Caffeine and Athletics

Caffeine and Athletics

“I keep seeing my favorite athletes in energy drink commercials!”  “That track runner just drank a 5 Hour Energy!” “Look at all those celebrities drinking energy drinks!” In the world of athletics caffeine can have a temporary effect of improving your scores.   For the first few times you have a caffeinated beverage before a race, a meet, timed sprints or a game, you may see improvement in your scores and results.  However, after you become dependent on caffeine it becomes essential for you to continue taking it in order to achieve those scores. As you come to the conclusion that you are fast enough to stop consuming caffeine your body will start the process of withdrawal making you more weak than you were when you started.  As you happily watched your scores soar for a short period of time they will quickly circle down the drain as you attempt to wean yourself off of the addiction.  Many articles discuss how there is a need for anaerobic energy in your system in order to do well.  The anaerobic energy system is how we regain and store energy.  You may be convinced that caffeine is essential to fill your system; however, through healthy eating and a dedicated sleep schedule your anaerobic energy will soar just as much as it would with caffeine intake. 

 http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-experts-call-for-restrictions-on-energy-drinks/story-fneuzkvr-1226502703061

 Does he look that cool? Do you HAVE to drink them to be fast?

Caffeine has positive effects for athletes as long as your intake is monitored.  You should not be having an energy substitute everyday to practice and right before each game.  Unfortunately, it is also a “cool” factor to drink caffeinated beverages at athletic events; ignore the societal views and drink some water!  Negative effects are inevitable while ingesting caffeine; some effects are as follows:  restlessness, diarrhea, insomnia and anxiety. It is also evident that if you take a drug that is supposed to energize you before you go to bed you might not have that much luck going to sleep.   The withdrawals you go though as you attempt to end your addiction have much worse side effects. This may result in headaches, insomnia, aggression, nervousness, muscle spasms, anxiety and in some cases depression. When caffeine is used while participating in athletic activities the performance is significantly higher for short periods of time; nevertheless, the long-term effects are detrimental to your mental and physical heath as well as your success.

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/caffeine.html

http://0-web.ebscohost.com.helin.uri.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=5a79b0e8-d6c3-4cdf-99b8-ab97b00e60c8%40sessionmgr10&hid=23

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/drugs.htm#caffeine

Four Loko: Causing a Uproar!

 Causing an Uproar!

        Please tune in! Watch this video to raise awareness on what happens when mixing alcohol and energy drinks! Four Loko is a beverage premixed by a company, try and imagine an inexperienced teen attempting to recreate this drink on their own? The results could be detrimental to your health.  It is imperative that you remember not to try this at home if you are not above the age of 21, and even then remember drinking and driving is illegal.  Lets keep everyone safe!

"Four Loko Drink Sickens Students: ABCNEWS.COM - Washington State attorney general wants to ban caffeinated alcoholic beverage."
....Thanks for watching!

Mixing Caffeine and Alcohol

Mixing Caffeine and Alcohol

Have you done this? What if you overdid it?

          Energy drinks with high levels of caffeine are becoming more and more popular, especially with college students. A new fad among students is using these energy drinks as a “chaser” for their alcohol or using them to make mixed drinks. Drinks like Red Bull, Monster and NOS are a couple of the more popular drinks. Students make these mix drinks to counteract the fatigue that comes along with consuming alcohol. Although these drinks may feel like they are “keeping you going,” they are in fact doing the opposite to your body.  Caffeine is a diuretic, which means it dehydrates you. That along with the dehydrating effects of alcohol will make your hangovers worse and increase the chances of alcohol poisoning (Keith Cambrel). The tired feeling you get after drinking is a mental reminder that it is time to put the drink down. That reminder will fail if you consume too much caffeine, endangering your ability to know when it is time to stop, possibly endangering your life in the process.

 Caffeine is a stimulant while alcohol is a depressant. Many people believe the false notion that these two drugs will cancel each other out when consumed together.  In reality, people that do this will feel the impairing affects of alcohol while also experiencing the rush of caffeine (Linda Shrieves). This means that your brain will make connections slower while your body will execute your actions faster. Basically, you will have more energy to make more stupid drunk decisions then if you consumed alcohol alone.....Stay tuned for more of alcohol and caffeine's effects!

Cambrel, Keith. "Mixing Alcohol & Energy Drinks May Spell Disaster." Mixing Alcohol & Energy Drinks May Spell Disaster. Collegiate Times, Web.

Shrieves, Linda. "Why Mixing Alcohol and Caffeine Is so Deadly." Orlando Sentinel. N.p., 18 Nov. 2010. Web. 24 

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment (image)

Physical Effects!

Physical Effects!

            A plethora of research on the physical effects of caffeine has been done; however, results and theories are extremely variable.  The most common side effects of caffeine physically are as follows: muscle spasms, headaches, hyperactivity and addiction.  REMEMBER caffeine is a drug, it is possible to become addicted!   Humans that consume 1000-1500mg a day are often put into a category of people with “caffeinism.” Most things are harmless in small doses, but when they become abused you can end up with unwanted and possibly harmful side effects.  Caffeinism is a mixture of dependency and unpleasant mental/physical conditions, some of these may include: irritability, uncontrollable muscle spasms, headaches, insomnia, irregular heart palpitations, nervousness and anxiety.   For every negative effect of caffeine produces, a positive ones presents itself.  Multiple research projects have linked caffeine to decreased risk for all sorts of cancer! If you care to read a interesting article or two I suggest  “Caffeinated Coffee May Reduce the Risk of Oral Cancers” published on SCIENCE DAILY, (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121210133456.htm ) this article is based off of research done by the American Cancer Society!  One of the common myths associated with caffeine is that it increases the risk for cardiovascular disease; this is false, little to no evidence has been found regarding this.  Another common myth is that caffeine will stunt your child’s growth; no scientific evidence is supportive! In addition to to some well researched physical effects, it is often forgotten how highly addictive caffeine can be.  Addiction can occur with repetitive use, eventually causing physical dependence.  Once a dependency, is created stopping your use of caffeine becomes a similar process as weaning yourself off of nicotine products.  It can be very stressful for you and those around you, so please monitor your daily caffeine intake!   Keep reading this week to learn about the physiological effects, how it effects athletes, what happens when mixed with alcohol, and some first hand research from a Dunkin Donuts employee! 

Malinauskas, Brenda M., Victor G. Aeby, and Reginald F. Overton. "A Survey of Energy Drink Consumption Patterns among College Students." BioMed Central | The Open Access Publisher. Nutrition Journal, 31 Oct. 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.biomedcentral.com/>.

Smith, Effects of caffeine on human behavior, Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 40, Issue 9, September 2002, Pages 1243-1255, ISSN 0278-6915, <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691502000960

  P . Nawrot , S. Jordan , J. Eastwood , J. Rotstein , A. Hugenholtz & M. Feeley (2003) Effects of caffeine on human health, Food Additives & Contaminants, 20:1, 1-30, DOI: 10.1080/0265203021000007840

Toxicity....

Is it Toxic?

            Caffeine, which is the world’s most psychoactive drug, is 100% legal! It is also highly unregulated by the FDA because of its low toxicity to the human body.  Caffeine has varying effects according to your gender, body size and the overall health of your system. It is extremely uncommon for death due to excessive caffeine ingestion; the acute lethal dosage of caffeine is 10 g/person, which is the equivalent of 80-100 cups of coffee.  Caffeine toxicity can present itself as irritability, nervousness, anxiety, depression, aggression, insomnia, gastrointestinal disturbances, elevated respiratory activity and mild muscle spasms.  Not to worry, no need to stop drinking your favorite energy drink or eating chocolate, because consuming a toxic amount of caffeine is highly unlikely without purposefully attempting such a task. 

http://whatdoesthesciencesay.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/energy-drinks/

          Above in the chart you can see that  one Wired X505 or Fixx contains 500mg in each bottle/can.  If you were to drink 4-5 of those in a day you would very quickly be approaching the highest dosages you should consume in a day (1000-1500mg).   Just imagine if you were using that drink as a mixer?  It would be all to easy to consume a dangerous amount (in addition to the alcohol)! Be wary of your energy drinks with high dosages, at some point just get some sleep!

Did you know you ingest drugs EVERYDAY?

What’s in your System?

What is the most widely used pharmacologically active substance in the world? The average human ingests it 365 days a year at daily events such as: weddings, breakfast, during party’s, funerals, lunch with grandma, what is it you may ask yourself? Caffeine! Didn’t see that coming did you?  As a society caffeine is ingested because its not only something you buy in a energy drink, coffee, or soda; however, it also exists naturally in tea, products containing cocoa, medications, and even some vegetables.  Caffeine’s effects on humans can be variable.   Most often its is consumed as a central nervous system stimulant.  It fleetingly keeps away drowsiness and restores your ability to focus, in general terms it keeps you awake!  In North America 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.
...How much do you know about caffeine, take this short quiz!
How much do you know about caffeine?

Malinauskas, Brenda M., Victor G. Aeby, and Reginald F. Overton. "A Survey of Energy Drink Consumption Patterns among College Students." BioMed Central | The Open Access Publisher. Nutrition Journal, 31 Oct. 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.biomedcentral.com/>.

Smith, Effects of caffeine on human behavior, Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 40, Issue 9, September 2002, Pages 1243-1255, ISSN 0278-6915, <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691502000960

  P . Nawrot , S. Jordan , J. Eastwood , J. Rotstein , A. Hugenholtz & M. Feeley (2003) Effects of caffeine on human health, Food Additives & Contaminants, 20:1, 1-30, DOI: 10.1080/0265203021000007840