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Caffeine: And Now For the Good News!by Susan O. Henry
They've been studying caffeine (again!), and this time, the news is all good. Once maligned as all-around bad for you, the lively substance has now been given a clean bill of health by ... well, everyone: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Surgeon General, National Academy of Science, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, National Cancer Institute, The Centers for Disease Control, American Cancer Society, National Research Council on Diet and Health, International Food Information Council, the Framingham Heart Study, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, and scores of researchers. So pour yourself "The Pause That Refreshes" and
join us for a look at the latest good-to-the-last-drop news. Debunking the MythsAccording to recent research and endorsed by the above organizations, "moderate" intake (variously defined as three cups, six cups, and 300 mg caffeine) does not increase the risk of, or contribute to:
The Performance-and-Endurance EnhancerAthletes of all persuasions have participated in tons of tests to evaluate caffeine as an enhancer of performance and endurance, and the results, say researchers at Canada's University of Guelph, are "clear as a bell: caffeine works." The tests show that ingesting 330 mg (or 5 mg per kilogram of body weight) 30 minutes to an hour before workouts results in longer endurance, faster times, less exertion, less fatigue, and more rapid recovery -- up to 30 percent better in each category. The most effective caffeine, though, is in tablet form, not in coffee, because the 100-plus other compounds in coffee probably block some of the effect of caffeine. Megadoses, however, are not the right answer. Persons who do not drink caffeine steadily get the best workout-enhancer effect. In fact many groups, including the International Olympic Committee, forbid "very high doses," which they define as 600+ mg. per day (about 5 cups of drip-brewed "regular"). The other caf caveat: Don't consume while working out. As a potent diuretic, caffeine dehydrates; what exercisers take for fatigue could be serious dehydration.
The Fat BurnerNone of the research reports flat-out recommends caffeine as a weight-loss/control catalyst, but the implications are pretty clear.
How Much is in What?Categorical caffeine content varies widely, as much as 50 percent plus or minus. The following are "approximate averages" in milligrams.
Caf and KidsWhile all reports conclude that caffeine causes no significant loss of calcium in adults, it's an entirely different case for children. It's widely thought that coffee will, as kids say, "stump your growth." It does worse than stunt; it destroys: caffeine actually dissolves the calcium in young bones. When a test group of 13-to-18-year-olds drank an unsweetened
caffeinated drink, their urinary calcium output increased by 25 percent (to 20 mg per hour
for three hours). When they drank caffeine-plus-sugar, their calcium loss was 30 mg/hour.
Phosphorus, found in most colas, accelerates bone loss even more; one cola costs as much
as 120 milligrams of calcium. Furthermore, a soft drink after a workout also depletes
children's sodium, chloride, and potassium, causing sore muscles and delayed recovery time
after exercise. Special thanks to Susan O. Henry, SusanHenry@aol.com, for her gracious permission to reprint the article. She drinks Hills Bros 50% all day and works, jogs, and workout-walks around the family farm near Salem, Oregon. Her article is at http://www.fitnesslink.com/food/research.htm#caff. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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