What You Need To Know About Caffeine

[WillBrink]

ATM i'm trying to ween myself off of preworkout supps. Mainly Jack3d, which happens to have a good amount of caffine.

There's a lot more going on in that product then just caffeine. A good write up:

http://bodybuilding.ultimatefatburner.com/Jacked.html

I'm not a fan. Mixing different stimulants like that is asking for trouble.

[JonnyVain]

What makes a person caffeine sensitive? I had eye issues for years, where I couldn't focus on anything, my eyes would dart downwards. Tried and tried to break the habit but couldn't.

Fast forward almost 10 years, I got into supplements, started drinking energy drinks, and ended up in the ER because of the caffeine. I cut back on caffeine but continued having heart palpitations, BP issues, dizziness. I ended up cutting out all stimulants and these issues went away, which I expected. The surprising thing is, my eye twitch went away.

Fast forward about 4 years and I still can't have any caffeine without getting palpitations and other issues. No decaf coffee, no chocolate, no tea, nothing. Also found out I have a myxoma of the mitral valve.

So in your research, have you found any info on why some people are sensitive to it and others aren't? "Weak adrenals" is the only thing that's made any sense. I want something more than a holistic guess. Thanks.


EDIT: Also, are there any mental stims that don't effect someone physically? Mental clarity without the adrenal rush?

[WillBrink]

What makes a person caffeine sensitive? I had eye issues for years, where I couldn't focus on anything, my eyes would dart downwards. Tried and tried to break the habit but couldn't.

Fast forward almost 10 years, I got into supplements, started drinking energy drinks, and ended up in the ER because of the caffeine. I cut back on caffeine but continued having heart palpitations, BP issues, dizziness. I ended up cutting out all stimulants and these issues went away, which I expected. The surprising thing is, my eye twitch went away.

Fast forward about 4 years and I still can't have any caffeine without getting palpitations and other issues. No decaf coffee, no chocolate, no tea, nothing. Also found out I have a myxoma of the mitral valve.

So in your research, have you found any info on why some people are sensitive to it and others aren't? "Weak adrenals" is the only thing that's made any sense. I want something more than a holistic guess. Thanks.

I'm sensitive to stimulants also. Other then a mug of coffee in the morning, and 1-2 days per week of Fein in my workout drink, that's max for me. Never liked stimulants. Exactly why some are sensitive and some are not is not known at this time, but it's going to involve unique differences in neuro chemistry between people, and I'm no neuro scientist. Individual responses exist with all drugs.

[J-Dub]

There's a lot more going on in that product then just caffeine. A good write up:

http://bodybuilding.ultimatefatburner.com/Jacked.html

I'm not a fan. Mixing different stimulants like that is asking for trouble.

Interesting read. I too have felt the "euphoric" high from Jack3d. I also felt like i could run through a wall and kick Chuck Norris' ass.

But i've also felt the negative side effects. Such as not being able to fall asleep untill 3am...or at all.

I think i'll just take L-Arginine for the pump...i'm not really looking for a "high" anymore.

[JonnyVain]

Interesting read. I too have felt the "euphoric" high from Jack3d. I also felt like i could run through a wall and kick Chuck Norris' ass.

But i've also felt the negative side effects. Such as not being able to fall asleep untill 3am...or at all.

I think i'll just take L-Arginine for the pump...i'm not really looking for a "high" anymore.

Studies actually show artinine is not very useful for NO production.

If you want pump, try L-citrulline or Citrilline Malate.



Thanks for the response, Will. I'm IamJonsCranium over at BB.com fyi. The funny guy.

[WillBrink]

Studies actually show artinine is not very useful for NO production.

Which does not do jack sh&% for what people use these "no" products for anyway...In the 90s, a number of studies suggested that exercised induced hyperemia may be largely mediated by Nitric Oxide (NO). This lead in large part to the whole NO supplement category craze as the angle was increased NO (using arginine and other NO precursors) would lead to improved blood flow to muscle with an improved "pump" and more muscle growth, etc, etc. Recent studies however suggest NO plays a minor role in exercise induced vasodilation to muscles. This is not the end of NO by any means as it's an extremely complex - and yet to be fully understood - system, but it seems research is starting to put the breaks on the effects of NO as a vasodilator during exercise specifically:

Circ J. 2009 Oct;73(10):1783-92. Epub 2009 Sep 4.
The catecholamines strike back. What NO does not do.


Joyner MJ, Casey DP.

Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic,Rochester, MN 55905, USA. joyner.michael@mayo.edu
Abstract

The discovery of endothelial-derived relaxing factor, and later nitric oxide (NO), as a biologically active substance led to intense focus on the vascular endothelium as a major site of physiological regulation and pathophysiological dysfunction. NO is clearly a potent vasodilator and plays a key role in establishing both whole body and regional "vascular tone". In this context, skeletal muscle and human skin have the remarkable capacity to increase their blood flow 50-100-fold and this increase is caused almost exclusively by local vasodilation.

In general, the mechanisms responsible for these vasodilator phenomena have been poorly understood. In the early 1990s, investigators started to ask if NO might explain the "unexplained" vasodilator responses seen in skeletal muscle and skin. They also asked how "NO tone" interacted with "sympathetic tone" and whether NO can override the vasoconstrictor responses normally generated when sympathetic nerves release norepinephrine.

Surprisingly, it was found that NO plays only a modest (non-obligatory) role in exercise hyperemia, reactive hyperemia and the neurally mediated rise in skin blood flow during whole body heat stress. By contrast, NO plays a major role in the skeletal muscle vasodilator responses to mental stress and the skin dilator responses to local heating. In animals, but not humans, NO can limit the ability of the sympathetic nerves to cause vasoconstriction in exercising muscles.

Thus the role of NO in two of the most extreme dilator responses seen in nature is limited and in muscle the sympathetic nerves can restrain the dilation to defend arterial blood pressure.

[buckjay]

Great info, thanks for putting the time to write this up!

[Iroman]

Hello WillBrink. Your post is awesome dear. You have discussed well about caffeine. It is an informative post and i suggest everyone to read it. You have done a great job. Keep posting.

[mike240]

Could you comment on a study i read awhile back that said caffeine contributed to insulin resistance, increased appetite and food cravings which made it harder to lose weight...especially after age 40?

Thanks

[Carvar]

Hi WillBrink,
Thanks for sharing this informative detail with everyone. Some advantages of caffeine are:
It increase memory,
It detoxes the liver,
It increase stamina,
It keeps you alert and active,
It can ease depression,
It can stimulate hair growth.