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Nutrition
Published in John White, Health and Safety Management, 2018
Caffeine tolerance varies between individuals, but for most people, a dose of over 400 mg per day may produce initial symptoms such as restlessness, increased heartbeat and insomnia. To put that in perspective, a cup of coffee normally contains between 60 and 100 mg of caffeine, but this can be up to 200 mg. An energy drink generally contains between 70 and 240 mg of caffeine. A couple of coffees and a couple of shots of your favourite energy drink could easily put you past the 400 mg mark. Higher dosages can lead to: Increased blood pressureHeart palpitationsAnxiety and panic attacksDiarrhoeaIncreased urinationDizziness, irritability, nausea, nervousnessAllergic reactions including rash, itching, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the facial area, shakiness, trouble sleeping, vomitingHeadaches and severe fatigue can occur during withdrawalSee-saw levels of alertness/tiredness
Caffeine – a common psychoactive stimulant – from a socio-cultural perspective
Published in Charlotte Fabiansson, Stefan Fabiansson, Food and the Risk Society, 2016
Charlotte Fabiansson, Stefan Fabiansson
Energy drinks are beverages containing stimulants and marketed as providing mental and physical stimulation. Global energy drink consumption climbed by 14 per cent in the 2011 year, according to the latest report from food and drink consultancy Zenith International, reaching 4.8 billion litres. North America was the leading region, with 36 per cent of global volume in 2011, followed by the Asia Pacific with 22 per cent and Western Europe with 17 per cent (Zenith International 2012).
Psychopharmacology in Aviation
Published in Carrie H. Kennedy, Gary G. Kay, Aeromedical Psychology, 2013
Bradford C. Ashley, Gary G. Kay
Psychostimulants can be thought of as medications which increase brain neuronal activity through a variety of CNS mechanisms. This class of medication generally has a relatively quick onset of action and a short half-life. The most commonly used psychostimulant in the world is generally not even considered to be a drug but rather a food additive. Caffeine is found commonly in coffee, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and in OTC tablets. Since the introduction of Red Bull in 1987 the use of energy drinks has skyrocketed (Persad 2011). This multibillion dollar industry has promoted the use of these caffeinated beverages worldwide. Given this universal access it is not uncommon to see aviators consuming these beverages sometimes to excess while engaged in flight operations. Studies have shown that caffeine increases alertness, improves self-reported energy and mood, and enhances reaction time and response consistency in fatigued or sleep-deprived individuals (Childs and de Wit 2008). Caffeine is used ubiquitously throughout the aviation world. Unless taken in excess caffeine has a wide therapeutic window and only becomes toxic at extremely high doses. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported that consuming up to 300mg of caffeine a day can be considered safe (Temple 2009). Most energy drinks contain at least as much caffeine as a cup of coffee (roughly 100mgs per serving). However, it is important to look closely at the product label since caffeine content is often stated for the ‘per serving’ amount and there may be multiple servings in a single beverage container. Some energy drinks exceed the FDA recommendations and contain more than 300mg of caffeine per single serving. Even though caffeine is quite socially accepted it should not be viewed as a replacement for sleep. If used, caffeine should be taken only when needed, preferably early in the pilot’s work day when sustained wakefulness is required for mission completion. The amount of caffeine taken in any one dose should be the minimum necessary to improve wakefulness with minimal side-effects. Prolonged, elevated use of caffeine such as continuous daily consumption of energy drinks can result in tolerance and significant withdrawal side-effects when stopped suddenly. The insomnia which can result from excess use of caffeine can lead to sleep deprivation which may result in serious psychiatric conditions. Although it is considered relatively safe and socially acceptable, caffeine use needs to be factored into any mental health evaluation. A pilot may be using caffeine to self-medicate a more serious underlying disorder (for example, excessive daytime sleepiness) or recklessly abusing caffeine for perceived performance enhancement.
The effects of taurine ingestion on anaerobic and physiological performance in female rugby players
Published in Research in Sports Medicine, 2023
Azize Bingöl Diedhiou, Zoran Milanović, Mustafa Can Eser, Fatma Neşe Şahin, Michael Hamlin, Ulaş Can Yıldırım
Dietary supplements, such as energy drinks, often consist of different ingredients that are thought to increase athletic performance (Astorino et al., 2009; Stellingwerff & Cox, 2014). However, the combination of various performance-enhancing stimulants and substances in energy drinks makes it difficult to understand the real effects of some of them on athletes’ performance (Milioni et al., 2016). An example, taurine, a sulphur-containing non-essential amino acid, is one of the main ingredients in many popular energy drinks (Warnock et al., 2017) and regulates intracellular Ca2+ utilization in skeletal muscle fibres and Ca2+ sensitivity of myofibrils (Hamilton et al., 2006). However, the ergogenic effect of taurine on athletic performance remains uncertain (Buzdaglı et al., 2022) despite the fact that many athletes take taurine in sports drinks. It is thought that taurine-depleted muscle fibres fatigue faster than muscle fibres with adequate taurine due to the change in Ca2+ utilization in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (Hamilton et al., 2006).