Energy Drinks, Busted

Are Red Bull claims a bunch of bull? A new study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reports that non-caffeine ingredients in energy drinks don’t enhance your performance. Cyclists who downed Red Bull consumed as much oxygen and felt just as tired as athletes who drank a beverage that contained the same amount of caffeine but lacked ingredients like taurine or B vitamins. What that means: It’s caffeine alone that elevates your game, says study author Robert Pettitt PhD. “If you’re looking for an energy boost during day-to-day workouts, anything with roughly 76 milligrammes(mg) of caffeine will do,” he says. A cup of regular brewed coffee has 95mg.

 

 

Photography by Levi Brown

 

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