CAFFEINE PACKS A SURPRISING NEW PERFORMANCE PUNCH, according to a
soon-to-be-published Australian research paper. The news about caffeine
comes on top of continuing reports and confusion about the role of
carbohydrates and protein on endurance performance.
As an endurance athlete, you want to be well stocked with energy before
a big race or workout, and also to take in more energy while you're
exercising. Afterwards, you want to re-fill your empty gas tank (via a
process known as glycogen resynthesis). This is all simply, common
sense. However, the best way to do these things--with all carbs, or a
mix of carbs and protein--has been one of the most hotly debated areas
of sports science in recent years. And getting to the bottom of the
question continues to be a challenge.
A little more than a week ago, for example, the New York Times
published fitness columns five days apart that seemed to contradict
each other. The first, here, quoted one of the leading proponents of
protein use in sports bars and beverages. The second, here, found other
equally qualified PhD endurance-sports participants who generally
dismissed the the importance of protein and glycogen resynthesis.
Now there's new news straight from the just-completed annual meeting of
the American College of Sports Medicine, the world's biggest sports
science organization. A report at the ACSM meeting turned up a wrinkle
that hasn't been explored previously. And one of the authors of that
research just informed me that the paper has been accepted by a leading
sports science journal, and could be published quite soon. This indicates that peer reviewers found the results important and original.
Here's the "Eureka" news:
Caffeine stimulates glycogen resynthesis. So instead of drinking
chocolate milk after your workouts, which has been all the rage for the
last two years, you should perhaps consider switching to coffee milk.
How The New Reseach Was Done
In
their ACSM presentation, an Australian team described how they tested 7
trained subjects in a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. First
the subjects were depleted by a laboratory bike ride to exhaustion.
Then they were fed identical, high-carbohydrate meals, except that one
of the meals included caffeine. After taking caffeine, the subjects
produced 66 percent more glycogen in 4 hours than when given only carbs
without caffeine. That's an impressive difference.
This isn't the first good-news report on caffeine in recent years. Rather, caffeine seems to be enjoying a resurrection on many
fronts. As far as I know, there's little to no
epidemiological work linking coffee and caffeine with serious illnesses. Quite the opposite, coffee is now sometimes touted as
a potent and perhaps healthful anti-oxidant, just like certain teas.
And heat and hydration expert Larry Armstrong several years ago disproved the old notion that coffee/caffeine is a diuretic.
Meanwhile, caffeine is undeniably a stimulant of both mental and
apparently physical performance; many caffeine-performance studies have
yielded positive results.
The
ACSM meeting, held over the Memorial Day weekend, included several
other preliminary new reports in the protein drinks arena. The
University of Texas lab of Dr. John Ivy--Ivy being the biggest
pro-protein researcher--described a "during" exercise-to-exhaustion
study with 11 trained cyclists. During the test, riders received either
a placebo drink (no calories), a traditional 6 percent carb drink, or a
3 percent carb drink with a little dab of protein. Of note: This latter
protein drink contained fewer total calories than the carb drink.
Nonetheless, riders performed as well with the so-called "low carb
protein" drink as they did with the higher carb, more traditional
sports beverage. Years ago, Ivy was criticized for studies in which his
protein-receiving subjects also ingested more total calories than his
carb subjects. Now he seems to have come full circle. His protein
subjects are getting fewer total calories, but still performing well.
This study will no doubt be much promoted in advertisements for future
protein beverages. "Race Better With Fewer Calories." It's a no brainer.
Lastly,
a team from Indiana University looked at the palatability of various
drinks, including water, sports drinks, chocolate milk, vanilla milk,
and a cocoa drink mixed from water. The question of which drinks might
make you nauseous hasn't been sufficiently researched and reported, in
my opinion. After all, a super-powered drink isn't going to improve
your performance if you spend 10 minutes throwing up at the road side. And there's no question that consuming lots of fluid (to
prevent dehydration) while also gulping sugars and/or proteins (for
energy) causes a problem for many runners. This is due in part to
the turbulent up-and-down biomechanics of running. Smooth-riding
cyclists seem to have fewer stomach issues. Anyway, the Indiana team
found that its subjects truly hated the water-and-cocoa mixture, but
liked the milk beverages, "perhaps more so than sports drinks or
water." I couldn't find anything in their abstract to support this
final statement, but presumably the details are contained in the full
report, yet to be published.
All You Need To Know About Carbs, Protein, And Caffeine
Now, let's quickly circle back to
the old news in the protein vs. carbs debate. As you probably know,
several sports beverage companies have been touting research that seems
to show a combination of carbs and protein (in the famous 4:1 ratio)
improves glycogen re-synthesis after a workout when compared to all
carbs, the previous gold standard. Some studies have even produced
results showing that 4:1 worked well as a "during" exercise
energy-supply routine. (I don't think I've seen anyone yet proposing
protein as part of a pre-race meal; carbs still reign supreme in that
area. At least for now.)
The problem is
that the first rounds of 4:1 research were rather shoddily carried it,
as noted above. And the carb camp continues to produce studies showing
that if you take in enough carbs, you don't get any additional glycogen
benefit from adding protein. That's why the New York Times and me and
you find it easy to be confused. Nonetheless, everyone pretty much
agrees that a little protein is good for your frayed muscles after a
tough workout or race. What's the harm? Eventually people started to
point out that you could simply drink low fat chocolate
milk after a race and get the same benefit as you'd get
from a commercial sports beverage. (Of course, chocolate milk is a
commercial beverage too.)
So that's all the new news and old news. What should you do? Here's my thinking:
1).
Before an endurance race or long, hard workout, take carbs and caffeine. You'll
boost your energy supply and your mental sharpness. Remember: The brain is
a terrible thing to waste, and a key performance regulator.
2).
During your race, consume the beverage you like best at a rate you can
tolerate. You need water and you need sugar, but you can't tolerate too
much of either in a relatively short period of time. Getting sick won't
improve your performance, so don't overdo the drinking. If you've practiced with and liked a drink
with modest protein, go for it.
3). After
a race or big training effort, chill out. Sure, it's true that your
body will synthesize more glycogen in the first 20 to 60 minutes after
the race. It might even be true that caffeine will boost your glycogen
re-supply process. By all means, have a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich and/or a tall glass of coffee milk. But unless you're an
Ironman triathlete planning for another 3-hour workout later in the
day, you don't have to rush this process. After all, you're supposed to
take an easy day or two after a hard day. Eat well and regularly, and
your body will take care of itself. Just follow
your natural instincts.
"I'm teaching this class because... well, I really like pork," said the instructor of the cooking class I took today [1]. And that's when I knew we'd all be okay.
Amongst my WWDC fumbles was the decision to conduct an interview in 
Mule Design is hiring!
The great Mental Floss blog 
Some mad scientist decided to make gummi bears more juicy by using Frankensteiny technology to give them tiny circulatory systems and crunchy little veins, in this weird piece of artwork from Jason Freeny at Moist Productions. Freeny has digitally built a collection of anatomy for Gummi Bears and a balloon dog (they keep their brains in their ears.) He also has a picture showing what happens when a toy robot has a personal singularity and decides to haul ass. Click through for a gallery of his work.
In an effort to curb pollution and litter, 
Last week, a crane feel from a roof top on the upper east side of Manhattan killing two construction workers.
I ordered a rare burger with American cheese and was heartened when it showed up, as it was a good-looking sandwich. The cheese oozing out delectably, the two generous slices melting an eight-point star onto the plump-looking griddle-cooked patty. The seeded bun appeared to be quite moist with burger juice but, unfortunately, when I took the first bite, I found the beef to be quite dry and slightly overcooked. The bun was moist, but the patty was dry. The beef was finely ground and was also quite lean; it appeared as if any juice it might have yielded had made its way on to the bun before the burger had even made it to the table.
There is definitely potential here, the beef-to-bun ratio was spot on. And the price of admittance is a reasonable $10 (with fries), but I think that the beef itself is just too lean to make a truly great hamburger.
dependence on free agency coupled with the lack of a farm system also raises the question: Has Minaya failed to recognize a seismic shift in the MLB landscape?”
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