ATHLETE COFFEE DRINKERS...and how it helps their training and racing
Athlete coffee drinkers should perk up as a daily dose of coffee is finally being recognized for it's beneficial properties.
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This revelation came after a 20 year study of male and female athlete coffee drinkers. That might explain why many athletes have long believed that drinking coffee will actually physically pick them up and enhance endurance and over-all athletic performance.
Most of us link coffee with caffeine and the buzz and lift it gives us as we make our way through our busy lives and indeed it does seem that athlete coffee drinkers have more energy on a more regular basis than those who abstain. However, it has also been found that coffee might also contain beneficial antioxidants that help fight off the free radicals that invade our bodies on a daily basis. In the study it was found there was a lower incidence of heart disease in those involved in the study when compared with national averages. HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU DRINK? Even this coffee lover would be hard-pressed to put back 6 cups of coffee a day even if it is true that athlete coffee drinkers perform better up by adopting this practice. My personal take on it is to enjoy a cup or two(or maybe 3)of your favorite coffee per day, and not go over-board. I'm sure like with most things in life that offers any semblance of enjoyment, moderation is the key. It does bring up an interesting point however. Like the pro triathlete who insisted on his 2 or 3 cups of strong, black coffee every morning before his Ironman race. I remember two years in a row when he finished 6th overall in Ironman Canada. Makes you think there is something in it. BANNED SUBSTANCE- Also, caffeine is a banned substance when it comes to Olympic athletes, so that in itself might tell you that there is some validity to the fact that it might give the coffee drinking athletes a competitive edge. Of course I don't think a few cups of coffee is enough to get you into "hot water" but caffeine pills might. I have tried coffee myself before 10 KM races in the past and did find that I got a bit of a boost from it in the early going of the race, and others report that it was a big help to their endurance and drinking coffee does indeed pick them up physically as well as mentally. Just thought I would pass this on, because like the egg, it seems like all the bad press for coffee is coming to an end. I would say enjoy your coffee, but use good judgment and not over-do it as most likely even the coffee drinker who enjoys a single cup of coffee a day will feel a bit of an increase in alertness and energy. As far as incorporating jolts of strong coffee into your race morning preparations if you plan on becoming one of the growing number of athlete coffee drinkers, I would strongly recommend testing it out in training first. Some people have adverse effects from coffee and although it may improve the performance for some athlete coffee drinkers, there are others it may not agree with and is best avoided on race day.
RESULTS FROM SOME STUDIES DONE ON THE EFFECTS OF COFFEE Recent Harvard studies, involving more than 193,000 people, found that regular coffee drinkers had a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who abstained. The more they drank, the lower their risk. Despite coffee’s reputation for being bad for the heart, recent epidemiological studies haven’t found a connection; some even suggest coffee can be protective. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that healthy people 65 and over who drank four or more cups of caffeinated beverages daily (primarily coffee) had a 53 percent lower risk of heart disease than non-coffee-drinkers. Coffee has more antioxidants per serving than blueberries do, making it the top source of antioxidants in our diets. Antioxidants help quell inflammation, which might explain coffee’s effect in inflammation-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Magnesium found in coffee might help make cells more sensitive to insulin (increased insulin sensitivity results in healthier blood glucose levels). Caffeine seems to have its own beneficial effects; the diabetes studies found that those who drank regular coffee had lower risks of the disease than decaf drinkers. Caffeinated-coffee drinking has also been linked with reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease, gallstones, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
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