 "Red Bull Mom's" Extreme Post-Pregnancy Weight Loss Plan Causes Heart Attack
Source: Kevin Hill for VitalChild Date: 5/27/09
(Auckland, New Zealand) Some new moms see photos of celebrity mom's like Angelina Jolie get back into pre-pregnancy shape so quickly that they are willing to do whatever is necessary to live up to that standard.
In an effort to lose her post pregnancy weight, 23 year old Brooke Robertson decided that Red Bull was her ticket to weight loss. She claims she lost 99lbs in only eight months so she
kept drinking the caffeinated energy drink. According to her, Red Bull was the only
think she would drink.
‘I just continued to drink it because it’s an appetite suppressant and I noticed I was losing weight so I stuck to it.’
The Auckland, New Zealand young mother watched her weight drop from 220lbs to 125lbs.
Brooke was so concerned about the weight she had put on during her pregnancy with Kefir,
her four year old, that she would ingest 10 to 14 cans of Red Bull daily.
Red Bull Lists among its ingredients the following: Taurine, Glucuronolactone, Caffeine,
B-Group Vitamins, Sucrose, Glucose, Acesulfame K, Aspartame/Sucralose.
She trembled constantly yet still managed to keep her extreme diet from friends and family for eight months. Drinking as many cans as Brooke drank daily, she found herself in the hospital having suffered from a heart attack.
"I just started drinking it. I wasn’t sleeping. I wasn’t eating – I was exhausted."
She experienced symptoms of cramping in her stomach and bowel. Robertson also experienced anxiety attacks and developed a heart murmur.
A spokesman for Red Bull denies that Red Bull is addictive despite it's ingredients. Claiming that Caffeine is not addictive at all. The spokesman says it's in 148 countries "because health authorities across the world have concluded that Red Bull is safe to consume".
Despite that claim, Brooke stayed at the hospital for two weeks and managed to slowly wean herself off of the energy drink. Robertson commented that, ‘I had severe withdrawals – sweating, nausea, shaking. It was an addiction. The doctors stated that.’
Brooke, now controls her weight using a combination of Weight Watchers and exercise but says she still feels the physical effects of her extreme diet.
She has been told by her doctors to avoid Red Bull and all other caffeinated drinks. Despite her ordeal, the New Zealand mom still admits to having an occasional Red Bull and States,
‘I can have one and my heart starts and I get the shakes, so I try not to. It's the same with coffee.’
Researchers at Adelaide, Australia's Royal Adelaide Hospital found that only one can of Red Bull could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke and that within one hour of drinking the red drink, participants developed symptoms normally linked to cardiovascular disease.
Nutritionists continue to advise post-pregnancy moms that a healthy lifestyle that includes eating nutrient dense whole foods and exercise which burns more calories than she takes in will always be the healthy way for new moms to stay fit and trim. Post-pregnancy weight loss should always be a gradual process so that the body can gradually return to its pre-pregnancy weight according to leading health experts.
Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved.  |
Subscribe to this comment's feed