How alcohol addiction Red Bull destroyed the liver of a young patient

Briton Mary Allwood arrived in the hospital in November 2015. Her liver had massively increased. This is typical of alcoholics, so the doctors first thought of alcoholism.

Too much Red Bull
Mary was really drinking too much but no alcohol. She poured 20 cans of Red Bull into her every day. These energy drinks carry a warning in Germany - because of their high content of caffeine and sugar.

The sugar amounts act like a drug (Focus Pocus LTD / fotolia.com)

Red Bull attacks the liver
The doctors agreed: the energy drinks had attacked the liver as much as alcohol.

Effect like drugs
Mary's 20 cans of energy drinks per day contain 550 grams of sugar. Coffee is healthier than most people believe, but Mary consumed the caffeine of 16 cups every day - far too much. At 22, Mary drank Red Bull for the first time and increased the dose daily.

sugar addiction
Occupied by a recent study: sugar addiction comparable in effect as drug addiction.

The 26-year-old says herself that she was dependent. As with other drug addiction, she suffered from withdrawal symptoms. If she did not attend Red Bull, she was "unhappy and grumpy," according to the person concerned.

"My heroin"
"I needed the taste, that tingle. It was my heroin. Without it, I felt terrible, "says Mary.

Heart and liver complaints
At 23, her heart beat irregularly, the extreme amount of sugar damaged the liver: it more than doubled and scarred. Only when she could not stand the pain did Mary go to the clinic.

withdrawal
January 2016, the young woman started her withdrawal. She shivered and her mood wavered. But Mary kept going, and since she was clean, her liver was regenerating.

Ban on minors?
Today, Mary does not demand that Red Bull sell alcohol and cigarettes to minors. The Foodwatch organization also calls for age restrictions and Latvia has already introduced a ban on sales of minors.

Known problem
The damage caused by energy drinks has been known for years. In 2012, a mother in the US went to court because her 14-year-old daughter died of heart failure. The reason: Larger amounts of energy drink "Monster Energy" with 240 mg of caffeine per can. However, it was unclear whether the girl already suffered from a weak heart.

Serious incidents
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in 2012 that very often young people would come to hospital casualty after drinking energy drinks. Numerous deaths have to do with the consumption of sugar caffeine drinks.

Consumer advocates warn for a long time
In 2012, the Hamburg consumer center demanded a ban on the sale of caffeinated energy drinks for children and adolescents.

These drinks have three times as much caffeine as cola and are therefore not suitable for children. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)