Caffeine again

Does caffeine improve sporting performance?

The recent post on caffeine and red bull attracted a few comments (thanks to everyone who did), so here is another recent piece of research looking at the effect of caffeine on non users and how it affected their NFL combine test performance.

The effects were negligible.

Someone made the comment about the caffeine/ insulin response on the previous post, and hormonal responses to diet and exercise have probably been under looked in the big scheme of things.

In small doses, these things do not appear to have an effect, but in larger doses, too much sugar and fructose or caffeine will have a detrimental insulin response. This, in combination with stress (and its corresponding cortisol and adrenaline releases), could lead to lack of concentration, a feeling of lethargy and disruption of sleep patterns.

Not only that, but this will then interfere with the release of growth hormone and testosterone, two agents necessary for repair and growth.

Once again, moderation is called for, and I have yet to see conclusive research on this. Some people claim it has more of an effect, but they often have something to sell.