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Red Bull Can Give You a Stroke<http://articles.mercola.com/redirect/[EMAIL PROTECTED]&ReturnURL=http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/06/red-bull-can-give-you-a-stroke.aspx> http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/06/red-bull-can-give-you-a-stroke.aspx?source=nl You should avoid Red Bull like the plague if you have any of these conditions. [image: red bull, energy drinks, alcohol, stroke, heart attack, heart disease]Just one can of the popular stimulant energy drink Red Bull can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. The effect was seen even in young people. The caffeine-loaded beverage causes blood to become sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke. One hour after drinking Red Bull, your blood system becomes abnormal, as might be expected from a patient with cardiovascular disease. Red Bull is banned in Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health risks. *Red Bull drink lifts stroke risk: Australian study* Thu Aug 14, 2008 http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSSYD5846120080815?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews By Rob Taylor CANBERRA (Reuters) - Just one can of the popular stimulant energy drink Red Bull can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, even in young people, Australian medical researchers said on Friday. The caffeine-loaded beverage, popular with university students and adrenaline sport fans to give them "wings", caused the blood to become sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke. "One hour after they drank Red Bull, (their blood systems) were no longer normal. They were abnormal like we would expect in a patient with cardiovascular disease," Scott Willoughby, lead researcher from the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, told the Australian newspaper. Red Bull Australia spokeswoman Linda Rychter said the report would be assessed by the company's head office in Austria. "The study does not show effects which would go beyond that of drinking a cup of coffee. Therefore, the reported results were to be expected and lie within the normal physiological range," Rychter told Reuters. Willoughby and his team tested the cardiovascular systems of 30 young adults one hour before and one hour after consuming one 250ml can of sugar-free Red Bull. The results showed "normal people develop symptoms normally associated with cardiovascular disease" after consuming the drink, created in the 1980s by Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz based on a similar Thai energy drink. Red Bull is banned in Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health risks listed on its cans, but the company last year sold 3.5 billion cans in 143 countries. One can contains 80 mg of caffeine, around the same as a normal cup of brewed coffee. The Austria-based company, whose marketing says "Red Bull gives you wings", sponsors Formula 1 race cars and extreme sport events around the world, but warns consumers not to drink more than two cans a day. Rychter said Red Bull could only have such global sales because health authorities across the world had concluded the drink was safe to consume. But Willoughby said Red Bull could be deadly when combined with stress or high blood pressure, impairing proper blood vessel function and possibly lifting the risk of blood clotting. "If you have any predisposition to cardiovascular disease, I'd think twice about drinking it," he said. ++++++++++++++ *Cola-type soft drinks can damage your kidneys.* http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100212344&page=2 *Verdict: FACT.* Despite their global popularity, there's nothing remotely healthy about cola beverages: Drinking 16 ounces or more daily (whether diet or regular) doubles your risk of chronic kidney disease, according to a recent NIH study of more than 900 people. The researchers already knew that consuming any type of soft drink—the average American adult guzzles 59 gallons' worth per year—is associated with several risk factors for kidney disease (hypertension, diabetes, and kidney stones), but the spike in the cola category was remarkable. Experts suspect that the ingredient phosphoric acid may be the culprit; it's been repeatedly linked to "urinary changes that promote kidney stones," say the study authors. Cola has an additional knock against it: Consumption is associated with significantly lower bone density in women, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures, says a separate study. Bottom Line: If you're going to indulge in an occasional soda, go for Sprite, 7-Up, ginger ale, and the like—the NIH study found that noncola drinks didn't have the same impact on the kidneys. But you'll be better off if you skip soda altogether, even the sugar-free varieties: Recent research showed an association between drinking diet soda and weight gain. *"Double dipping" spreads germs from one chip to another.* *Verdict: FACT.* In a classic episode of "Seinfeld," a man accused George Costanza of spreading germs by "double-dipping"—swiping a chip into a bowl of dip, taking a bite, and then dipping the same chip again. Having settled the five-second rule debate, Clemson University's Dawson decided to do the same recently with this alleged party faux pas. It turns out that George really was contaminating the other guests: Using Wheat Thins and various dips, Dawson found that a double-dip deposited thousands of saliva bacteria into the dip—and of those, 50 to 100 were later transferred through the dip to a clean cracker, presumably destined for another guest's mouth. Still unknown, however, is how long such bacteria can survive in the dip or if they can actually infect another dipper upon ingestion. Bottom Line: You'd better be pretty comfy with your party guests. "Eating from a dip after someone has dipped twice is basically the same as kissing that person," Dawson says. Be especially wary of thin dips; the study found that the lower the dip's viscosity, the higher the rate of germ transfer from a double dip. For example, a chip's second plunge into a cheese dip is less cause for concern than a watery salsa—thicker dips apparently don't allow errant bacteria to travel as far as thinner varieties. Finally, think twice about digging into any dip at the end of the night; remnants on the sides or bottom of a bowl are most likely a highly concentrated mash of germs, Dawson says, akin to the last sip in a can of soda. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Nor can Goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (evil) with what is better; then the enmity between him and you will become as if it were your friend and intimate! Visit: sultan.org Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Post to group: [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
