A few weeks ago I went to Chicago Badminton Open-- an annually badminton games sponsored by Midwest Badminton Association. (For those who don't know what badminton is, please check Wikipedia.=) There were hundreds of players and the event lasted from 9am to 11pm-- with unfinished final matches for the second day. To encourage the athletes and keep them endured, (and of course mostly because of sponsorship, my Kelley fellows) the association provided free Red Bull on courts.
Playing sports could be tiring, and Red Bull sounded like a big help. Actually, not really. A player consumed five cans of Red Bull at once while he was on break. Less than one hour later, his legs were red, hard and swollen. He looked twisted and his muscles apparently were cramping. Luckily there were a few medical students and physicians at the scene. They strongly recommended him to drink a lot of water; plus salt if possible. The player wasn't able to play the rest of his games that day and still needed to rest on the second day.
Medical students explained that Red Bull contains an ingredients similar to Sodium that absorbed water from your body. Five Red Bulls were too much for a body to handle at once. The player's muscle was lack of water and that's what made he cramped. Actually, Red Bull is banned in come countries such as Denmark, France and Norway because of controversial use of it.
I have no negative view on Red Bull or whatsoever, just think that consumers should know about this side effect. Plain water or sports drinks that add minerals are safer choices for those who play sports.
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