Caffeine and Other Stimulants: The Performance Advantage?
by Dave Sandler

Look anywhere from breakfast grills to nightclubs and you will find a caffeinated beverage on the list. Chances are someone walking by or sitting next to you is sucking down a super-charged beverage and more than likely, it is not his or hers first of the day! America is addicted to caffeine and the despite its bad rap, energy drink sales continues to grow at a faster pace then ever before.

You have to wonder what you re paying for? Why does it cost $2 or $3 bucks for a single drink? Is there really that many extra things in there that costs so much? At around 30% of all of revenues going to advertising, Red Bull spends more of your money letting people know about it, than the top 4 or 5 other brands make in total yearly revenue. Interestingly the ingredients are rather cheap, but marketing is not. The combined energy drink market is gigantic at more then $3.5 billion in annual sales. And if you think it is slowing, you couldn’t be further from right; sales are estimated to more than double by 2011! But if you think that is bad, compare it to the nearly $17 billion spent on coffee, and you realize, we have an epidemic. Or do we?

Dangerous or Hype?
Of course due to its alarming growth people are beginning to wonder if too much caffeine is a bad thing. And haters, are looking for ways to topple the giants by claiming that caffeine is dangerous. Other than increasing blood pressure slightly (no, not causing it to be alarmingly dangerous), nervousness, restlessness, gastrointestinal distress, and a fast heart rate, there are no proven studies that link caffeine to major health risks. Certainly it can keep you up at night and that in and of itself is a reason to take it if you are pulling the study all-nighter or hitting the late night bar scene. In fact studies have shown that even single dose applications of more then 400mg have not hurt athletic performance (although rare, read further to see why).

Truth be told, you are more likely to experience problems from all the other stuff put in to the drinks rather then from the caffeine. Most drinks have just enough caffeine to give you the buzz and just enough to give the drop off at the same time. Why the drop off? There are physiological reasons, but consider this: if you did not drop off, you wouldn’t need another drink and from a marketing perspective, that spells bad business. Your friendly neighborhood coffee shop is banking on it, as is your nightclub mixologist. When your “drops” become harder and energy levels decrease, you turn for another boost and it is easy to find.

So Caffeine Is Not Bad, But Can It Help?
For me to believe a causal positive effect of using anything to improve performance, I need to see the research. And not just any research, but good stuff that is performed on exercising populations. Caffeine is one of those chemicals that has undergone rigorous testing both for endurance and strength type exercises. And it has been used in studies with exercising and non-exercising populations. So the research is plentiful and its effects are undisputed. Low dosage caffeine up to 250mg has shown to have positive effects on both endurance and strength. It has been shown to improve energy metabolism and helping move fat for exercise and it has been shown to improve reaction, coordination, and mental acuity. With all of these benefits, it is hard not to believe that it can help. So the question really should be, how much and who does it help the most? Heavy duty caffeine users need not add any more to their diet and in fact, if you have too much caffeine, the jittery effects can be counterproductive to exercise. Having said that, studies have shown that habitual caffeine users have still seen improvements with 350mg or more caffeine. For most though, 100mg is about right as the extra will cause your nervous activity to make you more apt to over-exert yourself and lose control. If you are considering starting to use caffeine, 60-100mg is a good start. But be careful, you need to get used to it. For those regular users, add 100-200mg right before you exercise and you should be good to go. While these are just guidelines, keep in mind that too much muscle activation means quicker to fatigue and that itself is counterproductive to exercise. For endurance athletes, you are in an even better situation since the most promising research suggests endurance activity benefits most from the added effect of improving metabolic activity. In English, more energy, means greater distances in shorter time. For strength athletes, the jury is still out, although as a former strength athlete, I can vouch for the effectiveness of being more alert and having the adrenaline kicking!

What About That Drop Off?
One for the great perils of caffeine use is that you literally become addicted to the constant rush and need the regular pick-me-ups to combat the drop-off syndrome. And to make matters worse, sugar has a similar effect and is found with most applications of caffeine. Of course sugar is needed because raw caffeine tastes nasty and only us black coffee drinkers can appreciate its fine smoothness. Most drinks come with both and since sugar and caffeine each provide a rush that fades within an hour or two, it is inevitable that you will bonk from your caffeine-sugar concoctions. There is a fix, but you are unlikely to find this in energy drinks, and that is to add some protein or other compounds that help elevate anabolic environment without further increasing adrenaline and other catecholamine (derived from amino acids and produced in response to stress, usually increasing heart rate among other things) production. While research is limited, the thought is similar to eating a regular meal that has sugar, proteins and fat. Certainly if you have a huge meal, you are likely to feel tired, but if you take regular snacks with combined nutrients (rather then just sugar), you are likely to reduce the bonk effect. Additionally, adding substances like creatine and beta-alanine may also reduce the bonking effect. And for those interested in performance gains, that means, stay away from the energy drinks and look for a supplement that can avoid the bonk, especially if you are competing in long endurance races or several back to back competitions. More importantly, since the drop-off from energy drinks is inevitable, if you continue to suck them back you also reduce performance as the cumulative effect of the caffeine will likely cause you to become too jittery to be effective.

What About Ginseng, Guarana, Taurine and Other “Energy Providers”
Ginseng and Guarana are just two of the many “natural” stimulants that are added to energy drinks, cola and other beverages. In general, they offer similar effects to caffeine and have been reported to help with mental alertness. As with most of these types of stimulants, little research exists proving efficacy but for that matter, little exists proving harmful effects. Taurine acts as a metabolic transmitter, may have a detoxifying effect, and has been reported to strengthen cardiac contractility. Additional limited research has shown that taurine may also help with water retention, which in theory could be another plus for it being added to caffeine drinks (however, more likely it is used because of it affect on heart rate to stimulate adrenaline). All in all, lots more stuff to put in a product and add to the label in hopes of trying to stimulate a greater effect. And if you have read my other articles, it is just another example of throwing the plate of spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks. No need for it, no proof of its benefits for normal healthy individuals.

And The Survey Says!
A little caffeine is a good thing. Do not go with more than a 200mg dose and try closer to 100mg dosages. Don’t exceed more then 600mg in a day (and really you should try to keep it under 400mg).  And parents, don’t worry, it is not harmful to younger kids (research has shown young kids can actually benefit in health related issues). BUT it can become addictive and getting off the stuff may cause adverse reactions such as headaches and nausea for the first few days. If you use it to give the boost in the morning and only before you exercise in small quantities you will be fine. Don’t forget that all that sugar that goes along with it can add tons of unwanted calories. But that is another story.

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