Mixing Alcohol With Energy Drink Triggers Cocaine-Like Reaction In Teenagers, Experts Warn

In a recent study from Purdue University, researchers found that teenagers who mix energy drinks with alcohol react as if they were on cocaine.


The potentially lethal combination of caffeine and liquor - such as vodka and Red Bull - triggers exactly the same reaction in a young person's brain.

Just as with the Class A drug, the cocktail can have a devastating effect on the chemical balance of the brain that lasts long into adulthood.

The team also found if teenagers mixed energy drinks with alcohol, and then tried cocaine, they would crave greater quantities of the drug to replicate the same high.

Researchers looked at how the cocktail affected the brains of adolescent mice - since human tests are illegal - but insist the study is an accurate reflection of how human teenagers would react.

According to lead researcher Randy Haber, PhD, of the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Menlo Park, Calif, the findings are ‘surprising.’

While the improvements that result after a person gains control over their alcohol dependence may be obvious, less is known about how long the effects on both the brain and body will linger.

Later in life, this condition can lead to serious health problems, the researcher says.

Previous studies have found that chronic drinking can harm areas of the brain involved in emotional regulation, self-control, and decision making, and the researcher notes that years of alcohol abuse as a young adult may have lasting consequences for these regions.

Still, Haber points out that recovering from alcohol dependence can cause a person’s life to improve almost across the board, and by incorporating other aspects of a healthy lifestyle – like eating well and not smoking – the health benefits of quitting will also carry into the later years.

Daily Mail Uk.