Kicking a redbull addiction

meritaten

skintandscared - please dont substitute 'diet' drinks or sugar free squash,- its these which are full of caffeine and chemicals including aspartame (which apparently is addictive too).
go for full sugar if you MUST have fizzy drinks - or even fizzy water!

brook2jack

except that the biggest cause of increased decay and acid erosion in the UK is the massive increase in consumption of fizzy and fruit drinks.Here's a link with the amounts of sugar in a few drinks including fruit juice http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm

There is no harm in fizz or juice as an occasional treat but they should not be a staple sugared or sugar free.

Violetta_2

It has Taurine in it that's made from Bull's Urine , put's me right off! don't think it is made from urine but now the idea has been planted may be a lot easier to kick the habitgood luck.

Jennykins

At one point I was on 6/7 cans of sugar free "red bull" (I tended to have shop stuff as I couldnt afford the real version with the amount I was having) a day.

I tried to stop several times by going cold turkey and it didnt work for me - the headaches were AWFUL and I was craving the stuff and in a foul mood as I couldnt have it.

I have now not had red bull for about a year. I cut it down very slowly and actually during that time I was probably drinking more diet pepsi but once I was off the red bull completely for a few months I then cut down the diet pepsi too and I now dont have any caffeine at all. I feel so much better now! I also loved the taste of red bull so I know how hard it is to give it up but it can be done.

My advice is to cut it down gradually and look at the positives eg today I had one can less - yay rather than I cant believe I am still having this.

Good luck!! Oh and get some B vitamins for energy. I have a berocca every morning and although it's not the same instant buzz as red bull I think it works (might be in my head but hey it's better than caffeine!)

bestpud

meritaten wrote: »

skintandscared - please dont substitute 'diet' drinks or sugar free squash,- its these which are full of caffeine and chemicals including aspartame (which apparently is addictive too).
go for full sugar if you MUST have fizzy drinks - or even fizzy water!

Drinks like lemonade wouldn't have caffeine in them, would they?

I take your point about aspartame - nasty! - but it might be the lesser of two evils if it helps the OP get off the caffeine.

I don't know - that's just my thinking - seems logical to my little brain!

telboyo

A good cure for tiredness is to go to bed early.
If your job is that bad that you need to drink gallons of 'bull perhaps you need a new job.

Finally Redbull is not banned in any EU country nor is taurine made from bull !!!!!!!!- it is an ingredient in infant formula.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/potables/redbull.asp

skintandscared_2

I know that diet drinks in Sainsburys do not contain aspartame (which is apparently considered to be the worst sweetener) but I do agree that all those chemicals are never good.

I also know that my cousin in France cannot buy redbull or energy drinks anywhere. I had presumed they were banned in France but maybe it's just the area he lives in?

Yes, I should just be drinking lots and lots of water but, being realistic, that isn't going to happen so I need to find something other than redbull to drink! And no, my job isn't particularly stressful or energetic. I have just become hooked on this drink which I know my body doesn't need, but has now got used to.

I think what scared me into realising how addicted I am was when I went to the firm's Christmas party and there was none available. I usually have 3 cans in the evening (worst time to drink it, I know). Well, I didn't have any that evening and only actually had 4 alcoholic drinks throughout the whole night, but was quite irritable that evening when I should just have been having fun! When I woke up the following morning I had the worst headache I can remember ever having. I had my can of redbull and the headache vanished in about 10 minutes.

I am also ashamed to admit that I have only just read the actual ingredients label of the can and realised the volume of B vitamins I'm taking in. In one case, 4 cans equates to 400 times the RDA. :eek:

bestpud

skintandscared wrote: »

I know that diet drinks in Sainsburys do not contain aspartame (which is apparently considered to be the worst sweetener) but I do agree that all those chemicals are never good.

I also know that my cousin in France cannot buy redbull or energy drinks anywhere. I had presumed they were banned in France but maybe it's just the area he lives in?

Yes, I should just be drinking lots and lots of water but, being realistic, that isn't going to happen so I need to find something other than redbull to drink! And no, my job isn't particularly stressful or energetic. I have just become hooked on this drink which I know my body doesn't need, but has now got used to.

I think what scared me into realising how addicted I am was when I went to the firm's Christmas party and there was none available. I usually have 3 cans in the evening (worst time to drink it, I know). Well, I didn't have any that evening and only actually had 4 alcoholic drinks throughout the whole night, but was quite irritable that evening when I should just have been having fun! When I woke up the following morning I had the worst headache I can remember ever having. I had my can of redbull and the headache vanished in about 10 minutes.

I am also ashamed to admit that I have only just read the actual ingredients label of the can and realised the volume of B vitamins I'm taking in. In one case, 4 cans equates to 4,000 times the RDA. :eek:

Sounds like you could benefit from staying with your cousin for a few weeks!

skintandscared_2

bestpud wrote: »

Sounds like you could benefit from staying with your cousin for a few weeks!

Absolutely!! :rotfl:

One more eye-opener has been seeing all the empty cans in the recycling tub. We've recently moved house and never had the facilities to recycle before. Now we have a special tub to put cans in, I see them physically mount up. Our normal rubbish bags take 3 times longer to fill these days, but I have to empty the recycling tub every few days...

I really am determined to make some healthier lifestyle choices this year!!

ktb

skintandscared wrote: »

Yes, I should just be drinking lots and lots of water but, being realistic, that isn't going to happen so I need to find something other than redbull to drink!

My brother was addicted to full fat coke and he found fizzy water was the only, even vague, substitute when he needed to replace it with something healthier. Although it took him a while to adjust, he had to stick with it!

There are plenty of flavoured varities in the supermarkets these days (although they are nowhere near as cheap as nasty fizzy drinks :eek:) and although the 'healthiest' ones may have some naturally occurring fruit sugars in, they have got to be preferable to the list of chemicals in other fizzy drinks!!

Obviously, just good old, plain water would be the best - but i'm kind of a health freak and even I sometimes struggle with that being the only option