Real 'True Blood' Beverage for Humans: Wanna Sip?

Vampires are everywhere these days -- sexy bloodsuckers are haunting endless books, television shows, and films.

If the popularity of True Blood and the most recent Twilight film, Eclipse, is any indication, vampires are here to stay -- for eternity (cue the eerie music).

The whole vampire frenzy (which I am totally on board with, by the way) got me thinking about drinking blood -- NOT curious enough to do it, but curious enough to get some insight about it.

Here's what I found out about drinking blood.

There's a product called Blood Energy Potion that costs about $5 a bag. It's supposedly the world's first synthetic blood beverage, has a fruit punch flavor, and features "four hours of energy" via the iron, protein, caffeine, and electrolyte cocktail. The makers say Blood Energy Potion has a similar nutritional makeup to real blood, as well as the same color, look, and consistency of blood. It's even sold in a resealable transfusion bag style pouch.

For those who like the real stuff, enter human hematophagy, or the drinking of blood and the manufacturing of foodstuffs and delicacies with animal blood. Of course, some people consider drinking (or eating) blood to be taboo.

Then there are Sanguinarians ("Vampiric people"), who describe themselves as "human beings with a compulsion, or need, to consume blood." Most Sanguinarians say they have a physical craving for human blood exclusively, and go so far as to arrange for human "donors" who voluntarily supply them with fresh blood.

According to a self-proclaimed Sanguinarian, human blood "tastes like human blood," lamb blood tastes like human blood but milder, deer blood is midway between cow and human blood, cow blood tastes like human blood but bolder, and duck blood is milder than lamb blood. Got that? Or should I say, "Got blood?"

If you aren't as disgusted as I am and therefore still curious about drinking blood, please remember that doing so poses risks, especially regarding drinking human blood (just a drop can carry and transmit hepatitis, AIDS, malaria, and/or STDs).

Would you ever try drinking blood?

Images via sookiebontemps/Flickr and Harcos Laboratories