Red Bull mixed with Pocari Sweat is a placebo

Posted on July 28, 2014 | Last updated February 11, 2025

Red Bull Mixed with Pocari Sweat
There was a time when copy-pasted tweets about mixing Red Bull with Pocari Sweat became quite popular. There were even blogs introducing this as an effective way to drink it (-_-;)

Here, I'm not going to introduce how to mix Red Bull with Pocari Sweat, but instead, I want to take a moment to think about the concept of mixing Red Bull with Pocari Sweat itself.

Author information Author: Energy Drink-kun

In 2001, while living in the United States, I encountered energy drinks through the dance scene and was deeply impressed. After returning to Japan, I found that energy drinks were considered novelty beverages, so I established a comprehensive website in 2013 to share the true appeal of energy drinks. As an energy drink enthusiast, I began drinking them seriously again, collecting over 7,000 varieties of energy drinks from various countries. I am also active as a critic and expert, receiving media interviews.

Was This Tweet the Trigger?

The effective way to drink Red Bull is to drink up to the top line of a 500ml Pocari Sweat bottle, then pour in a Red Bull (mini), essentially mixing them and sipping it throughout the day. It is said that this way, you can go without feeling energy depletion. This method, which was officially retweeted by Red Bull headquarters, has become popular.
— Shiori Hongo (@shi0risan) June 5, 2012

Upon researching, it seems that "Red Bull mixed with Pocari Sweat" originated from this tweet. According to this tweet, it says "officially retweeted by Red Bull headquarters." As a result, this method has gained a lot of attention, and in some forums, it was even written that it was "semi-official," leading to its widespread discussion.

However, it's unclear whether the "staff proposal" referred to in the tweet is from someone at Red Bull or from the workplace of the author. The ambiguity of the "scene" has caused this idea to spread and be copied in many places, evolving into something that looks like "Red Bull approved."

Does Mixing Red Bull with Pocari Sweat Prevent Energy Depletion?

The claim that mixing Red Bull with Pocari Sweat and sipping it throughout the day prevents energy depletion is frequently mentioned in these tweets.

If you mix 185ml of Red Bull (which is now discontinued) with Pocari Sweat, the total amount of sugar, which serves as the energy source, comes to about 50g. It might be better to think of it as simply mixing Red Bull and Pocari rather than calling it a "Pocari mix."

50g of sugar is quite common in many 500ml carbonated or fruit juice drinks, so it's nothing special.

Additionally, the amounts of arginine and vitamin B complex in energy drinks are quite small, much less than what you would get from taking supplements, so it's unlikely that you would experience "no energy depletion" or any significant "effect" from this.

By the way, if you don't feel energy depletion with 50g of sugar, you can just sip on a 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola. Here are some examples of the carbohydrate content in popular carbonated drinks:

Coca-Cola 100ml contains about 11.3g of carbohydrates x 5 = 56.5g
Fanta 100ml contains about 10g of carbohydrates x 5 = 50g
Mountain Dew 100ml contains about 12.6g of carbohydrates x 5 = 63g
CC Lemon 100ml contains about 10g of carbohydrates x 5 = 50g
7UP 100ml contains about 11.5g of carbohydrates x 5 = 57.5g
Pepsi 100ml contains about 11.9g of carbohydrates x 5 = 59.5g

Excess sugar intake is not considered healthy. Below is a ranking of energy drinks by sugar content, which you may find useful.

Energy Drink Sugar Content Ranking

The Taste of Red Bull Mixed with Pocari Sweat

On the internet, opinions on the taste of mixing Red Bull with Pocari Sweat are divided. Some say it becomes easier to drink because it's diluted, while others say it ruins the taste of Red Bull itself and makes it taste bad.

Personally, I wouldn’t go out of my way to dilute it as a joke, and I don't want to consume unnecessary sugar, so I won’t drink it. However, if you're curious about the taste, feel free to try it!

The Effect of Red Bull Mixed with Pocari Sweat

The "Red Bull mixed with Pocari Sweat" has the sugar content of about 500ml of Coca-Cola and the caffeine of one cup of coffee. Some people say it works wonders, while others believe it’s better to drink Red Bull as it is.

There are even some who claim "I didn’t feel sleepy at all after drinking Red Bull mixed with Pocari Sweat" (note: it only contains caffeine equivalent to one cup of coffee).

On Yahoo! Chiebukuro, it was answered that "Drinking sports drinks helps the body absorb water, but it doesn't affect the absorption of caffeine, the main active ingredient in energy drinks." This is a misunderstanding.

There are also statements about alcohol absorption, saying "It doesn’t speed up alcohol absorption." (But how true is that?)

Finally, the statement "Mixing Pocari Sweat with an energy drink makes the effect last all day" is probably just a misconception.

By the way, Pocari Sweat officially denies the claim about alcohol on their website.

By the way, some people mistakenly believe that drinking Pocari Sweat with alcohol makes you get drunk faster, but this is a big misunderstanding. Pocari Sweat has been proven to absorb water quickly, but there is no evidence to suggest it speeds up alcohol absorption.
Source: Pocari Sweat and Alcohol

Those Who Believe Will Be Saved

Many of these stories are largely due to the placebo effect, but it’s interesting to note that when people believe, their bodies sometimes respond accordingly.

Numerous experiments have confirmed the placebo effect, so I don’t think it’s impossible that Red Bull mixed with Pocari Sweat might have some effect.

However, as for whether it has the kind of effect you would expect? I don’t think so. (Considering it only provides the equivalent of the sugar from 500ml of Coca-Cola and the caffeine of one cup of coffee.) That’s my view on it.