My 16 year old sister loves the stuff. One time we had to call the paramedics because she was having seizure like reaction in her sleep and we could not wake her. Last night she drank the big can (2 servings) and her whole body has been jerking for the past 12 hours.

Ani, Sherman Oaks, CA, United States

I love the drink, tastes great and DOES keep me alert during the day. If you are super concerned about the caffeine levels, just look up the vitamins it contains and take them as supplements :-D

Taurine, Inositol, and all the Vitamin B's give you the same effects without the caffeine jitters :p

Aaron, McKinney, United States

N= 30 is hardly a valid public health assessment. And, the sample population was from one very distinct area. What were the controls?

"Earlier this year a teenager from Darlington was sent to hospital after drinking EIGHT CANS of Red Bull."

Caffeine IS a drug. No shock there.

Chris, Atlanta, USA

Red Bull is a great seller..
it smell is so absolutely enticing,
and its taste glorious !!!

I love the stuff, and have drunk it lots in the past.

But my body can´t handle it anymore,
I feel very uncomfortable and become sleep-phobic.
No thanks, I wish I could, but no more for me !

Ian Gregor, Nijmegen, Netherlands

I was once late and tired and I had to stay up because I had to study. I don't usually drink redbull. I probably drank only 5 cans in the past year. however, when I had a can of redbull that night, heart palpitations started with me. and two weeks later, I still have them..... :(

Mohammed, Philadelphia, USA

My teenage son recently had two episodes of tingling down his left arm with heart palpatations and sweats. Each time it happened shortly after having a large can of Red Bull. We are not taking anymore chances. No more Red Bull! This last episode he thought he was actually going to die.

E.D., Tucson, USA

So I drink three red bull one day ( I was a regular), next morning my heart is pounding out of my chest, I'm sweating one minute and freezing the next. My heartbeat is still irregular a week later. Most of these stories are the same so to say it's a coincidence would be crazy, I'm 32 and very active

Mac, Halifax, Canada

I've been dinking Red Bull for 3 years to keep me awake whilst driving. I continued drinking them just because they were in the car. I have no problem going to sleep at night but for three years or so have been waking up at 4am unable to sleep more. I'm giving up to see if that helps.

John H, Carnforth, UK

I drink red bull regulary, anything from 1 can to 5 cans a day and have had no side effects, it makes me feel motivated and focused. I think some people just have weaker dispositions than others...the same way my friend is drunk after half a glass and it takes me a bottle to get in the same state!

Caroline Hayward, Godalming, England

I drink about 3-5 red bulls (12 oz) a day and im fine.. I think everyone's body just reacts differently.I think red bull is great!

Ashleigh, Virginia, USA

I loved Red Bull , but , last night I tried the Red bull cola,and after i got finish with it my heart started to hurt...pain that makes you pause for a second ..its kinda hurting today too.......So ..I am sad to say ...." No more Red Bulls for me "...........tear

Tory, Macon,Ga, USA

last night i had about 8 cans(16 vodka and red bull),it was a good night , till i got into a fight , didnt get any sleep,had a rapid heart beat, felt really dizzy, and light headed all day, kept going through surges were i couldnt focus properly,also a very irregular heart beat, not drinkn red again

paddy, boston, usa

i love the stuff, such a nice taste about 2 Litres some times more i drink a day

Dan, kent, uk

My 32 year old nephew suffered massive stroke in July resulting in left hemiplegia, feeding tube, & total care for bowel & bladder management. After 7 months, he is just beginning to talk. He was an avid RB drinker at least 2 a day due to long work commutes. Who knows if RB contributed. Be aware!

Leigh, Birmingham, AL, USA

I would like to say that too much of anything can be bad for you. If you read the above mentioned article, most of the people who passed away or had adverse side affects drank Red Bull in mass quantities or mixed with alcohol. I agree that peopel should be aware of what they put into their body.

ryan, Knoxville, USA

I got here by looking for any side effects red bull might have, as I enjoy the drink. So far all I've found are similar effects to any caffeine drink, coffee included.

If you'd drink 8 cups of black cofee / night I doubt anyone would feel too good.. heart rate would go crazy!!

alex, Bucharest, Romania

I am not against having energy drinks. However, my father, who is 70, accidentally got one of my power up energy drink mixes for bottled water. He thought it was like th Crystal Light drink mixes. Right now, he is in ICU with A-fib. The public needs to be made aware of the risks.

Mary, Leslie, USA

If a drink has possible fatal consequences or if the drink could possibly damage someone's health then people should be made aware of the risks. The choice is then theirs. People are not clones , what is ok for one person is not always ok for the other person.

Mary, London ,

I'll carry on drinking it!!!

Berrril, Derby, England

Do Your Research.
Red Bull Is Actually Quite Healthy For You.

Cell Phones Give You Tumors - Are You Going To Stop Talking On Them?

Doubtful.

Kari, Sturgis, SD, USA

I have been drinking Red Bull for ten years and stopped in April 08 because of unusually high blood pressure at 219/143.
I collapsed last Thursday, 8/14/08 leaving me on the floor without any control over any muscle in my body, and was rushed to the hospital for five days.I agree RedBull is a danger

martin, prescott, usa

Mark from Seattle is right. This study is like finding a dinosaur bone and drawing conclusions about the entire kingdom of dinosaurs. Also, the reasoning in many comments is flawed. Side effects do not occur in a vacuum and many physiological factors are typically present in adverse events.

Lauren, Philadelphia, U.S.

No, Norman, you didn't have red bull in WWII... you had speed.

Rei Muta, Waquoit, USA

I have been drinking Red Bull for more than 15 years. I am 48 and in perfect health. Sounds as if these "test results" were based on excessive consumption "eight cans a night" ? You could probably produce the same results from drinking anything to that extent , save maybe water. That will be next.

david creed , FOUNTAIN HILLS, United States

However Red Bull works it's certainly different from a cup of filter coffee. By chance I had a can just as a severe migraine began - 1st time I'd drunk one.. It cured the symptoms in 10 minutes. A miracle! No medicine has ever worked for me in 20 years of severe attacks, and coffee made them worse.

Kate Waldron, London, UK

When I was 15 and in the World Class programme for Flat Water Kayaking, they said that 3 Cans of Red Bull will make you fail a drugs test on 5 seperate compounds (Caffienne being 1). So I can see the truth in this.

Joe, London, U.K.

My 32 year old son had a heart attach a year ago. He drank red bull frequently. He had not other risk factors. His doctors kept saying I can't believe he had a hear attack. But he did!

Rose, shreveport La., USA

For all those who say it's scare mongering...

In my first year of uni, I ended up at the doctors after a night of VK, effectively ready mixed vodka Red Bull. It was terrifying, my heart was racing, I had palpitations and it lasted for a day or two.

Alice, Huddersfield, UK

we have a bloke at work who is a heavy smoker but when he drinks these energy packs he becomes disorientated and although energised his speech slows down. We think that he smokes pot but this change only happens after he consumes just one can of the energy drink.

joe, sydney, Ausralia

Mark from Seattle is sadly mistaken. Taurine may be fairly innocuous, but the caffeine content is no exaggeration. 3 times as strong as Coke, ounce per ounce. No doctor would support that.

Mark must work for said supplement industry to defend this tactic.

Scott, Seattle ,

I sorry but this article matches many of the things I experienced after a night of high Red Bull consumption. For a week after I had heart palpitations. Be aware.

James, Cambridge,

I find stories like this to be mere scare tactics

Im a freelance web developer and i work long strange hours.
RedBull helped me get though college as well as many grueling projects. I regularly consume about 84.5Fl Oz (2500mL) of RedBull (not sugar free) a day 5-7 days a week, and im fine.

David Bunting, Tujunga, USA

Taurine has been used as a nutritional supplement for years and has been shown to have the exact opposite effect of some of the symptoms described above. This is most likely another attempt by major drug companies to find some way to create alarm and control the supplement industry. Pure propaganda

Mark, Seattle, USA

I'm fed up with scare stories.

Man in teashop dies painfully of a heart attack due whilst drinking a cup of Earl Grey.

Working out in a gym gives you the cardiovascular profile of someone with heart disease.

Correlation is not cause. And we have all heard about conincidence. No?

Paul , London, United Kingdom

I think Norman from London means benzedrine, not Red Bull. Yes, it's full of caffeine and keeps you awake. Mix it with orange juice and drink slowly, and it's a very pleasant drink. However, like anything full of caffeine I'd drink it in MODERATION. It does help me win chess matches, though.

Dave, Slough,

I Believe Norman in London may be thinking of the Cocaine bearing Coca-cola of the day.

All you lot moaning you felt funny after a can, its only caffeine for goodness' sake, As far as im aware taurine does not even have a stimulant effect, it is used for its name, a usefull marketing tool.

jon Trav, maidenhead,

i drink red bull and vodka all the time. sure i feel like running around my neighborhood at 2am but doesn't everybody?

Richard, Dallas, USA

David from Edinburgh doesn't realise that a sample of 30 people in this study is sufficiently large enough for the results to be statistically meaningful.

Nicholas, Seattle, Washington

This is not the first I have heard of this re Red Bull. There have been other studies on the effects of drinking too much of the stuff and the effects it has on the heart. I think it was in Japan or another asian nation where it showed that there were serious effects from drinking too much of it.

adam, london,

I think that it just depends on the heart. I would say that if you run the risk of blood or heart complications, red bull or any other "energy drink" is probably not a wise choice. I have an issue with erratic heart beat when I drink energy drinks but I don’t have that same issue with coffee.

Ben, Englewood, Jefferson

I think the key fact in this story is "A study of 30 university students."
This is hardly a study from which to draw such dramatic conclusions

David, Edinburgh, UK

It is no worse than a cup of coffee! i dont know what all the fuss is about. The amount of coffee consumed in our office is obscene! but as soon as i crack open a red bull - and literally 1 or 2 a week, there is outrage!

Emma , Bristol, United Kingdom

"Another health scare. And tomorrow's will be .........aubergines? Advocaat? Avocados? - Frank Upton, Solihull"

Do pay attention Frank - we're up to "R" already!

Homer, London,

Norman from London, Red Bull was created in Austria in the 80's, not the 40's. I think you're confusing it with something else.

Chris, Geneva, Switzerland

I don't have a problem with Caffeine and drink coffee regularly but Red Bull type energy drinks cause rapid changes in both my heart rate and irregular rhythm. It should also noted that Red Bull is just one of dozens of brands of a similar type.

ben tye, worcester, england

I drank Vodka Red Bull and the next day had atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat), very scary. I'll not drink the cocktail or Red Bull again andwould advise anyone to drink this with caution.

Mervyn, Moscow, Russia

I too have only ever drunk one can, and never again. It was a hot day and that was the only cold drink available. Within seconds my pulse was racing and my heart pounding. I thought I was having a heart attack. I had to sit down to wait for it to pass. No more wings for me thanks.....

John, Malaga, Spain

Another health scare. And tomorrow's will be.........aubergines? Advocaat? Avocados?

Frank Upton, Solihull,

My History isnt great, but Red Bull was developed in 1984. 45 years after the outbreak of WWII.

Jim, Gloucester, UK

I've only ever drunk ONE can of Red Bull in my life and I'll never drink another. It gave me a very unpleasant buzz and seemed to disrupt my heartbeat, causing me to sit down to let the feeling pass, which took a long time. The effect was not unlike drinking several espressos too many! Bad news!

Roger, Milan, Italy

I am not surprised about the effects of Red Bull. We used it in the second world war to keep us awake while we flew missions over Germany. You could feel your heart race then even though the sorties themselves were pretty boring.

Norman, london,