I’m looking for opinions (and facts if anybody has them) about caffeine in energy gels. It seems to me that this is not a particularly good idea, as caffeine is a diuretic and has a tendency to make me have to piss like a racehorse. However, it’s also on the NCAA controlled substances list that I get every year, so it has to do something.
I don’t really like the idea of caffeinating myself during a race, but what are the benefits?
Does anybody have any experience, positive or otherwise, with caffeinated vs. non-caffeinated gels?
Caffeine stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin. Insulin is the necessary “card-key” to get carbohydrate through the cell wall where it can be burned as fuel. There have been many a study involving the use of caffeine during all forms of exercise. Many studies find caffeine can delay the feeling of fatigue in the user. The theory behind cafeine in gels is that it will make the carb energy in the gel more available via the mechanism mentioned earlier.
I have not noticed a “benefit” from using the caffeinated flavors of GU versus the non caffeinated, but that is just me.
The main benefit I receive from caffeinated energy gels is I don’t get a headache after the race if I forget to drink a diet coke on the way to the race. I think the diuretic effect while racing is minimal. Before the race, I’m just glad to be wearing a wetsuit.
I started using Lava Gels Kona Mocha which has caffeine and taurine(much lower dose than red bull)–for long events seemed to provide and extra umphh(is that a word?)
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From http://www.carbboom.com/article2.htm:
Energy gels seem to contain 20-50 mg of caffeine per serving. Coke has 45, and a cup of coffee has 85-130.
Starbucks “Short”, whatever that is, has a whopping 250 mg of caffeine.