Old Wives, mothers and gym coaches have told me that drinking a mug of coffee before exercise will dehydrate me. Well, they were wrong.
"In your face," I added.
The University of Connecticut released a study recently that shows that drinking caffeine before activity doesn't mess up a person's electrolytes, heat tolerance, constitutional fortitude or vim.
Researchers of history and popular culture believe the long-held bad press about caffeine was started by Otto Von Bismarck in one of his more bizarre attempts to eliminate the political and cultural strength of the Roman Catholic Church.
Caffeine is a performance-enhancing drug that has been outlawed at Olympic Games. The signs of caffeine use are: Jitters, Coffee Stains on Shirt, Empty Pop Can and Restless Leg.
Doctors do not agree why the caffeine boosts performance.
One theory is that it may help turn fat into fuel, other think that effects are merely psychosomatic.
Rogue doctors who live on the edge tend to think that it has something to do with caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, trimethylxanthine,theine, methyltheobromine) traveling from a cup or mug into the mouth. The caffeine gets deposited into the stomach and then the bloodstream. The blood carries the caffeine to the brain. The nerve cells in the brain begin to attach to caffeine instead of the drowsiness-causing adenosine (2R,3R,4R,5R)-2-(6-aminopurin-9-yl)- 5-(hydroxymethyl)oxolane-3,4-diol). The nerve cells in the brain mistake caffeine for andenosine and fill up on it. The caffeine perks you up until room is made for more adenosine. The effects are not permanent and eventually the caffeine user will need more coffee or sleep.
Imagine that the brain is a man at a restaurant. Caffeine is the bread that is served before the meal. The man, who represents the brain, fills up on the bread. He cannot eat the adenosine sandwich.
If you're thinking about adding caffeine to your exercise routine, you may want to ask a doctor. How about a Sports Medicine Specialist? If you want to pick your own doctor, click here.
