Caffeine in Athletics Essays -- Nutrition Sports Health Essays

Caffeine in Athletics The world’s most popular drug is legal, inexpensive, and believed to amplify workouts. It supposedly motivates athletes and helps them stay alert and focused while also boosting physical endurance by twenty to fifty percent. This stimulant is found naturally in sixty-three plants and is consumed by eighty percent of Americans. This white, bitter, crystalline substance is known as caffeine, and is commonly consumed in efforts to enhance athletic ability (http://gopher1.bu.edu/COHIS/substance/caffeine/about.htm). Caffeine is a very popular stimulant among athletes because most believe that it provides energy, increases alertness, and quickens reaction time. When in beverage form, caffeine reaches all body tissues within five minutes of ingestion. However, peak blood levels are reached in thirty minutes. Therefore, many cyclists consume a cup of coffee half an hour before short races begin. Others drink a bottle of coke diluted with water during the last half of longer races (http://www.roble.net/marquis/caffeine). The use of caffeine is controversial in the sports world, because it is a stimulant. In fact, the UCI forbids drinking caffeine in large quantities prior to competitions. But, why is there such a desire amongst athletes to consume this drug? Are its results really that effective? To answer these questions one must investigate how caffeine works. How does it affect the body? The exact process by which it affects the body is unknown. It is suspected that caffeine affects the nervous system by altering the perception of effort and exciting the neurons responsible for contracting muscles. It may also be accountable for causing more fat and less... ...1. Kaminsky, Martin, and Whaley (1998) Caffeine consumption habits do not influence the exercise blood pressure response following caffeine ingestion. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 38, 53-8. Pasman, van Baak, Jeukendrup, and de Haan (1995) The effect of different dosages of caffeine on endurance performance time. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 16, 225-30. Tarnolpolsky (1994) Caffeine and endurance performance. Sports Medicine, 18, 109-25. Wemple, Lamb, and McKeever (1997) Caffeine vs caffeine-free sports drinks: effects on urine production at rest and during prolonged exercise. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 18, 40-6. William (1991) Caffeine, neuromuscular function and high-intensity exercise performance. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 31, 481- 9.