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Science Coffee and carbs improve exhausted muscles faster in athletes
Science Coffee and carbs improve exhausted muscles faster in athletes | Coffee and carbs improve exhausted muscles faster in athletes |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Saturday, 12 July 2008 | |
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Science DiscussionsDr. John A. Hawley—a professor of Exercise Physiology at the School of Medical Sciences at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT), in Bundoora, Victoria, Australia—was the leader of the study performed on the relationship of exercise and caffeine/carbohydrates. The results of the Hawley study was published online on May 8, 2008 in the Journal of American Physiology (a publication of The American Physiological Society) under the title “High rates of muscle glygogen resynthesis after exhaustive exercise when carbohydrate is co-ingested with caffeine.” The researchers stated in their abstract that they “determined the effects of the co-ingestion of caffeine with carbohydrate on rates of muscle glycogen resynthesis during recovery from exhaustive exercise in 7 trained subjects who completed 2 experimental trials in a randomized, double-blind crossover design.” They went on to state, “Prior to an experiment subjects performed exhaustive cycling and consumed a low-carbohydrate diet. The following morning subjects reported to the lab and rode until volitional fatigue.” After completing this second exercise ride, the subjects, who were all experienced endurance cyclists, consumed either (1) a drink containing only carbohydrates or (2) a drink containing carbohydrates and high levels of caffeine. The amount of caffeine consumed per subject (dependent on individual weight) was 8 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight, or the equivalent to about five or six cups of coffee. Muscle and blood samples were then taken throughout the subject’s recovery time, at which time they rested at the laboratory over a four-hour period. The researchers took several biopsies of the muscles of each subject and numerous blood samples. Each biopsy/sample was taken to determine the amount of glycogen being replenished in the muscle, along with the concentrations of glycogen-regulating metabolites and hormones in the bloodstream. The two-session bike ride was repeated seven to ten days later. At this time, the subjects reversed the drink consumed: the subjects consuming the carbohydrate-only drink in the first session were given the carbohydrate/caffeine drink and the subjects consuming the carbohydrate/caffeine drink in the first session were given the carbohydrate-only drink. What did the researchers find out in their study? Did caffeine help? Please read on. |
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