervous system while pumping up heart rate as well. Taurine, which is an active component of both Red Bull original as well as sugar free version, is an amino acid that helps in maintaining balance between various fluids and salts inside the body. Glucuronolactone is a carbohydrate that helps in clearing waste from the body and is found naturally in our bodies. Addition of vitamin B in Red Bull helps in the conversion of food inside our body into energy, which is felt when one consumes the drink.
What is Red Bull Sugar Free?
To make the Red Bull energy drink healthier for people who avoid sugars, the company introduced Red Bull Sugar Free, which contains aspartame and acesulfame K while removing glucose and sucrose. Other than this change, Red Bull Sugar Free contains all the other ingredients of the Red Bull such as caffeine, taurine, B group vitamins, and alpine spring water. If one goes by the advertisements of the company, Sugar Free version of the drink is a functional beverage that vitalizes body and mind.
However, despite the many advertisements by the company, researchers have found out that Red Bull Sugar Free, as well as Red Bull, can bring side effects. After a survey that was held on 2007 by the John Hopkins University 1, it was found that consumption of energy drinks can lead to increased heart rate. Also, in 2008, after a study, the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital came to the conclusion that only one can of Red Bull can make the viscosity of your blood go high 2. This increasement of viscosity reaches the level of having blood clots. As we all know, blood clotting leads to heart attacks.
What is the difference between Red Bull and Red Bull Sugar Free?
• As far as nutritional facts are concerned, one gets 110 calories, 220g of sodium, and 27 g of sugar with a can of Red Bull original.
• Red Bull also provides various B vitamins that are required on a daily basis by our bodies. While niacin or vitamin B6 is about 250% of our daily requirement, Red Bull provides 80% of our daily requirement of vitamin B12 and 50% of pantothenic acid.
• If we compare this with the Sugar-Free version, we find that it contains just 10 calories and only 100mg of sodium per can.
• Even Red Bull Sugar Free contains the same amounts of rest of the vitamins as are found in Red Bull original.
• As far as caffeine is concerned, both Red Bull and Red Bull Sugar Free contain 80mg of caffeine.
Due to the ingredients in both Red Bull and Red Bull Sugar Free, researchers have found out that they are not very healthy. This is because they increase your heart rate, increase your blood viscosity. Both of these are not good for your hearth. Also consuming Red Bull and alcohol together is very much dangerous.
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Images Courtesy:
- Red bull logo by pscldot (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Red Bull Sugar Free by The Master Shake Signal (CC BY-SA 2.0)