I’ve got to be honest here…I think we could all save a lot of time and money not conducting some of these “Studies Show” studies.
Did we really need some scientists to tell us that Jägerbombs are bad for us? Anyone that has gone to war with a Jägerbomb knows that the combination of Jägermeister and Red Bull doesn’t give off even a hint of health.
But in defense of those who conducted this study, they are taking a comparative approach to the information that they gathered. A research team at Purdue University conducted tests with mice by exposing them to highly caffeinated beverages mixed with alcohol, and they eventually came to this conclusion:
“Drinking highly caffeinated alcoholic beverages triggers changes in the adolescent brain similar to taking cocaine, and the consequences last into adulthood as an altered ability to deal with rewarding substances.”
Thus, having a good old fashioned Jägerbomb at your favorite dive bar could make you as bad, or worse, than someone that’s addicted to cocaine (when looked at through the lens of science, at least).
Richard van Rijn, an assistant professor of molecular pharmacology and medicinal chemistry at Purdue University, had this to say when observing the effects of combining energy drinks with alcohol had on the mice:
“It seems the two substances together push them over a limit that causes changes in their behavior and changes the neurochemistry in their brains.
We’re clearly seeing effects of the combined drinks that we would not see if drinking one or the other. That’s one reason why it’s so difficult for drug users to quit because of these lasting changes in the brain.”
So that feeling you get when you throw back a Jägerbomb is the neurochemistry in your brain changing. How about that? You can at least impress a couple of people at the bar by saying that, if you can remember it while you are drinking…
When the researchers continued observing the test mice into adulthood, they made some alarming discoveries in regards to the long term effects of drinking highly caffeinated drinks and alcohol together:
“Mice that had been exposed to alcohol and caffeine were somewhat numb to the rewarding effects of cocaine as adults. Mice that were exposed to highly caffeinated alcoholic drinks later found cocaine wasn’t as pleasurable.
They may then use more cocaine to get the same effect. Their brains have been changed in such a way that they are more likely to abuse natural or pleasurable substances as adults.”
So do what you want with this information. Fans of the Jägerbomb will certainly take this news pretty hard, but that feeling of existential dread is nothing a little Jägerbomb can’t fix.
And for those of you that are too young to remember the beginning of YouTube… this gem from 2007 is one of the original viral videos:
