What's in a Red Bull Anyway?

Posted by Alex in Food & Drinks on July 16, 2007 at 1:46 pm


Red Bull is a popular energy drink that, according to its ads, will "give you wings." But have you ever wondered what’s actually in the drink? Wired has the science behind the long list of ingredients:

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.

Link – Thanks Freshome!

By the way, did you know that Red Bull actually originated in Thailand? From Red Bull [wiki]:

The original Red Bull drink was developed in 1962 by Chaleo Yoovidhya, a Thai businessman, and sold under the name Krating Daeng (Thai for Red Bull) by the company TC Pharmaceutical.[2] The recipe was based on Lipovitan, an earlier energy drink that had been introduced to Thailand from Japan. Krating Daeng sales soared across Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, especially among truck drivers, construction workers and farmers. Truck drivers use to drink redbull to stay awake during the long late night drive. The working class image was boosted by sponsorship of Thai boxing matches, where the logo of two red bulls charging each other was often on display.


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9 comments to "What's in a Red Bull Anyway?"

  1. Malignant Monkey
    July 16th, 2007 at 2:12 pm

    And the Thai version comes in little bottles and is non-carbonated. Good stuff with a concentrated fruit-juice like flavor rather than the Tart n Tinies flavor of US Redbull.

  2. Geekazoid
    July 16th, 2007 at 3:04 pm

    So Lipovitan is the mother of all energy drinks huh? Who wudda thunk, I love that drink from Japan. Used to drink it all the time, no wonder red bull tasted somewhat familiar!

  3. Jacques
    July 16th, 2007 at 3:22 pm

    it's amazing how many people drink this stuff like it was , I don't know, coffee or something. We had one guy working on our deck, and he was downing 6 or 8 of the things a day. The guy was a wreck, my girlfriend tried to warn him that he was likely killing himself, or at least stting himeself up for a heart attack or stroke.

  4. Dude from Thailand
    July 16th, 2007 at 3:27 pm

    That's right. It's for working class to keep them wake, I don't know why western people drink it like some kind of alcohol.

    But I drink it sometime when have a long drive.

  5. Travis
    July 16th, 2007 at 4:05 pm

    I used to work at an Asian grocery store and we had Lipovitan there, and I only drank that when I was REALLY wiped out. I've never even tried Red Bull, go figure.

  6. hiddnfox
    July 16th, 2007 at 4:42 pm

    yea, I drink it sometimes if a big lunch rush comes in for our small understaffed resteraunt. but they two chef we have drink like 5 cans in 5 hours just to get through the day. they buy the stuff by the caseload!

  7. meg
    July 16th, 2007 at 8:45 pm

    Red bull remminds me of crushed up Pez candies...vile, really.

  8. Alex
    July 17th, 2007 at 1:13 am

    Actually, Lipovitan didn't taste bad at all! I can't stand the taste of Red Bull, but I think it's the carbonation.

    And Jacques - too much caffeine can constrict blood vessels, which is a risk factor for stroke.

  9. Joann
    July 17th, 2007 at 3:13 pm

    Hmm...red bull...there is this pepsi drink now called diet pepsi max which has 1/3 more caffeine than mountain dew and tastes the same as reg. diet pepsi...plus it has the cutest website where you can send e-cards and submit pictures of people yawning (you can see it at http://www.wakeuppeople.com)- too cute!!!


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