Saint Martin's University

A comparison of the effect of Red Bull™ and water on the heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration of athletes and non-athletes at Saint Martin’s University

Sonya Ramos Bio 401 5-7-2007 Table of Contents Pages

I. Abstract

II. Introduction……………………………………………………………………1-8

III. Methods………………………………………………………………………9-12

IV. Results………………………………………………………………………..13-25

V. Discussion………………………………………………………………….....26-28

VI. Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………...29

VII. Literature Cited………………………………………………………………30 Abstract:

Red Bull™ is an energy drink consumed by many Americans, especially athletes who want an extra energy boost consisting of these ingredients: taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, niacin, B-group vitamins, sucrose, glucose, acesulfame K, and Aspartame™ sucralose A comparison of the effect of Red Bull and water on heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration were tested on 9 athletes and 9 non-athletes at Saint

Martin’s University. Subjects were tested for two weeks those two groups of 9 were then divided into four treatments of six people: six athletes consuming Red Bull™, 3 athletes consuming water, 6 non athletes consuming Red Bull™, and 3 non athletes consuming water. Volunteers were required to consume their specified beverage 15 minutes before they performed the fitness test, I took their physiological baseline measurements; heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and respiration using an electronic heart rate machine specifically designed for that use and tested respiration using a peak flow meter. From the results of the analysis of variance

ANOVA Test there was a statistical significant difference among athlete Red Bull™ compared to non-athlete Red Bull™ and non-athlete when measuring respiration at rest during week 2(F=5.75,df=3,p=0.013), Athlete Red Bull™ compared to Non athlete Red

Bull™ when measuring Respiration after 1 minute during week 2(F=4.18,df=3,p=0.033) and Athlete Red Bull™ compared to Non athlete Red Bull™ and Non Athlete water when measuring respiration after 5 minutes during week 2(F=10.23,df=3,p=0.002). Athletes are interested in increasing their sports performance by trying new things such as specialty drinks to enhance their performance. However, these may negatively affect the body. These specialty drinks contain ingredients such as taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, niacin, B-group vitamins, sucrose, glucose, acesulfame K, and Aspartame™ sucralose. I think my fellow teammates and other collegiate athletes could benefit from information on this topic.

In 1984, Dietrich Mateschitz founded the Red Bull GmbH Company (Red

Bull.com). He developed an interesting marketing concept and started selling Red Bull™

Energy Drink on the Austrian market in 1987. Red Bull™ rapidly gained in popularity.

“Giving people wings,” is Red Bull’s™ market saying, giving that extra energy to kick the body into gear. Red Bull™ more than a soft drink. According to the label, it was designed for moments of increased physical and mental stress, and to improve endurance, alertness, concentration and reaction speed. According to Red Bull.com, it also vitalizes meaning it is important to the body and mind. The effectiveness of Red Bull™ has been supported by scientific studies and is appreciated by many of the world’s top athletes

(Red Bull.com).

A group of scientists studied the effects of Red Bull™ Energy Drink on human performance and mood by conducting 3 studies (Alford et al., 2001). The first study studied 5 males and 5 females between the ages of 18-30. The second study, there were 7 males and 7 females between the ages of 18-35, and in the third study, there were 7 males and 5 females between the ages of 20 and 21. All volunteers were unpaid, healthy, drank minimal amounts of caffeine, and were screened for physical exercise capacity (Alford et al., 2001). The experimenters monitored heart rate, blood pressure, subjective mood, and choice reaction time involving a questionnaire for the first test. The second test monitored heart rate, blood pressure, subjective alertness, and choice reaction time. The second test also included an aerobic endurance test. The third study tested memory and concentration, with an anaerobic endurance test at the end. The authors used carbonated mineral water for their control and Red Bull™ Energy Drink for the first study. The second study added a no drink control. In the third study, water was used as one control.

A second control was a ‘dummy’ energy drink that they put in competition with Red

Bull™. The ‘dummy’ drink consisted of low calorie quinine flavored carbonated water with lime, apple and blackcurrent concentrates with no sugar added. Red Bull™ contains carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, citric acid, taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, inositol, vitamins, flavors and color (Alford et al., 2001).

The results of the first study showed a decrease in heart rate and systolic blood pressure after mineral water consumption compared to Red Bull™ (Alford et al., 2001).

The diastolic blood pressure remained constant across the treatments. The choice reaction time, measured by unexpectedly throwing a ball at the subjects, was improved by Red Bull™ compared to carbonated water. The subjective mood, measured by a survey of how they felt at the time, had a greater change from pre-treatment for Red

Bull™ compared to carbonated water.

The second study compared Red Bull™ to carbonated water and to no drink. The results showed stable levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure for all treatments, but there was a difference in the overall heart rate, which was higher for Red Bull™. The choice reaction time showed an improvement for Red Bull™ when compared to carbonated water (Alford et al., 2001). A paired comparisons test showed an improvement in memory and concentration among Red Bull™ consumers compared to

‘dummy’ energy drink consumers (Alford et al., 2001).

None of the three studies showed an effect on the systolic or diastolic blood pressure at rest. Changes in heart rate were less consistent. Red Bull™ showed an enhanced performance and reaction time in the first and second study. There was an improvement in performance for concentration and memory in the third study due to Red

Bull™. In addition, there was an improvement in aerobic endurance, with a maximum heart rate at 65-75% with Red Bull™ compared to the carbonated water and the no drink

(Alford et al., 2001).

The effect of a taurine-containing drink on performance in 10 endurance-athletes was studied by Geiss et al. (1994). The authors chose 10 endurance trained male athletes between the ages of 24 and 25. The athletes trained for 10-15 hours per week, and all volunteers were informed about the study and its possible risks (Geiss et al., 1994).

During the three-week study, the volunteers trained at a constant rate. They had a regular meal plan and exercise routine, so that there would be no variation in either food consumption or exercise amount. They fasted for at least two hours before each exercise trial. All volunteers completed three trials, each of which was sixty minutes of cycling, at about 70% of their maximum speed, as measured by a cycle ergometer. Then, every three minutes, the workload was increased 50 watts until the volunteer could no longer pedal. Twenty-four hours later, the volunteers repeated cycling test, but they started at 50 watts, and the workload was increased every three minutes. The drinks were consumed after three minutes of sub maximal cycling (Geiss et al., 1994). They found that after starting exercise, heart rate increased quickly and plateaued during cycling at 70% reaching their maximum speed. Throughout the exercise, the workload increased and heart rate increased slowly until it reached its peak at maximum exercise (Emax) (Geiss et al., 1994).

There was a decrease in blood glucose after 30 minutes of cycling at 70% maximum speed (Geiss et al., 1994). With the increase of workload during their exercise, blood lactate increased slowly and reached its maximum, but after exercise, lactate decreased in energy 10 minutes after exercise. Plasma insulin 15 minutes after consumption in trial 3 was lower than in trial 1. There was no difference observed between exercises. When the test drink was consumed, plasma free fatty acids (FFA) increased from resting and declined when exercising with high intensity, but there was no difference among the three trials for FFA concentrations. During exercise, human growth hormone (hGH) plasma levels increased slowly. However, due to high standard deviation (SD) there was no difference among the trials (Geiss et al., 1994). Overall, there were no differences in the measurements; however there was a slight increase in epinephrine plasma levels from the start of exercise in all trials. Norepinephrine levels during exercise increased slowly and then decreased rapidly (Geiss et al., 1994).

In endurance time, the individual intensity level was longer in trial 1 than in trials

2 and 3. There was an increase in performance during exercise after consuming Red

Bull™. Heart rate reached a lower level with Red Bull™ than with the two other drinks from trial two and trial three, neither of which contained taurine (Geiss et al., 1994).

Khanna and Manna (2004) studied the supplementary effect of a carbohydrate- electrolyte drink on the sports performance, lactate removal, and cardiovascular response of athletes. A total of 16 male endurance athletes who were between the ages of 20 and

25 were selected after a medical examination to determine if they were healthy enough to be part of the study. They were told to not participate in strenuous activities for two days before the exercise test and not to exercise on the day of the test. The authors wanted them to keep their normal diet and stay away from alcohol and caffeinated drinks in the week before and during the experiment (Khanna and Manna, 2004).

There were two phases that the experimenters used. In the first phase, no supplement was given. In the second phase, 100 ml of a 5% carbohydrate-electrolyte drink (C.E.D.) was supplied during exercise at 15 minute intervals until subjects were tired, and then another 100 ml of 12.5% C.E.D was given after 5 minutes of recovery and every 5 minutes up to 20 minutes (Khanna and Manna, 2004).

Volunteers were asked to run on a treadmill at a speed of 6 km/h for two minutes, and then the workload was increased by 2 km/h every two minutes until the subjects were tired. Heart rate was monitored during exercise and recovery. Blood samples were collected every ten minutes during exercise and recovery. Researchers used a Boehringer

Manneheim kit to take tests of blood glucose levels from the fingers of the subjects, and lactate was quantified with a lactate analyzer using an Analox Lactate kit (Khanna and

Manna, 2004).

Cardiovascular response as measured by oxygen levels and respiration when recovering, improved after supplementation with 12.5g % C.E.D. To test the effect of

C.E.D. on blood glucose, data were collected at rest and then at 10 minute intervals.

There were no differences in blood glucose levels during the exercise at 70% maximum with the 5g % C.E.D. However, there was a high blood glucose level during recovery after 20 minutes with a 12.5g % C.E.D. To test the effect of C.E.D on blood lactate levels, blood was collected at rest and at 10 minute intervals (Khanna and Manna, 2004).

They found that carbohydrate replacement during exercise may enhance performance of sports and activities.

Although I did not collect blood samples, I encouraged my subjects to avoid alcohol and caffeine prior to testing.

In the Smit and Rogers (2002) study, there were 23 volunteers, 10 males and 13 females between the ages of 19-56. Their body average mass index (BMI) was 24.7 kg/m2, and age and BMI did not differ between the sexes. Volunteers were recruited by telephone (Smit and Rogers, 2002), and volunteers were tested once a week for five weeks. Before the volunteers could start, they had to under-take a tiring mental task, which was to induce a state of mild fatigue so that the restorative effects of the drinks could be evaluated and to collect pre-test data. The experimenters tested two drinks containing caffeine and glucose against equal volumes of water. Researchers used water after the drink to show that the effects were not affected by the differences in the volume levels or by the refreshingness of drinking water (Smit and Rogers, 2002).

Several experimental drinks were used: Energy drink A (more bitter, less sweet and less carbonated at 150 ml), bottled spring water at 150 ml, Energy drink B (75 mg of guarana extract at 250 ml, water in a 250 ml bottle), and the final treatment, a no drink control, which consisted of a small break (Smit and Rogers, 2002).

Drinks were equal in calories and caffeine content (Smit and Rogers, 2002).

Drink A contained a different array of vitamins than drink B, and it contained ferrous gluconate. Both drinks were given in a clear glass and each volunteer received one treatment per week in a random order, so that each subject did not receive the same drink again. Tests took place in booths where volunteers could not see the experiment or each other. Experimenters thought this atmosphere would allow volunteers to reflect on their feelings and moods (Smit and Rogers, 2002).

Subjects were required to refrain from consuming any caffeine-containing food or drinks after 9 pm the previous evening until testing the following day (Smit and Rogers,

2002). A saliva sample was taken at the beginning of each session. Volunteers were told that the sample would be analyzed for caffeine present in the body. To avoid information from being passed out the volunteers who had not yet done the tests, debriefing was done by mail at the very end of the study (Smit and Rogers, 2002).

Changes between the last pre-trial minute to the first post-trial minute did not differ among trials, indicating an absence of an immediate post test effect of the drinks on reaction time. Drink A showed a small difference, but an improvement in performance compared to no drink, but neither energy drinks was more effective than water. The memory performance data showed no effect of treatment (Smit and Rogers, 2002).

This study provided information that the other four articles did not address, such as data tables that showed results from an analysis of variance test (ANOVA). I used the article to set up my physical fitness test by testing each subject’s baseline heart rate and blood pressure. Most of all, it gave me the information I need to understand what happens when different drinks are consumed during exercise that could have an effect on performance.

The health effects of stimulant drinks were evaluated in another study (Finnegan,

2001). The death of a 19-year-old alerted the public to the health risks of these drinks. The UK Minister of State at the Department of Health, safefood (the Food Safety

Promotion Board), charged a committee to independently conduct scientific research on the stimulant drinks known as energy drinks. In the study, the health effects of stimulant drinks, it says that stimulant drinks have caused two deaths (Finnegan, 2001). Stimulant drinks target and affect certain functions of the body, and because of this, they belong to a group of functional foods. Stimulant drinks contain caffeine, gaurana, taurine, glucuronolactone, and some of the B vitamins (Finnegan, 2001). Caffeine in the UK is consumed at a rate of about 278 mg per day for a typical 70 kg male. In Sweden and

Finland, consumption is greater than > 400 mg/day. France and Denmark have a limit of

150 mg/L for soft drinks, and stimulant drinks are not sold in these countries (Finnegan,

2001).

The study gave me an understanding of what effect stimulant drinks have on the body and what ingredients are in them. Caffeine was one of the ingredients that were discussed the most. The paper provided me with some examples of why heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and in general how the body reacts to Red Bull™ compared non-Red Bull™ , what ingredients are present in energy drinks that stimulate the body to react the way it does when consumed.

My hypothesis is that there will be an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration at 1 minute and 5 minutes having consumed Red Bull™ as compared to having consumed water. Recruitment of Subjects:

Two weeks prior to my study, a campus wide email at Saint Martin’s University was sent out to recruit athlete and non-athlete volunteers participate in my study. This study had been approved by the Institutional Review Board Committee. Each participant read and signed a consent form that described the fitness tests and the physiological tests, as shown in Fig 1.

Figure 1. Gives an overview of the process of the study. My subjects included athletes who participated in women’s basketball, men’s basketball, women’s softball, men’s baseball, women’s golf, men’s golf, tack and field, and woman’s volleyball all that are offered here at Saint Martin's University and non- athletes, those who did not participate in college sports here at Saint Martin's University.

Group Division:

I divided the 18 participants into two groups of nine athletes and nine non athletes. Those two groups of nine were then divided into four treatments of six people: six athletes consuming Red Bull™, three athletes consuming water, six non athletes consuming Red Bull™, and three non athletes consuming water then the following week each group will switch to the other beverage. Volunteers were required to consume their specified beverage 15 minutes before they performed the fitness test. I took their physiological baseline measurements soon after they had finished drinking their beverage; heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, using an electronic machine to collect data and respiration using a spirometer small handheld device measuring by (L/min). I was the sole operator of the equipment, and I ran practice tests on myself to ensure the equipment was appropriate for the experiment.

Physical Fitness Test Process:

The fitness test consisted of a 2 minute warm-up jog around the gym and 1 minute of crunches as diagramed in figure 2, Figure 2. This is the correct way to do the crunches assigned for my physical fitness test. http://www.weight-lifting-workout-routines.com/crunches.jpg

Figure 3. Illistrates the correct way to do push ups, whether it was on the knees or toes. 30 seconds of push-ups http://www.physicallytrained.com/fm21-20/physical-fitness-training/images/DRILL- push-up.PNG Figure 4 illustrates the correct way the shuttle run, start between two cones run to the middle of the next two cones, turn and run back to the beginning cones did this for 1 minute this was 15 ft from beginning to end.

Alford et al. (2001), used a three minute warm-up at the start of their test. In

order to keep my test a total of 15 minutes, I used only a 2 minute warm-up jog.

Table 1 describes what each group ingested and when. Group A and C ingested

Red Bull™ the first week and water the second week. Group B and D ingested water the

first week and Red Bull™ the second week. Each subject had 15 minutes to consume

their drink, after which I took their baseline measurements. Each subject then performed

the physical fitness test. After they had completed their physical fitness test I checked

their physiological responses immediately after they finished the last test, and 5 minutes

after the second physiological measurements at 1 minute.

Table 1. Describes each group and what beverage each group of participants will be consuming for that week. Following week the group of participants will switch to the opposite beverage that they had whether that was Red Bull™ or water. Athletes Non-athletes

Group A Group B Group C Group D Week 1 Red Bull™ 6 Water 3 Red Bull™ 6 Water 3 Week 2 Water 6 Red Bull™ 3 Water 6 Red Bull™ 3

Results: For my study I had results that obtained from the evaluation of heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and respiration dealing with four groups: group a, athlete consuming Red Bull™, group b, athlete consuming water, and group c, non- athlete consuming Red Bull™, and group d, non-athlete consuming water. The control group for each test was group b and group d.

Due to error of data collection with each subject’s number of push-ups, crunches and shuttle run during the physical fitness test I will not be using the data for that portion of my study. I will focus on the physiological measurements for week 1 and 2.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical significant difference among the non-athlete drinking Red Bull™ compared to the non- athlete drinking water when measuring heart rate at 5 minutes during week 1

(F=8.72,df=3,p=0.002) (Figure 1). Week 1

180 athlete Red Bull athlete water 160 non-athlete Red Bull non-athlete water 140

) 120 e t u n i m

r 100 e p

s t a e b (

80 e t a R

e 60 H

0 0 1 5 Time (minutes)

Figure 1. On the Y axis shows heart rate (beats per minute) and on the X axis shows time in minutes. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test at week 1. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical significant difference among the non-athlete drinking Red Bull™ compared to the non- athlete drinking water when measuring heart rate at 5 minutes during week 2

(F=6.54,df=3,p=.008) (Figure 2). Week 2

160 athlete Red Bull athlete water 140 non-athlete Red Bull non-athlete water

120 ) e t

u 100 n i m

t 80 a e b (

e t a R

t 60 r a e H

Figure 2. On the Y axis shows heart rate (beats per minute) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical significant difference among non-athlete Red Bull™ compared to non athlete water when measuring Diastolic Blood Pressure at rest 1 minute during week

1(F=5.36,df=3,p=0.011) (Figure 5). Week 1

120 athlete Red Bull athlete water non-athlete Red Bull 110 non-athlete water ) g H 100 m m (

e r u s s e r

d o o l B

c i l o t 80 s a i D

Figure 5. On the Y axis shows diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 1. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical significant difference among non-athlete Red Bull™ compared to non athlete water when measuring systolic blood pressure 1 minute during week 2 (F=9.30,df=3,p=0.002)

(Figure 4). Week 2

200 athlete Red Bull 190 athlete water non-athlete Red Bull non-athlete water 180

170 ) g H

m 160 m (

e r u s

s 150 e r P

d o o l 140 B

c i l o t s

y 130 S

Figure 4. On the Y axis shows systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical significant difference among athlete Red Bull™ compared to non-athlete Red Bull™ and non-athlete when measuring respiration at rest during week 2(F=5.75,df=3,p=0.013),

Athlete Red Bull™ compared to Non athlete Red Bull™ when measuring Respiration after 1 minute during week 2(F=4.18,df=3,p=0.033) and Athlete Red Bull™ compared to Non athlete Red Bull™ and Non Athlete water when measuring respiration after 5 minutes during week 2(F=10.23,df=3,p=0.002) (Figure 8).

Week 2

470 ) n i m /

L 420 (

n o i t a r i 370 p s e R 320

Figure 8. On the Y axis shows Respiration (L/min) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water when measuring Heart Rate after 1 minute during week 1

(F=2.99,df=3,p=0.067) (Figure 1). Week 1

) 120 e t u n i m

r 100 e p

s t a e b (

80 e t a R

e 60 H

Figure 1. On the Y axis shows heart rate (beats per minute) and on the X axis shows time in minutes. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test at week 1. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with heart rate after 1 minute during week

2(F=2.05,df=3,p=0.165),athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with heart rate at rest during week 2(F=2.39,df=3,p=0.124) (Figure 2).

Week 2

120 ) e t u 100 n i m r e p s t 80 a e b ( e t a R

t 60 r a e H

0 0 1 5 Time (minutes) Figure 2. On the Y axis shows heart rate (beats per minute) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure after 5 minutes during week 2

(F=3.24,df=3,p=0.064), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure at rest during week 2

(F=.77,df=3,p=0.0.535), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure after 1 minute during week 2

(F=1.15,df=3,p=0.373) (Figure 6).

Week 2

110 ) g H

100 e r u s s e r P

o 90 o l B

c i l o t s a i

Figure 6. On the Y axis shows diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with systolic blood pressure at rest during week 2

(F=1.05,df=3,p=0.409) (Figure 4).

Figure 4. On the Y axis shows systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group. From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical significant difference athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non- athlete water with systolic blood pressure at rest during week 1 (F=0.90,df=3,p=0.463), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with systolic blood pressure after 5 minutes during week 1 (F=2.73,df=3,p=0.083), athlete Red

Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with systolic blood pressure after 1 minute during week 1 (F=2.83,df=3,p=0.077) (Figure 3).

Week 1

e r u s s e r 160 P

d o o l B

c i l o t 140 s y S

Figure 3. On the Y axis shows systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 1. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group. From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non athlete water with respiration after 5 minutes during week 1

(F=1.08,df=3,p=0.391), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with respiration after 1 minute during week 1 (F=2.58,df=3,p=0.095), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with respiration at rest during week 1 (F=1.06,df=3,p=0.396) (Figure 7).

Week 1

) 450 n i m / L (

o 400 i t a r i p s e

Figure 7. On the Y axis shows Respiration (L/min) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 1. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non athlete water with diastolic blood pressure after 5 minutes during week 1

(F=1.46,df=3,p=0.267), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure after 1 minute during week 1

(F=2.76,df=3,p=0.081), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure at rest during week 1

(F=5.36,df=3,p=0.011) (Figure 5).

Week 1

e r u s s e r 90 P

d o o l B

c i l o t 80 s a i D

Figure 5. On the Y axis shows diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 1. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6 subjects. Discussion:

The results obtained in this study suggest differences among the tested athletes Red

Bull™, athletes’ water, non-athletes Red Bull™, and non-athletes water each group testing heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and respiration with two weeks (Figures 1-8).

From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water when measuring Heart Rate after 1 minute during week 1. The reason for this could be attributed to human error with the assembly and functioning of the automatic heart rate machine.

There was no difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red

Bull™, and non-athlete water with heart rate after 1 minute during week 2 and the athlete

Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with heart rate at rest during week 2. The reason for this could be attributed to human error with the assembly, functioning of the automatic heart rate machine and my participants failing to come back the second week of the study.

There was a difference among the non-athlete drinking Red Bull™ compared to the non-athlete drinking water when measuring heart rate at 5 minutes during week 1(Figure 1). The reason for this could be attributed to the consumption of Red Bull™ after the physical fitness test.

Athlete Red Bull™ compared to Non athlete Red Bull™ when measuring

Respiration after 1 minute during week 2 and athlete Red Bull™ compared to non-athlete

Red Bull™ and non-athlete water when measuring respiration after 5 minutes during week 2 showed differences (Figure 8). Reason for this could be attributed to the six subjects who did not return for the second week, which through my data off scale of not having an equal amount of participants when running an ANOVA test.

The results of this study accepted my hypothesis that there will be an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and respiration at 1 minute and 5 minutes having consumed

Red Bull™ as compared to having consumed water. The results applied to both week one and week two, but the reason for the result is attributed by the participants not coming back for the second week of study therefore swaying my data for the end results and not knowing if my results were accepted or rejected.

Recommendations for further research involve confirmed subject that will participate in the study doing follow up calls, emails and reminding them when to return. Counting how many push-ups, crunches, and shuttle run they have completed with the physical fitness test be more like an authority figure making sure they are doing the exercise correctly. I would also like to have a blind test where the participants do not know what drink they are consuming; by make the beverages the same in color and taste, the reason for this is so that participants would not be mislead knowing that Red Bull™ will give your more energy and enhance your physical performance rather than water. I would make sure the heart rate equipment positioned correctly on the arm so that there is no chance of error when collecting data. Also make sure that the place where the study will

be is available for usage, I ran into availability issues with communication with the

pavilion not knowing there were events scheduled therefore canceling my study for that

The consumption of Red Bull™ compared to water played an important role in the

factors contributing to physical performance with athletes and non-athletes.

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards Saint

Martin’s University professors Mary Jo Hartman and Margaret Olney for their guidance

during my research. They provided direction and problem solving in regards to my

research performed at the University. In addition, I would like to express gratitude to

Cheryl Guglielmo for her assistance with collecting all the required materials for my

research. I would like to thank Simon Moorby, team manager for Red Bull™ from

Seattle Washington with supplying Red Bull for my research. I would like to thank Apria

Health Care for supplying my peak flow meters for my research. Finally, I would like to

thank fellow SMU colleagues for taking time out of their busy schedules to participate in

my study.

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