Energy drinks

Well you probably know the answer coming. It is up to you though. But you are running your adrenals into the ground and you'll need those to recover your immune system.

Oh that's a good idea. Or green tea. It has ECGC (EGCG?) which is good for a few things

Personally, I wouldn't touch a Red Bull, even if I were well.

An 8.4 oz. can of Red Bull is said to have 80 mg. of caffeine. According to cspi.net, an 8.4 oz cup of filter coffee has about 90 mg of caffeine. After comparing 8.4 oz of Red Bull against other coffees, teas, energy drinks, it's hardly the highest caffeine load. (A candy called Crackheads² boasts 600 mg of caffeine per box.)

It's also got 27 g (6.43 tsp) of sugar, added B-vitamins, natural and artificial flavors, and colors. Personally, I'd be more concerned about the flavors and colors, but I'm sensitive to such things. I'm also not a fan of adding synthetic vitamins to food-like items, but fortification is done to many packaged/processed foods.

In the end, you have to do what you have to do. But, I'd encourage you to work on identifying and resolving the underlying energy issue(s).

Finally, you mentioned the energy drinks helped to get you through the night. So, it seems you work a night shift, correct?

- How many hours of sleep do you get per night/day?
- How's the quality of your sleep?
- Do you use blackout curtains? A sleep mask? Earplugs?
- Do you wake feeling rested and refreshed?
- Do you have the option to switch to days?

That's one of the reasons I mentioned I wouldn't touch a Red Bull.

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sucrose, Glucose, Citric Acid, Taurine, Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Carbonate, Caffeine, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine HCI, Vitamin B12, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Colors.

In other words...

Carbonated Water, Sugar, Sugar, Flavoring, An Amino Acid, Baking Soda, An Inorganic Salt, Caffeine, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, and Flavors & Colors of unknown origin (due to loose labeling laws).

[Product Label]

Hi Branch08 and Welcome,

There are far worse things than 8oz Red Bull. And RB does have Taurine which has a modulating effect on glutamate receptors (if you happen to be sensitive to common food additives like monosodium glutamate which can make one's heart beat too fast with a panic attack, Taurine can have a calming effect.)

I'm not gonna lie, I had a 12 oz Red Bull today to keep me alert on the road on the way to the clinic, and when I'm doing what little work I'm able to, I usually have a cup of coffee or two, and energy drinks are one of the things that I seem to keep having despite the drawbacks, (jittery, acid stomach, difficulty sleeping). Practically speaking, if you have L-theanine on hand it is slightly less jittery on the nerves, L-Theanine is the mellowing side of green tea.

What else can I say? it is a productivity drug, caffeine, perfectly legal and socially acceptable for virtually all sorts of work. Though, top LLMDs say to steer clear of caffeine and alcohol. Because it can make some things worse, like anxiety and depression when you get that caffeine "crash." And it can worsen your blood pressure if you already have HBP.

Ideally, none of us would have to work and we could rely on generous support from some infinite source of money (lol) to survive our day to days, we could just "rest our adrenals and heal"... but I wouldn't blame you for needing the energy boost from an RB, or two, from time to time to get you through a shift. Choice is yours, I can't judge, only understand. This is just my 2¢ working class poor opinion as of now.

The top elite LLMDs would probably be very strict and say: no caffeine, no sugar, no alcohol. I'm not that strict, and I say see what you can tolerate and enjoy within reason.

I totally agree that caffeine isn't the major concern of Red Bull.

As for Citric Acid, this article states that it's "...a natural preservative and is also used to add an acidic (sour) taste to foods and soft drinks."

However, I just read this article that states "Industrial food ingenuity has made it so that citric acid can be created from Aspergillus niger, a common black mold." and "Although citric acid can be obtained from lemon or pineapple juice, producing citric acid from A. niger is a far less expensive process."

There are no references for the second article, so who knows about its accuracy. It may be legit or it could have come from someone like "Dr." Josh Axe.

It continues to perplex me why some things are allowed to be manufactured and sold. For all of our supposed intelligence, we (well, industrialized countries) do a lot of foolish things to harm ourselves.

Branch08

We all do what we have to do living with health obstacles. At least your trying to improve on it. Unfortunately, the alternatives are not as effective as redbull, but I gave some ideas toward the end.

There are way worse energy drinks than red bull......like Rock Star (that stuff IS crazy). Redbull has similar caffeine amounts to coffee, nit that much really.. Red bull does offer a more mellow energy vs the other hard hitting higher caffeine brands. However, I certainly would not consume more than the original small 8oz can in one day - due to the high amounts of cheaper, synthetic B vitamins.. Try maybe 1/2 can if you absolutely need it.?

Unfortunately, I also relied on these in the past some days as last resort working with lyme.............and lived lol (with weekly pay too). I certainly didn't work 12 hrs though, that is the difficult part here,.. WOW. I did seek semi-flex time jobs, which certainly made working easier and long lunches as needed for off site naps in my vehicle.

The sugar free works as good as the regular, thats one thing you can eliminate. Besides the synthetic vitamins, most regular sodas have more chemicals than red bull. BUT.....Problem with cheap synthetic vitamins is some people cant use them well, synthetic B6 can pool in some people. Same goes for cheap grocery store vitamins. And the stuff they put in processed grain breakfast foods.

The amino acid Taurine is one of the key ingredients. Its normally found in animal protein, and can be purchased as a capsule supplement. When combined with caffeine, it eliminates the edgy "hit" or jitters that some get and produces a calmer, longer duration of energy. This combination has been used by more than a few people. Its not as effective as redbull, but more effective and less "edgy" than coffee alone. Can be used with tea too- easier on the gut, or use low acid coffee (Kava brand).

A lot of your tired-ness could be gut-digestion related to. Leaky gut and food sensitivities are real with some people. These infections mess up the thyroid hormone levels too. And cut out as much SUGAR as possible. Sugar is responsible for a lot of energy lows.

Take any adrenal adaptogens? There are individual ones and mixtures to help combat fatigue.

The Sugar-Free Red Bull adds the following ingredients to those found in the Regular version:

- Acesulfame K
- Aspartame
- Xanthan Gum

Due the first two ingredients -- especially Aspartame -- I'd avoid the Sugar-Free version.

I'd also consider Astroman's points about the problems with synthetic vitamins, optimizing your digestive health, and, if needed, looking for alternate sources of caffeine.

We don't know what these artificial sweeteners do in the long term yet. Once in a while prop wont do much, daily use would be different.

Kinda like the ongoing population experiment with Round Up on American grains, yet most people eat gmo grains with this herbicide applied, some knowing, some not. And some might be sick from it, but disguised / diagnosed as gluten intolerant.

At least limiting it is a start and one step ahead of the general populous. .

Im usually on the "no sugar" rant, since my body is sugar challenged, sometimes its pick your poison.

Thyroid is one thing everyone here with major fatigue needs to check, just one more thing to eliminate.

That said, when my lyme was rageing, with a wrecked gut and gluten in my daily diet, thyroid med level could be optimal, and I'd still be dragging all day with episodes of almost nodding off unless I was physically moving. Id pull over from driving for nap brakes on many occasions.

How much T3 are you taking, jb? I'm taking a low dose of 5 mg in morning then splitting one in afternoon. So about 7.5 mg, but it is making a difference. Funny thing is I had been taking it for about 10 days and had blood test done. The free T3 had actually GONE DOWN to 1.8 from 2.1 time before.

Can't figure that one out. TSH and T4 in range, and I was already feeling a little less tired when test was taken. That was about 10 days ago. Never know with this stuff.

I put mg instead if mcg. Sorry. If I take the second dose of lithyronnie for T3 after 2:00 pm, I have trouble sleeping. Seems everything plays into something else. I have read so much about astroman's issues with thyroid, it was something I wanted to have double checked.

JB - how long have you been taking meds for T3? I would be bouncing off the walls with your dose. Not saying that's crazy high, just my system requires slow ramp up of all I take.