Alternative Health Blog

The Summer Olympics in Beijing are no doubt a caffeinated event. No, not for the spectators in the stands or those of us trying to stay up late enough to watch the prime-time gold medal competition. It's the athletes themselves who are making sure to get enough coffee or caffeinated sports drinks before they go for the gold.

When the World Anti-Doping agency removed caffeine from its list of banned substance in 2004, that allowed Olympians to see how coffee and caffeine drinks fit into their training regimens.

Espresso, anyone? Australian sports official and physician Dr. Peter Larkins said there is a distinct increase in caffeine use by his country’s athletes. He and others have no doubts Americans and Europeans are following suit.

"Caffeine acts to make you more alert, keep you more awake, increases your blood pressure and increases your heart rate and it does tend to offset fatigue – all the things that an athlete would like to have,” says Larkins.

Now, those are not exactly all effects we want to repeat with a morning cup, especially that business of raising heart rate and blood pressure. It’s a good reminder that coffee is as much medicinal as ritual. Of course, the exercisers among might take note that a cup of caffeine (or even a half-cup) can rev up morning workouts.

As a long-time researcher of caffeine and athlete performance, Terry Graham at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, says coffee consumption will most help endurance athletes at the Summer Games who are covering longer distances and times. His sports science lab and others have showed caffeine doesn't much help the sprinter because caffeine's primary effect is protecting glycogen/carbohydrate stores during the first 15 minutes of exercise to be used later in the same session.

Even so, most team sport athletes anecdotally believe it helps them stay alert and competitive.

"I quit coffee a few years ago," said Graham. "I observe a lot of the negative effects in our research studies. But I started drinking it again because I like it and I have the distinct advantage of knowing exactly how it affects my insulin resistance." Graham averages about three cups per day, which he said fits just fine in his fitness program.

"My only rule is to finish my day's coffee by lunchtime," said Graham. "That's because I like to sleep at night."

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.