Caffeine

Caffeine, it’s one of the most researched substances reported to help athletes perform better and train longer and harder. It’s also one of the world’s most popular supplement – whether you’re an athlete or just trying to make it through the day. Prof Chris McLellan, leading sports scientist, and Body Science Founder Greg Young talk about the effects of caffeine, overdosing, health benefits, long terms effects, using caffeine for performance, withdrawals and ‘adrenal fatigue’.

 

Summary Remarks

1. Caffeine exerts its effects on cognitive and physical function through adenosine A1 and A2 areceptor blockade in the CNS and peripheral tissues;
2. The mechanism currently believed to account for the ergogenic effects of caffeine is CNS activation resulting from adenosine receptor A1and A2a blockade not a shift in fuel utilization
3. 400 mg (∼5.5 mg kg for a 75 kg individual) of caffeine does not present a health risk (Doepker et al., 2016)
4. Lovallo et al (2005) reported habitual (5 days or more) consumers of moderate caffeine intake (300mg/day or 3 brewed cups of coffee) abolished the cortisol response to morning caffeine consumption.
5. Caffeine, in doses up to approximately 300 mg (∼4 mg kg−1),enhances a wide array of basic cognitive functions with minimal side effects by preventing alertness and attention decrements associated with suboptimal arousal, consistent with the Yerkes-Dodson inverted U-hypothesis
6. 50% of the non-alcoholic energy drink incidents were in children <6 years, and an additional 10.5% in children aged 6–12 years.(Seifert 2013)
7. Pregnant women 2.5mg/kg/day not associated with adverse outcomes (Wikoff et al 2017)
8. Moderate caffeine intake (~400mg/day) does not adversely effect cardiovascular health (Wikoff et al 2017).
9. The ability of caffeine to enhance cognitive and physical function is dose-dependent.