Caffeine is a drug that can be used to enhance your exercise. But how much is too much?

Many elite and recreational athletes turn to the world’s most popular drug – caffeine – to boost their performance in training or racing.

But can you take too much before or during a workout or competition?

“Of course, yes – like anything, too much can be dangerous, and not everyone responds to caffeine in the same way,” Susan Kitchen, nutritionist, triathlon coach and athlete patient, wrote in Outside magazine.

Natural caffeine is found in foods such as coffee, tea and chocolate. It is also artificially produced and added to sports gels, chews, energy drinks, sports drinks, chewing gum and dietary supplements. It stimulates the central nervous system by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain, reducing perceived effort, delaying fatigue, reducing pain, and improving memory, attention and motivation, according to Kitchen.

To enhance athletic performance

This drug improves various aspects of exercise performance in many but not all studies, according to the National Institutes of Health. Benefits include muscular endurance, movement speed and muscle strength, sprinting, jumping and throwing, as well as many specific aerobic and anaerobic sports activities.

Aerobic endurance appears to be the form of exercise with the most consistent to the greatest benefits of caffeine consumption, although the extent of its effects varies among people, according to the NIH.

Kitchen notes that the body’s response to caffeine is individual, adding that some are caffeine-resistant due to genetics that affect the rate of breakdown. “These changes explain why some people experience negative side effects at very low doses and cannot tolerate caffeine, while others can,” he wrote. drink coffee until noon and sleep well.

How much caffeine should I drink?

So, what is the right amount of caffeine to improve performance but avoid side effects?

“The recommended dose to enhance performance while minimizing side effects is 2-3 mg/kg of body weight. Higher doses of 5-6 mg/kg of body weight do not continue to improve effect, but they increase the risk of side effects. Those side effects include headache, increased anxiety, irritability, fast heart rate, dizziness, nausea, tremors, depression “High blood pressure, insomnia and gastrointestinal upset. Overuse or misuse can lead to serious consequences, including arrhythmias and possible death,” according to Kitchen.

The best way to determine your effective range is by testing regularly and carefully during exercise and high-intensity speed training, Kitchen said. The NIH suggests that 2 milligrams/kilogram body weight is an appropriate starting dose for most athletes.

Know what you eat

Kitchen said it’s important to know what you’re drinking and how much caffeine it contains. The FDA does not regulate beverages and supplements that contain artificial caffeine, such as soft drinks and caffeine powder, so they are not required to disclose the amount of caffeine or list the ingredients on the label.

Caffeine reaches its peak in the blood 60 minutes after consumption and has a half-life of about five hours, which is the time it takes for the body to break down 50 percent of it.

The body absorbs artificial caffeine more quickly and acts faster than natural caffeine. After a person consumes caffeine, say their morning coffee or sports energy drink, it is absorbed into the stomach and travels through the bloodstream, traveling easily through the body in water to the brain, where it is bind to adenosine receptors. However, the body absorbs the caffeine from the chewed gum directly in the buccal mucosa, passes through the liver and enters the bloodstream within five to 15 minutes. .