Anyone who knows me, will know that I drink one can of Red Bull Sugar Free every morning. It gives me that boost of energy that I need to help me start my day. It’s exhausting trying to keep up with a toddler, especially on your own.
A classmate had turned around and seen me pulling a can of Red Bull from my bag.
She jokingly said to me, “You never go without that do you?”
I responded with, “No, not really.”
She asked me, “What’s in that?” Referring to what’s in my energy drink.
A male student from the back row blurted out, “Bull urine!”
Turning around, I had to give him a look because I knew he was wrong. I’m not against people stating their own opinions, but please, a statement like that needs some evidence to help back it up.
The girl in front of me was grossed out. I politely told her that he was wrong. He over heard me and told me that he was right. Of course when I got home I had to go straight to the computer and find out who was right in this matter. I would think the USDA wouldn’t allow such ingredients to be put in our beverages. You would think. That is their job, food safety. I don’t think drinking bull urine is safe. More like disgusting. But after searching through Red Bull’s website and a few well known medical websites, I found the answer:
There is no bull urine in Red Bull, nor in any other energy drink out there.
According to Katherine Zeratsky from the Mayo Clinic website, “Taurine is simply an amino acid. It can even be found in the human body. There is seventy times more taurine in a human body, than in one can of Red Bull. You can also find it in meat, scallops, baby food, breast milk, and in fish.”
According to the Red Bull website, “the taurine in their energy drink is produced synthetically by pharmaceutical companies and is not derived from animals.”
Those are factual citations from well known sources. Taurine is a part of your body as an amino acid, not bull urine added into your energy drink. So where the myth came from? Who knows, but don’t believe it, it isn’t true. And as for the guy in my class, you bet I showed him the evidence to prove him wrong, though I said it nicely and with a smile. 🙂
Red Bull, anyone?
Author Jennifer N. Adams 
Red Bull would knock me out cold. Because of my ADD apparently stimulants have the opposite effect. I recently forgot this on a long red-eye flight back from Hawaii and took sleeping pills hoping I could catch a few winks. Yeah, wide awake. I should have asked for a Coke instead.
I’ve never tried Red Bull before though. Maybe some night when I’m feeling like an insomniac. 😉
Wow! I did not know that. I wish they would give me that effect. I would be able to sleep most nights lol!
I have to drink the sugar free ones because of my hypoglycemia. I found out the hard way. But one a day is all I need and the small cans too.
If you’re interested in an energy drink that’s… a bit more on the healthy side… I’d love to show it to you. It’s called BluFrog2 – the healthy alternative to the other energy drinks out there. I’m on Facebook… ggzplace is my username.
I’ve stopped drinking energy drinks altogether, but thank you for the offer. 🙂
Knowing you were about ready to gag when they said that. I hope you looked up taurine itselt an amino acid derrived from yak urine or at least the bile.
Amino acid has something to do with your bodies protein. Humans produce amino acids.But energy drinks aren’t made from animals or used with animal anything but the pictures on the side of the can. Or at least on the side of the Red Bull can.
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Nice post about caffeine energy drinks. Never thought about that. I just knew that the main ingredients in a energy drink is caffeine, taurine, guarana and vitamin B.
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