Common Energy Drink Ingredient Linked to Blood Cancer

By Cara Lynn Shultz (People)- A common energy drink ingredient has been linked to the progression of the blood cancer leukemia, prompting researchers to voice concerns about the consumption of those beverages.

Taurine — an amino acid that occurs naturally in proteins like meat and fish — is a common ingredient in energy drinks like Red Bull. As the Mayo Clinic explains it can help balance fluids, salts and minerals.

PEOPLE has reached out to Red Bull for comment.

But according to research published in Nature, taurine may promote leukaemogenesis — the development of leukemia cells — and “identifies taurine as a key regulator of myeloid malignancies,” which, like leukemia, are cancers that begin in the blood.

The study says cancer cells in mice are fueled by taurine: “Taurine supplements could significantly accelerate disease progression in immunocompetent mice (around threefold higher likelihood of death… indicating that taurine can promote leukaemic progression.”

In plain terms, the study found that cancer cells consume the taurine, which triggers glycolysis (breaking down glucose for energy), which then further fuels the cancer cells, according to a press release from the University of Rochester, which conducted the research.

This has prompted the researchers to add a caveat regarding energy drinks.

“As taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks, and is often provided as a supplement to mitigate the side-effects of chemotherapy our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the benefits of supplemental taurine in patients with leukaemia,” researchers wrote in Nature.

Previously, taurine has been proven useful as a supplement in chemotherapy. One study in Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutic said, “Taurine supplementation could be a protection against chemotherapy-induced toxicities probably by its antioxidant capacity.”