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Coffee vs. treadmill
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Watch caffeine intake before hitting the gym
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A SINFUL CUP CAFFEINE might be addictive but refrain from it before exercising
Researchers have found that the caffeine equivalent to two cups of coffee appears to reduce significantly the body's ability to increase blood flow to the heart in response to exercise. The effect was strong when volunteers exercised while breathing air that simulated the oxygen levels at high altitudes.
Eighteen regular coffee drinkers who had refrained from drinking coffee for 36 hours exercised on a stationary bicycle to establish normal levels of blood flow to the heart. Each then swallowed a 200-milligram caffeine pill.
After 50 minutes of rest, enough time to allow the caffeine to attain its peak level in the blood, they performed the same exercise.
While caffeine did not affect blood flow at rest, it produced a 22 per cent reduction of blood flow with exercise at 1,500 feet above sea level, and a 39 percent reduction at the equivalent of 15,000 feet of altitude.
Dr. Philipp Kaufmann, a professor of cardiology at University Hospital in Zurich, said that while the risks for healthy people were minimal, those with coronary artery disease might be at considerably greater risk.
He is not, however, prepared to recommend that healthy people forgo coffee before exercise.
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