Be healthier & lift more by drinking more coffee!

by Medicate. Meditate. Educate.

Waking up this morning I decided to have a lovely black Sumatra Coffee with some cinnamon and ginger for its medicinal properties. Sometimes I have a black Coffee before a workout, typically Starbucks because I do not want instant for numerous of reasons which I have mentioned previously in other posts. Now, Drink coffee to be healthier and lift more weight?

In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that the medical society may be changing its view on coffee as a beverage that should be avoided and what is even more interesting a new study shows that ingesting caffeine before lifting will help you unintentionally work harder! Yes that is right! I have written post previously on coffee but this is a revised and newly improved addition

“We are being of change if we do not change we will be left behind”

The new study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism that tested the effect of consuming 4 mg per kg of body weight previous to strength training on self-selected exercise quantity. The study participants were professional athletes who were either sleep deprived or rested. They performed four sets of bench press, squats, and bent over rows at 85 percent of the 1 rep maximum (RM). They lifted each exercise to failure. 

Having ingested the caffeine led the sleep-deprived group to lift significantly more reps than a placebo (read my posts on placebo affect) sleep-deprived group. The caffeine sleep-deprived group performed equal quantity of work as a rested placebo group (no caffeine but adequately rested). The group that was rested and ingested the caffeine lifted the greatest number of reps of all, whereas the sleep deprived placebo group (no caffeine but tired) self-selected the least quantity of all. Coffee is shows increase of strength!

Scientists also measured testosterone and cortisol (stress) response to training. The elevations in these hormones related to the volume of load lifted, indicating that caffeine did not lead to greater cortisol or testosterone response.

The study comes from other research supporting the use of caffeine when needing to perform athletically in a sleep-deprived state. The same research group found that throwing a large dose of creatine (check out my post on Creatine) into the caffeine supplement will improve skill performance more than just taking the caffeine by itself. This is likely because sleep deprivation reduces the brains stores of phosphocreatine, which is necessary for optimal cognitive function.

More reasons to drink coffee are that it can improve insulin sensitivity, and decrease risk of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. The editorial in the AJCN noted that coffee “is not as bad as we were told.”  With the ever growing body of evidence shows! In fact, it’s time to change the perception that it is a beverage that is more trouble than it’s worth. Don`t know about you but I’ll be drinking my coffee, it all ticks Mr.Paradox`s approval!

The health benefits of coffee come from the naturally occurring antioxidants, including phenols and deterpenes (both improve insulin health and are anticarcinogenic or in other words anti-cancerous). Recent studies show no link to coffee and cardiovascular disease. Caffeinated coffee has also been found to improve adipocyte and liver function – meaning it can support fat burning and optimal body composition.

For best results with coffee, drink organic with non-chlorinated filters. It’s been recommended that the chemical process used to decaffeinate coffee will contaminate it, making it reasonable to choose the caffeinated version unless you find you are very sensitive. Studies have not shown any negative health effects from drinking decaf coffee. Relatively, a study of 46,000 Germans showed that both the caf and decaf varieties provide health benefits.

Additional benefits – For those super-nerds!

Coffee contains caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid, which are super rich in antioxidants. These super cool antioxidants can counteract free radicals that cause oxidative stress and lead to chronic inflammation, which is a major player in elevated disease risk and earlier death. Plus, it’s well established that coffee improves the cell’s sensitivity to insulin, which is important for a healthy metabolism and to prevent diabetes. Coffee can also help you maintain energy levels because it means it is easier for the body to burn fuel when it needs it. One study showed that with each cup of coffee participants consumed daily, the risk of type 2 diabetes dropped by 7 percent. Marvellous!

A new study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention provides persuasive evidence that coffee can prevent estrogen-related cancers such as endometrial cancer (several types of malignancies that arise from the endometrium, or lining, or uterus), which is cancer of the endometrial lining of the uterus. A large-scale study of over 67,000 women demonstrated that women who drank four or more cups of coffee per day had a 25 percent lower risk than those who did not drink coffee regularly. The study showed the greatest benefits from regular coffee—a 30 percent lower risk of cancer—but decaffeinated also produced a 22 percent lower risk.

Many people wonder if coffee and caffeine cause more trouble and harmful for health than they are worth since caffeine does raise blood pressure and can elevate heart rate. Its true caffeine can temporarily boost heart rate and blood pressure, but for most people this does not result in long-term increases.

People differ in their reaction to coffee and caffeine. Some feel jittery or anxious from caffeine that is imitative from coffee and do better drinking green tea, which also contains a nice dose of super powerful antioxidants. Decaf coffee or green tea are an option, but there is concern that the chemical process of removing caffeine from coffee or tea leaves a chemical residue that may cause cancer—decaf probably is more trouble than it’s worth what people should be saying.

Unless you are very sensitive to caffeine, coffee-drinking appears to be unbiased in relation to the development of coronary heart disease(CHD), and it is known to improve endothelial health—a primary component of the vascular system, so you may want to include it in your PARADOXNUTRITION diet. Cases in which you may want to cut out coffee are if you take prescription drugs from your local GP or doctor, or are a woman at risk of osteoporosis because caffeine may inhibit bone building.

Have a lovely morning everyone and why not start it with some Sumatra Black coffee? All the best!

References:

Lopez-Garcia, Esther. Coffee Consumption and Risk of Chronic Diseases: Changing Our Views. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012. Published Ahead of Print.

Cook, C., Beaven, C., et al. Acute Caffeine Ingestion Increases Voluntarily Chosen Resistance Training Load Following Limited Sleep. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2012. Published Ahead of Print

Liu, S., Chen, C., et al. Caffeine Enhances Osteoclast Differentiation from Bone Marrow Hematopoietic Cells and Reduces Bone Mineral Density in Growing Rats. Journal of Orthopedic Research. 2011. 29(6), 954-960.

Cheng, B., Liu, X., et al. Coffee Components Inhibit Amyloid Formation of Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide in Vitro: Possible Link between Coffee Consumption and Diabetes Mellitus. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2011. 59, 13147-13155.

Je, R., Hankinson, S., et al. A Prospective Cohort Study of Coffee Consumption and Risk of Endometrial Cancer over a 26-Year Follow-Up. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. 2011. 20, 2487-2495.