Friday, 14 June 2013

Sam's article on Caffeine

Caffeine as a supplement

I have chosen to do my blog article on caffeine. Caffeine is a natural component in coffee, tea and chocolate. It is also an ingredient used in sport drinks and soft drinks.

caffeine is a central nervous system and metabolic stimulant and is used both recreationally and medically to reduce physical fatigue”
when caffeine is in the body, blood vessels contract where its not required, example: stomach. Because caffeine is a stimulant it increases blood pressure, heart rate and blood vessels around the heart and brain dilate.

When caffeine is ingested it is quickly absorbed by the body. Consuming 1 hour before exercise can help enhance endurance and provides a small but worthwhile effect on performance. It is also known that caffeine increases muscle contractions.

Caffeine can be consumed in many ways due to the fact that a lot of products contain caffeine. The correct way would be to purchase drinks that contain caffeine. Most caffeinated drinks contain between 30-100mg of caffeine per serve. People can also buy non-prescriptive caffeine tablets, they can contain 100-200mg of caffeine per tablet.

Side affects of caffeine is different for every individual. Some people may not be affected by it, and other can experience headaches, increased heart rate, excessive urination and difficulty sleeping, there are many more side effects that is associated with caffeine.

caffeine has been found to help with two kinds of exercise: endurance activities like marathon or iron man competition, and short, power intensive activities lasting about 4 to 8 minutes”