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Coffee & Physical Fitness
For years, conventional wisdom has been that Physical Fitness enthusiasts should avoid drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages in order to improve their fitness levels. Several new studies on nutrition and fitness, however, are challenging these teachings and trying to determine if caffeine as found in coffee is actually beneficial to overall Physical Fitness with health and coffee. Recently, the University of Connecticut investigated if coffee consumption affected fluid balance and retention in a way that affected overall fitness levels. A further study at this same university countered the common belief that Fitness enthusiasts should not drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages. This study determined that any negligible diuretic effect of caffeine did not cause any imbalance that would be harmful to someone looking to boost their fitness level. In fact, people who were more tolerant of the caffeine (such as those who often drank coffee) were less susceptible to fluid imbalances that could potentially harm their fitness. Supporting this was a study done at The University of Texas at Austin that determined that the amount of water, carbohydrates, and salt that athletes are advised to take in order to promote Physical Fitness can be extremely detrimental to the health of the athlete. The study recommended ingesting caffeine as found in coffee in addition to tailoring their nutritional program to their own specific needs. This was found to be the most beneficial for those who were working on furthering their personal fitness. When the Department of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario (Canada) looked at alternative nutritional strategies to improve fitness, they explored the belief that training harder promotes higher levels of Fitness. This same university also studied how caffeine at the levels found in coffee affects the Physical Fitness of athletes at much lower levels than the acceptable limit of the International Olympic Committee. They wanted to determine if the level of caffeine found in coffee could be beneficial in training and in competition. While they found that the amount of caffeine found in coffee wasn’t enough to affect high-caliber athletes more than negligibly, it did render enough effects to be beneficial to a fitness enthusiast looking to improve his or her personal levels. A study done at the at the University of South Carolina, found similar nervous system benefits from drinking coffee that affected Physical Fitness levels. They determined that drinking coffee can delay fatigue during exercise. This benefit appeared to occur due to the caffeine’s beneficial effects on the health of the central nervous system. Overall, these studies suggest that drinking coffee can be beneficial to those looking to improve their personal levels of Physical Fitness. Caffeine improves the overall health of the individual, particularly in regards to the nervous and cardiovascular systems, and does not appear to negatively affect the individual’s Physical Fitness levels.
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