Caffeine,+General-Marcile+and+Claudia

Caffeine "Caffeine is a pharmacologically active alkaloid of the group of methylxanthines.. It is a liposoluble substance absorbed quickly and efficiently through the gastrointestinal tract with 100% bioavailability. It is present in many types of foods such as chocolate, teas, energetic drinks and coffee, the latter being the main source of this substance. It is considered the most used psychoactive substance in the world and about 80% of the population makes daily use." [] (1)

"Caffeine, is a colorless powder at room temperature and odorless with a slightly bitter taste, is considered to be relatively non-toxic." []

1. Definition from NCCA regulations: "Caffeine is a bitter alkaloid found especially in coffee, tea, cacao, and kola nuts and is used medicinally as a stimulant and diuretic. 1 Caffeine is the world's most commonly consumed psychoactive chemical. 2 It works by stimulating the central nervous system (CNS), heart rate, and respiration, and this action has been shown to increase energy, decrease perception of fatigue, and improve sense of performance. 2 Because of caffeine’s potential benefits in performance, several studies and review articles on its use in athletes have been published. 3 The consensus opinion is that caffeine is effective as an ergogenic aid for some athletes, but dosing, timing, and form are important considerations." []



"Caffeine Dose. Caffeine is a “controlled or restricted substance” as defined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Athletes are allowed up to 12 ug caffeine per milliliter of urine before it is considered illegal." []
 * 2. IOC Regulations:**

Although caffeine is a "controlled or restricted drug" by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), most athletes that consume caffeine beverages prior to exercise would never approach the illegal limit following a competition. Therefore,"caffeine occupies a unique position in the sports world. It is an inherent part of the diet of many athletes although it has no nutritional value and also has the potential to be a "legal" ergogenic aid in many exercise situations. While it is common to equate caffeine with coffee, it should be noted that rarely is coffee the vehicle of administration in research studies. Therefore, it may be misleading to equate the two because coffee contains hundreds of additional chemicals." (2)

3. Where It originates: "The word “caffeine” originated from the German word “//kaffee”// and the French word “//café”//, both directly translating to mean “coffee.” Caffeine’s chemical name is 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, based on its formula, C8H10N4O2, and molecular structure. Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant that can be isolated from over sixty plants, but can also be made synthetically and added to our everyday food products and medications. In it's pure form caffeine is a white powder and is very bitter. Much of the modern population uses caffeine as a stimulant, exciting the brain and nervous system while fighting fatigue. Making caffeine one of the most widely consumed psychoactive agents in the world!" [] "Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance found in the leaves, seeds and/or fruits of at least 63 plant species worldwide and is part of a group of compounds known as methylxanthines. The most commonly known sources of caffeine are coffee, cocoa beans, kola nuts and tea leaves. [Barone and Roberts, 1996; Frary et al., 2005]" []

4. Physiology: "Caffeine appears to be taken up by of all tissues of the body, making it difficult to independently study the effects of caffeine on the central nervous system, the muscles, and fat tissue in the exercising human. It is also apparent that different mechanisms are probably responsible for performance enhancement in different types of exercise." Caffeine is metabolized rapidly in the liver and stimulates the release of epinephrine. It is believed that the metabolites of caffeine, paraxanthine, theophylline, and theobromide are potential metabolic stimuli. (2) I find this to be very interesting because as a in the 1970's and 80's I was treated with theophylline for asthma. I remember that theophylline made me jittery and gave me a lot of energy. []

"Caffeine is metabolized by the liver before it is excreted by the kidneys; only about 10% is excreted unchanged." []

5.How ingested, where purchased, cost: Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world. Up to 90% of Americans take it regularly, usually in the form of coffee, tea, or soft drinks, sometimes in a tablet (No-Doz and others). []

Amazon.com lists 510 products under "Sports Nutrition: Energy & Endurance : "caffeine". On their site (in addition to the above listed products) they have caffeinated Peanut Butter as well as gum, mints, water, even lip balm! Costs for products are generally inexpensive, with many choices under $5.00.

6. Effectiveness: There are some health benefits for adults who drink caffeinated beverages. Caffeine consumption may help reduce the risk of several chronic diseases, including diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, and colorectal cancer, and may improve immune function. "Large prospective cohort studies in the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, and the United States have found caffeine consumption is associated with reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, although the mechanisms are unclear. Several other cohort studies have found that caffeine consumption from coffee and other beverages decreases the risk of Parkinson’s Disease in men, as well as in women who have never used post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy. Epidemiological studies also suggest that coffee consumption may decrease the risk of liver injury, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer), although the reasons for these results have not been determined." []

Researchers at Johns Hopkins university have studied the effects of coffee on memory and recall. Below is a link to the video explaining this study:
 * [|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quvKBJKoRgo#action=share]**

There are three major theories for the ergogenic effect of caffeine during exercise. The first theory suggests a direct effect on some portion of the central nervous system that affects the perception of effort and/or the neural activation of muscle contraction. The second theory proposes a direct effect of caffeine on skeletal muscle performance. This may involve ion transport (including Ca2+ transport) and direct effects on key regulatory enzymes, including those controlling glycogen breakdown. Support for these suggestions is largely derived from //in vitro// investigations in which high pharmacological concentrations of caffeine are used to demonstrate effects. If these "testtube" results have any relevance during exercise, the most likely candidates for contributing to an ergogenic effect of caffeine are changes in calcium activity and in the ability of the muscle to pump potassium from the extracellular fluid to the interior of the muscle fibers; caffeine levels during exercise are similar to the lowest concentrations of caffeine used //in vitro// that can affect these processes. The third theory is the classic or "metabolic" explanation that involves an increase in fat oxidation and a reduction in carbohydrate oxidation. In this scheme, caffeine directly enhances the activity of enzymes that break down fat into fatty acids or caffeine increases circulating levels of epinephrine (EPI), which in turn mobilize free-fatty acids from triglyceride (TG) stores in fat or muscle tissue. The increased fatty acid availability increases muscle fat oxidation and reduces carbohydrate oxidation, thereby improving the performance of exercise that becomes exhausting when carbohydrate stores reach low levels. (2)

7.Research: Study #1 This study compared the exercise catecholamine and metabolic responses to a caffeine challenge in trained subjects before and after a 6-wk period of increased caffeine ingestion. Trained subjects (n = 6) were challenged with 500 mg of caffeine followed by prolonged exercise before and after 6 wk of increased caffeine ingestion (500 mg ingested before each daily run). A control group (n = 6) of trained subjects followed the same protocol except for caffeine ingestion. Acute caffeine ingestion resulted in increased plasma epinephrine and decreased respiratory exchange ratio (RER) during exercise. After 6 wk of caffeine supplementation, the epinephrine response to exercise or caffeine plus exercise was decreased, although the latter still resulted in a lower RER value compared with exercise without caffeine ingestion. Activity of key metabolic enzymes (hexokinase, citrate synthase, phosphorylase, and 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase) from biopsies of the gastrocnemius showed no response to 6 wk of this increased adrenergic receptor stimulation and, on the basis of the lower RER, enhanced fat metabolism. This study suggests that caffeine ingestion by trained subjects causes increases in plasma epinephrine and reduces the RER during exercise. However, habitual stimulation results in a general dampening of the epinephrine response to caffeine or exercise. There was no indication that increased adrenergic stimulation and fat oxidation caused any adaptation in the activity of metabolic enzymes.(3)

Study #2 The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a caffeine-containing supplement on bench press and leg extension strength, as well as time to exhaustion (TTE), during cycle ergometry at 80% of VO2peak. The study used a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover design. Twenty-one untrained men were randomly assigned to take either the supplement or placebo first. The supplement contained 400 mg of caffeine, 66.7 mg of capsicum extract, 10 mg of bioperine, and 40 mg of niacin, and the placebo was microcrystalline cellulose. Sixty minutes after taking either the supplement or placebo, the subjects were tested for 1RM bench press and leg extension strength, as well as TTE. After 1 week of rest, the subjects ingested the opposite substance (supplement or placebo) and were retested for 1RM bench press and leg extension strength, as well as TTE. The results indicated that the supplement had no effect on 1RM bench press strength, 1RM leg extension strength, or TTE at 80% VO2peak. These findings did not support the use of this caffeine-containing supplement as an ergogenic aid in untrained individuals. (4)

Study #3 The purpose of this study was to determine the benefits of Turkish Coffee on exercise and measure energy, focus and alertness in healthy active adults who were regular coffee drinkers. The study used 10 men and 10 women mean age 24 years old. They ingested both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee in a randomized double blind study. Performance measures included a 5 km time trial, upper and lower body reaction to visual stimuli, and multiple object tracking. Plasma caffeine concentrations, blood pressure, heart rate and subjective measures of energy, focus and alertness were assessed at baseline (BL), 30-min following coffee ingestion (30+), prior to endurance exercise (PRE) and immediately-post 5 km (IP). Metabolic measures [VO2, V E, and respiratory exchange rate (RER)] were measured during the 5 km. Ingestion of TC resulted in a significant elevation in plasma caffeine concentrations within 30-min of consumption. TC ingestion resulted in significant performance benefits in reaction time and an increase in subjective feelings of energy. No significant differences were noted in time for the 5 km between trials, however 60 % of the participants performed the 5 km faster during the TC trial and were deemed responders. When comparing TC to DC in responders only, significantly faster times were noted when consuming TC compared to DC.(5)

Study #4 One of the components of this study evaluated how the long term effects of caffeine on our brains. Firstly, when caffeine is consumed it invades the adenosine recpetors in our brain(adenosine, is the chemical in our brain that is involved in our sleeping mechanism) which then takes over the receptors causing the brain to wake up rather than go to "sleep" or cause any feelings of tiredness and sluggishness. However as one continues to consume caffeine on a regular and daily basis the brain then begins to create more adenosine receptors but the consumption of caffeine will just take over the new receptors along with the already existing receptors. Therefore, when an individual has consumed caffeine at a consistent rate and decided to not consume caffeine one day the withdrawal symptoms will indeed be present. The reasoning behind the withdrawal symptoms is because the brain has a surplus of adenosine receptors which contributed to symptoms such as headaches, drowsiness, fatigue and an overall negative mood.(6) This video shows a visual representation on how caffeine affects the adenosine receptors in the brain and illustrates what goes on in the brain when a person decides to consume caffeine on a given day. []

Study #5 The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of caffeine on a varitety of athletes that participated in various different sports ranging from marathon runners, cyclists, swimmers and rowers. The subjects in the study were given a certain amount of caffeine dependent upon what sport they belonged to, the caffeine was administered 60 minutes or more before before they began participating in their activity. However, the subjects were also given a placebo in order to compare the improvements or if there weren't any improvements made between the consumption of caffeine and the placebo. An example would be for instance, one of the studies of 15 male distance runners were given 3mg/kg, 60 minutes before their activity, which was an 8km (~4 miles) run on a track. The caffeine was consumed to see if it would enhance the subject's performance, which the results indicated that there was indeed an improvement of 23.8 second/1.2% improvement in the runners' run time versus no improvement on the placebo. One of the most successful responses to caffeine was in the case of the subjects that were 9 male and female trained cyclists. They had to cycle for 2 hours at 80r/min. The subjects were given a total caffeine dose of 500 mg, 250 mg were given 60 minutes before the exercise and then 7 additional doses during the exercise which contributed to the total of 500 mg of caffeine. The caffeine was administered for an enhanced performance. The results showed an increase of 7% in work performance in comparison to the placebo. The second most successful trial was in the case of the well trained swimmers that consisted of 11 males and females, these subjects received 6mg/kg of caffeine 60 minutes before their race. The caffeine was testing to see if there was an enhanced performance in the swimmers during a 1500m freestyle race which the results indicate that their was an improvement, which in fact there was. The results indicated that the swimmers had a 23 seconds improvement however, the caffeine consumption did affect their substrate and electrolyte balance. Despite, the many successes, there were some cases were the caffeine had no effect in the case of elite and highly trained swimmers that consisted of 15 males and females that were given 2 mg/kg of caffeine 60 minutes before their 100m race (best stroke). There was no difference in the reaction time with any of the subjects. (7)

Study #6 One of the aspects in this study was to see the effects that caffeine had on athletes that participated in endurance exercises. In one of their studies it revealed that caffeine had increased performance in short-term cyclists and running events that lasted roughly about 5 minutes, as well as short sprints and power exercises that were lasted less than 3 minutes. There was evidence that caffeine had improved peak power output, speed and isokinetic strength in sprint and power exercises that relied on phosphogen system. However, the study also found that activities that densely relied on the glycolytic system showed that there were no improvements when the individual consumed caffeine instead it seemed to be more harmful than anything. Despite of this, there were other studies where soccer players consumed 6mg/kg per caffeine and exhibited an improvement in their sprinting explosions that lasted about 4 seconds. (8)

References: (1) Arq. Gastroenterol. vol.52 no.1 São Paulo Jan./Mar. 2015 (2)**SSE#60, Volume 9 (1996), Number 1** (4) //Beck TW, Housh TJ, Malek MH, Mielke M, Hendrix R.// //J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Sep; 22(5):1654-8.// //(5)// //Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition// 2015,**12**:37 doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0098-3 (6) Harland, B F. "Caffeine and Nutrition." //Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) //, 16.7-8 (2000): 522-526. (7) Burke, Louise M. "Caffeine And Sports Performance." Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism 33.6 (2008): 1319-1334. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Oct. 2015. (8)  Sökmen, Bülent, Lawrence Armstrong, William Kraemer, Douglas Casa, Joao Dias, Daniel Judelson, and Carl Maresh. "Caffeine Use in Sports: Considerations for the Athlete." //Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research //, 22.3 (2008): 978-986.
 * (3)** Bangsbo, J., K. Jacobsen, N. Nordberg, N.J. Christensen, and T. Graham. (1992). Acute and habitual caffeine ingestion and metabolic responses to steady-state exercise. //J. Appl. Physiol.// 72:1297-1303