Chocolate, soft drinks, sport and energy drinks, tea and coffee all contain caffeine. The substance is also available as an over-the-counter supplement. Weightlifters use caffeine to increase concentration and to enhance lifting performance, but this use is linked to health dangers, and when taken with ephedrine or certain types of herbal teas, can even cause death in young athletes, according to the MassGeneral Hospital for Children.
Physical Effects
The effects of caffeine vary from person to person. Body metabolism, diet and the amount of caffeine ingested are all factors relating to how the body reacts to the substance. Neal J. Smatresk, a biologist at the University of Texas at Arlington, explains that the body creates phosphodiesterase (PDE), a chemical substance that assists in breaking down another chemical messenger in the body, known as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (or cAMP). Caffeine slows or stops cAMP from breaking down the PDE, and this results in an amplified heartbeat and increased force in muscle contractions.
Performance
Caffeine is used as an ergogenic (energy generating) stimulant. According to the SportMed Web at Rice University, it is used as a supplement by athletes involved in sports that require enhanced attention and endurance. It is taken as an oral supplement, or ingested by eating caffeine-containing food and drink. The International Olympic Committee lists caffeine under its "restricted use" category. Levels of 12mg per milliliter of urine are considered casual use and pass Olympic tests, but levels greater than this are considered illegal and are viewed as an attempt at doping.
Risk
Caffeine has negative effects, including dehydration and abdominal cramps, that inhibit performance lifting. MassGeneral cites caffeine risks as "nervousness, wakefulness, upset stomach, increased blood pressure and increased need to urinate," and reports the death of 17 athletes as a result of caffeine combined with herbal supplements. Caffeine is also a diuretic, and its effects include dehydration, diarrhea and cramps, according to SportsMed Web.
Expert Opinion
Studies of the affects of caffeine on athletes have conflicting results. In 1992, after an evaluation of 20 professional athletes, a landmark study in the "British Journal of Sports Medicine" reported that, "...caffeine can favourably affect some strength parameters in highly resistance-trained males." In 2010, a group of researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology reported the results of a test involving 13 males which found the exact opposite effects on muscle recovery after taking caffeine pills. The Norwegian researchers concluded that muscle strength was actually reduced after ingesting caffeine. The effects of caffeine differ from athlete to athlete and are dependent on individual factors, including how quickly the body breaks down the caffeine.
Member Comments