Woman's extreme Red Bull diet (New Zealand)

"A 23-year-old Auckland mother who lost 45kg in eight months by drinking nothing but energy drink Red Bull says she has ongoing health problems because of the diet. Brooke Robertson told the Herald on Sunday she shrank from 105kg to 60kg drinking nothing but 10 to 14 cans a day, often accompanying them with nothing more than a handful of dry Honey Puffs. Ms Robertson said she put on weight while carrying son Keir, now four, but did not make a conscious decision to go on a Red Bull diet. "I just started drinking it. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating – I was exhausted," she said. "I just continued to drink it because it's an appetite suppressant and I noticed I was losing weight so stuck with it." Ms Robertson said she managed to keep her addiction secret from family and friends, and did not recover from it until after a two-week stay in hospital following a minor heart attack. "I managed to wean myself off it by being in hospital for that long but I had severe withdrawals – sweating, nausea, shaking. It was an addiction. The doctors stated that." Ms Robertson now maintains her figure through exercise and a Weight Watchers diet, but said she still suffers the effects of the extreme diet. She said she has a heart murmur, gets severe pain and cramping in her stomach and bowel, and suffers anxiety attacks. A Red Bull spokesman said there was "scientific evidence that caffeine is not addictive". The drink was available in 148 countries "because health authorities across the world have concluded that Red Bull is safe to consume", he said. The drink is banned in Norway, Denmark and Uruguay because of health fears" - stuff.co.nz

Red Bull link over club death

"A clubber could have died because she drank too many cans of Red Bull, an inquest heard. Chloe Leach collapsed at a Hull nightclub after drinking several cans of the caffeine drink last September. A coroner heard how Miss Leach, who was studying at the University of Lincoln's Hull campus, died from cardiac arrhythmia which affects the heart's rhythm. But neuro-pathologist Ian Scott said it was less clear what caused this arrhythmia in the young woman, who was an epileptic. Dr Scott told the inquest in Hull how the most likely cause was a condition called Long QT Syndrome, which affects the organ's electric pulse. He said tests Miss Leach had taken after her mother suffered a heart attack showed her heart was at the 'upper limit of normal'. The pathologist said the high levels of caffeine she ingested when she drank at least four cans of Red Bull could her pushed her heart over this threshold into abnormal. The doctor said it was also possible Miss Leach's heart could have deteriorated in the five years since she was tested" - The Sun

Teenager collapsed after becoming addicted to Red Bull

"Naomi Haynes, 14, became so dependent on the drinks that she would spend all her money on them and even borrow from friends to fund the habit. "The drinks made me happy and I got a great buzz from them, but then I would feel tired and unhappy so I would have another drink to pick me up," said Miss Haynes, of East Cowes, Isle of Wight. It got to the stage where she would smuggle them into class to stop her from falling asleep. But she says she has now been warned by doctors that her addiction could lead to a heart attack - Telegraph