Not a lot of people know that coffee was first discovered some 1000 years ago. Nowadays, coffee is a regular part of life for some 75% of all Americans. These people consume it on a regular basis. Even though a lot of time has passed since coffee was first introduced to people, no one still knows for sure all the affects it has on the body. Out of all the stimulant drugs out there, caffeine is mostly used. Apart from coffee, caffeine can also be found in tea, chocolate and soft drinks. Not a lot of people know that athletes and triathletes use caffeine in order to better their performance.
What happens when caffeine enter the body
Once a person consumes caffeine, the intestines and the stomach absorb it. People should know that blood levels reach its peak some 50 minutes after consumption. Once inside the blood flow, caffeine causes several responses because it is a stimulant. It is known to increase blood pressure, pulse rate and acid production. It decreases fat stores, on the other hand. In some people this effect lasts for 4 hours while some experience it for 12 hours.
Caffeine and health
People should know that caffeine affects the health and it can cause long term effects and short term effects. Ulcer symptoms and acid reflux are a possibility due to the increased acid production in the stomach. Insomnia, poor sleep and anxiety are pretty common. There are evidences of connections chronic between caffeine consumption and certain diseases. For instance, a person who drinks coffee has a greater chance of suffering from a heart disease.
Caffeine and athletic performance
First of all, people need to know that the topic is still pretty controversial. However, experts do agree upon several topics. The first one is that caffeine does not seem to benefit short term and high intensity exercise like sprinting, for instance. The second one is that caffeine consumption does better the performance in endurance sports. People depend on glycogen when they exercise and feel exhausted when it is gone. When glycogen is gone, the body starts to use fat as fuel. Caffeine is known to make the body use fat instead of glycogen. When this happens, the glycogen remains intact and people will be able to exercise longer. Apart from this, caffeine can also alter the perception of how hard people are working. However, people need to be aware that caffeine can cause certain side effects and that not all people have the same metabolism and therefore it will not work the same with everyone.
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