Is Red Bull Sugar Free Keto Friendly?
Answer: An 8.4 oz can of Red Bull Sugar Free contains just 1.8 g of net carbs, making it a keto-friendly energy drink.
It's tempting to equate sugar-free with zero-carb, but as we see with Red Bull Sugar Free, that isn't always accurate. An 8.4 oz can of Red Bull Sugar Free contains 1.8 g of net carbs. That's a lot less than original Red Bull's 28 g of carbs, but it isn't quite zero, either. It's fine to enjoy Red Bull Sugar Free every once in a while, but always factor it into your daily carb totals.
Sweetened with aspartame
The carbs in Red Bull Sugar Free come from aspartame, one of the non-sugar sweeteners used in the drink. Aspartame has the same carb content as sugar, but it's almost 200 times sweeter. Red Bull Sugar Free substitutes sugar with a much smaller amount of aspartame and passes the carbohydrate savings on to you.
You may have heard that aspartame causes cancer, a rumor which stems from a 2006 animal study. That study was widely panned, and subsequent analyses, including one by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), found no link between normal aspartame consumption and cancer. Both the FDA and the EFSA consider aspartame safe for human consumption.
Caffeine content
Every 8.4 oz can of Red Bull Sugar Free contains 80 mg of caffeine. That may sound like a lot, but those are rookie numbers in the energy drink world. Even coffee is stronger.
| Drink | Caffeine Content |
|---|---|
| Red Bull Sugar Free (8.4 oz can) | 80 mg |
| Coffee (8 oz cup) | 95 mg |
| Monster Energy Drink (16 oz can) | 160 mg |
| Bang Energy Drink (16 oz can) | 300 mg |
Vitamins and nutrients
Red Bull Sugar Free is surprisingly high in B vitamins. A single can contains 250% of your daily recommended intake of B6, which promotes good skin health, and 80% of your recommended intake of B12, which is critical for healthy brain function. Advertisements used to claim the added B vitamins would improve Red Bull drinkers' concentration and reaction speed, but that isn't true. A 2014 lawsuit forced the company to abandon the claims.
Red Bull Sugar Free contains 1,000 mg of taurine, an essential nutrient that can protect the body from hypertension, one of the adverse effects of caffeine. A coffee drinker who experiences jitters or other symptoms may want to consider a taurine-added drink like Red Bull Sugar Free.
Relative to foods like nuts and leafy greens, Red Bull Sugar Free is nutritionally sparse. It's acceptable in moderation, but don't let your indulgence push out other, healthier carbs.
