Common questions and misconceptions about caffeine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show?

Caffeine is a popular ergogenic aid that has a plethora of evidence highlighting its positive effects. A Google Scholar search using the keywords "caffeine" and "exercise" yields over 200,000 results, emphasizing the extensive research on this topic. However, despite the vast amount of available data, it is intriguing that uncertainties persist regarding the effectiveness and safety of caffeine. These include but are not limited to: 1. Does caffeine dehydrate you at rest? 2. Does caffeine dehydrate you during exercise? 3. Does caffeine promote the loss of body fat? 4. Does habitual caffeine consumption influence the performance response to acute caffeine supplementation? 5. Does caffeine affect upper vs. lower body performance/strength differently? 6. Is there a relationship between caffeine and depression? 7. Can too much caffeine kill you? 8. Are there sex differences regarding caffeine's effects? 9. Does caffeine work for everyone? 10. Does caffeine cause heart problems? 11. Does caffeine promote the loss of bone mineral? 12. Should pregnant women avoid caffeine? 13. Is caffeine addictive? 14. Does waiting 1.5-2.0 hours after waking to consume caffeine help you avoid the afternoon "crash?" To answer these questions, we performed an evidence-based scientific evaluation of the literature regarding caffeine supplementation.

International society of sports nutrition position stand: coffee and sports performance

Based on review and critical analysis of the literature regarding the contents and physiological effects of coffee related to physical and cognitive performance conducted by experts in the field and selected members of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), the following conclusions represent the official Position of the Society:(1) Coffee is a complex matrix of hundreds of compounds. These are consumed with broad variability based upon serving size, bean type (e.g. common Arabica vs. Robusta), and brew method (water temperature, roasting method, grind size, time, and equipment).(2) Coffee's constituents, including but not limited to caffeine, have neuromuscular, antioxidant, endocrine, cognitive, and metabolic (e.g. glucose disposal and vasodilation) effects that impact exercise performance and recovery.(3) Coffee's physiologic effects are influenced by dose, timing, habituation to a small degree (to coffee or caffeine), nutrigenetics, and potentially by gut microbiota differences, sex, and training status.(4) Coffee and/or its components improve performance across a temporal range of activities from reaction time, through brief power exercises, and into the aerobic time frame in most but not all studies. These broad and varied effects have been demonstrated in men (mostly) and in women, with effects that can differ from caffeine ingestion, per se. More research is needed.(5) Optimal dosing and timing are approximately two to four cups (approximately 473-946 ml or 16-32 oz.) of typical hot-brewed or reconstituted instant coffee (depending on individual sensitivity and body size), providing a caffeine equivalent of 3-6 mg/kg (among other components such as chlorogenic acids at approximately 100-400 mg per cup) 60 min prior to exercise.(6) Coffee has a history of controversy regarding side effects but is generally considered safe and beneficial for healthy, exercising individuals in the dose range above.(7) Coffee can serve as a vehicle for other dietary supplements, and it can interact with nutrients in other foods.(8) A dearth of literature exists examining coffee-specific ergogenic and recovery effects, as well as variability in the operational definition of "coffee," making conclusions more challenging than when examining caffeine in its many other forms of delivery (capsules, energy drinks, "pre-workout" powders, gum, etc.).

ISSN exercise & sports nutrition review update: research & recommendations

Background

Sports nutrition is a constantly evolving field with hundreds of research papers published annually. In the year 2017 alone, 2082 articles were published under the key words ‘sport nutrition’. Consequently, staying current with the relevant literature is often difficult.

Methods

This paper is an ongoing update of the sports nutrition review article originally published as the lead paper to launch the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2004 and updated in 2010. It presents a well-referenced overview of the current state of the science related to optimization of training and performance enhancement through exercise training and nutrition. Notably, due to the accelerated pace and size at which the literature base in this research area grows, the topics discussed will focus on muscle hypertrophy and performance enhancement. As such, this paper provides an overview of: 1.) How ergogenic aids and dietary supplements are defined in terms of governmental regulation and oversight; 2.) How dietary supplements are legally regulated in the United States; 3.) How to evaluate the scientific merit of nutritional supplements; 4.) General nutritional strategies to optimize performance and enhance recovery; and, 5.) An overview of our current understanding of nutritional approaches to augment skeletal muscle hypertrophy and the potential ergogenic value of various dietary and supplemental approaches.

Conclusions

This updated review is to provide ISSN members and individuals interested in sports nutrition with information that can be implemented in educational, research or practical settings and serve as a foundational basis for determining the efficacy and safety of many common sport nutrition products and their ingredients.

ISSN exercise & sport nutrition review: research & recommendations

Sports nutrition is a constantly evolving field with hundreds of research papers published annually. For this reason, keeping up to date with the literature is often difficult. This paper is a five year update of the sports nutrition review article published as the lead paper to launch the JISSN in 2004 and presents a well-referenced overview of the current state of the science related to how to optimize training and athletic performance through nutrition. More specifically, this paper provides an overview of: 1.) The definitional category of ergogenic aids and dietary supplements; 2.) How dietary supplements are legally regulated; 3.) How to evaluate the scientific merit of nutritional supplements; 4.) General nutritional strategies to optimize performance and enhance recovery; and, 5.) An overview of our current understanding of the ergogenic value of nutrition and dietary supplementation in regards to weight gain, weight loss, and performance enhancement. Our hope is that ISSN members and individuals interested in sports nutrition find this review useful in their daily practice and consultation with their clients.

Dietary protein safety and resistance exercise: what do we really know?

Resistance trainers continue to receive mixed messages about the safety of purposely seeking ample dietary protein in their quest for stimulating protein synthesis, improving performance, or maintaining health. Despite protein's lay popularity and the routinely high intakes exhibited by strength athletes, liberal and purposeful protein consumption is often maligned by "experts". University textbooks, instructors, and various forms of literature from personal training groups and athletic organizations continue to use dissuasive language surrounding dietary protein. Due to the widely known health benefits of dietary protein and a growing body of evidence on its safety profile, this is unfortunate. In response, researchers have critiqued unfounded educational messages. As a recent summarizing example, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Position Stand: Protein and Exercise reviewed general literature on renal and bone health. The concluding remark that "Concerns that protein intake within this range [1.4 – 2.0 g/kg body weight per day] is unhealthy are unfounded in healthy, exercising individuals." was based largely upon data from non-athletes due to "a lack of scientific evidence". Future studies were deemed necessary. This assessment is not unique in the scientific literature. Investigators continue to cite controversy, debate, and the lack of direct evidence that allows it. This review discusses the few existing safety studies done specific to athletes and calls for protein research specific to resistance trainers. Population-specific, long term data will be necessary for effective education in dietetics textbooks and from sports governing bodies.

Social support and sexually transmitted disease related healthcare utilisation in sexually experienced African-American adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether adolescents' perceived social support predicts future utilisation of sexually transmitted disease (STD) related health care.

METHODS

A longitudinal study of African-American adolescents ages 12-18 recruited from a random sample of households in the San Francisco Bay area in which baseline data were collected by telephone and follow up data were collected by telephone or in-home audio computer assisted self interview. At baseline, participants were asked about their sexual behaviours, STD history, and social support. At follow up 14-18 months later, participants were asked whether they, while asymptomatic, had sought STD related medical care within the past year.

RESULTS

Asymptomatic sexually experienced adolescents who talked to their closest friend almost every day were more likely to have had STD related health care in the past year (odds ratio (OR) = 1.38; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09, 1.76). Closeness to female and male parents/guardians and participation in extracurricular activities were not associated with utilisation of STD related health care within the past year. After controlling for age and sex, sexually experienced adolescents who talked to or saw their closest friend almost every day were more likely to have had STD related health care within the past year (OR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.08 to 1.70).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that friends have an impact on the seeking of confidential healthcare services, such as care for STDs.

Dietary fat and sports nutrition: a primer

The general public's view of macronutrients has undergone sweeping changes in recent years. Dietary fats are a key example. Since the anti-fat health education initiatives of the 1980s and early 1990s, certain dietary fats have been increasingly recognized as actually beneficial to health. Athletes, like the mainstream populace, are now getting the message that wise dietary fat (triacylglycerol) choices offer essential fatty acids, blood lipid management, maintained endocrine and immune function, inflammation control, metabolic effects and even potential body composition and performance benefits. Toward this end, many companies now sell specialty dietary fat supplements and recognized health authorities have begun recommending them to certain populations. This review will cover data regarding the physiology, dietary needs, food sources, and potential benefits and risks most relevant to athletes. Practical suggestions for incorporating healthy fats will be made. Both food-source and supplemental intakes will be addressed with interrelationships to health throughout. Key PointsNutrition education initiatives over recent years have sent contrasting messages on dietary fat to the public.Variations in chemical structure among triacylglycerols and their component fatty acids induce very different biological effects.Manipulating fat as a percentage of total kcal affects athletes.Athletes have special needs for which dietary fat may prove beneficial.

ISSN Exercise & Sport Nutrition Review: Research & Recommendations

Sport nutrition is a constantly evolving field with literally thousands of research papers published annually. For this reason, keeping up to date with the literature is often difficult. This paper presents a well-referenced overview of the current state of the science related to how to optimize training through nutrition. More specifically, this article discusses: 1.) how to evaluate the scientific merit of nutritional supplements; 2.) general nutritional strategies to optimize performance and enhance recovery; and, 3.) our current understanding of the available science behind weight gain, weight loss, and performance enhancement supplements. Our hope is that ISSN members find this review useful in their daily practice and consultation with their clients.

Effects of prohormone supplementation in humans: a review

Despite a relative dearth of information on their effects, supplementation with prohormones has become a popular practice. Unlike synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroids, many of these over-the-counter androgens are produced endogenously by adrenal, gonadal and peripheral steroidogenic pathways as part of the normal sexual and reproductive hormonal milieu. It has been contended that peripheral enzymatic conversion of these prohormones to testosterone or nortestosterone (via ingestion of androstenedione/androstenediol or 19-nor-androstenedione/androstenediol, respectively) might lead to anabolic and/or ergogenic effects. Existing data suggest that acute oral ingestion of >or=200 mg androstenedione or androstenediol modestly and transiently increases serum testosterone concentrations in men; however, this is accompanied by greater increases in circulating estrogen(s). At doses < 300 mg/d, oral supplementation for as long as 12-weeks with androstenedione or androstenediol has no effect on body composition or physical performance and decreases high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Similarly, oral supplementation with norandrostenedione and norandrostenediol for up to eight weeks has no effect on body composition or physical performance. In light of these data, new products have been developed that use alternative modes of prohormone administration (sublingual/transbuccal and cyclodextrin-complexation). Future studies should critically examine the effects of these approaches. However, within the framework of the research reviewed, over-the-counter oral prohormone supplementation is ineffective at increasing muscle mass or athletic performance. As a result of the potential health concerns that have been raised, the risk to benefit ratio of using these substances orally seems unfavorable.