Red Bull

I have spent most of my day obsessing over Red Bull and honestly I wish I wasn't but for some reason it has wrapped itself around my head and won't let go. The only time I have had a Red Bull was after finishing a Triathlon, this is what they are for, an energy drink...and well I ended up doubled over, taking long slow breaths trying to keep from vomiting. So not a fan to start, so what is the obsession?
I try to eat healthy, and feed my kids well. I am trying to teach them to make good choices about what they put in their bodies. We won't go to the beach without slathering on the sun screen. We strap everyone down with car seats and seat belts. I even wore a helmet skiing this year. All of this is done to protect us and hopefully we get to live a long, healthy life, but then with out much thought we fill our bodies with too much sugar, fat and preservatives. Yes, I have been called a "food nazi", it is one of the things I am passionate about.
 I have a theory, "Junk in, Junk out". Red Bull is chemicals plus water, sugar and caffeine. If you take out the sugar, add aspartame. So is it any different then a diet coke or mountain due? Not really, yet it is advertised as an "energy drink". So maybe that is what is bothering me...the advertising. It is a masterfully marketed item directed at kids. I ask, Who wouldn't want wings? Red Bull sponsors, base jumpers, bmx riders, racecar drivers, freestyle boarders and what is a "wingsuit pilot". This is every boys dream. (Young girls got stuck with Twilight, and yes, I read 3 out of 4). Is there a benefit to drinking Red Bull?  Besides the headaches, increased heart rate and eventual crash. Is it any different then coffee? Coffee is natural, so yes, but even that is consumed for its caffeine. I ordered coffee at a new place yesterday and watched as four scoops of sugar went into the cup. I had to stop her and ask for one scoop only.
So what is my point? I wish I could eat anything I want and not feel guilty. I wish when I drank that Diet Coke today, first one in weeks, it hadn't made me feel ill. I wish I had tried the "reverse boston cream pie" doughnut, but I didn't. Instead I am going to make a flour less chocolate cake from scratch with my daughter. I wish I could block the advertisers on TV...I could go on, but I can smell cake.
Feel free to call me names because I do drink red wine, I do eat chocolate and I do drink coffee for the caffeine all of which have been known to have ill effects.