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I found this tonight
Interesting ,,,
Its good for the military, but not us!!!
Dont they know how STUPID they sound!
Study Backs Exercise Supplements
2001 August 19 Printer-friendly format Email this article to a friend
By IRA DREYFUSS Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Caffeine and ephedrine supplements could help soldiers tap their deepest reserves of strength, according to researchers who say that giving the drugs to troops could be ethically sound even though giving them to athletes is not.
Men using caffeine and ephedrine increased their performance in bursts of powerful effort, the study found.
``The change we get in terms of very high exercise intensity would be of interest to the military,'' said Ira Jacobs of the Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, a research arm of the Canadian Department of National Defence. ``It could be another component in an arsenal of tools that might be included ... in the event of an emergency.''
For athletes, however, Jacobs said, ``We are in no way advocating the use of caffeine and ephedrine.'' Not only are there health risks, but high levels of either substance constitute doping, and are banned by the International Olympic Committee and other organizations.
Just the same, athletes in training are likely using both, in what amounts to uncontrolled experiments on their own bodies, so it makes sense for scientists to try to learn what the substances do, said Jacobs' colleague Douglas G. Bell.
In the study, 24 volunteers whose average age was 32 underwent tests of their anaerobic performance. The results were published in the American College of Sports Medicine journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
In one part of the experiment, 16 men were tested to see how much power their muscles could generate in 30 seconds or less against heavy resistance on a stationary bike. Another eight men biked in a separate but also very taxing test of 2 minutes or more, while researchers measured chemicals in their exhaled breaths to assess their metabolic capacity for anaerobic work.
Men in both types of activity were given capsules of caffeine, ephedrine, both, or placebos.
In the 30-second bike test, administration of ephedrine produced an increase in power compared with the fake drug, the study found. The gain came only in the first 10 seconds, and was only 1.5 percent greater. However, that could be enough to make a difference between victory and defeat among elite power athletes, Jacobs said.
In the longer anaerobic test, caffeine combined with ephedrine produced an increase of about 7 percent in the ability to do work.
Ephedrine appeared to increase the ability of nerves to call on muscles to do work, the study said. Caffeine, meanwhile, seemed to increase the abilities of the muscles themselves to do the work, it said.
However, neither compound is safe at high doses, Jacobs and Bell said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers ephedrine, in particular, risky for people with high blood pressure, heart conditions and neurological disorders. FDA has reported serious injuries and a number of deaths among the general public. High doses of caffeine also may raise blood pressure, Bell said.
Although the study suggests that caffeine and ephedrine may improve performance, it doesn't prove the case, said researcher Terry Graham of the University of Guelph in Ontario, who was not connected with the study.
In very intense activities such as those that the study examined, there is ``a fair amount of variability day to day,'' Graham said. A small amount of normal variation might be enough to account for improvements that the study attributed to the drugs, he said.
The results for caffeine seem more supportable than those for ephedrine. Other researchers have found caffeine has an effect - it enhances aerobic endurance - but not much is known about ephedrine, Graham said.
As for whether the findings would encourage athletes to use ephedrine or caffeine, Graham considers the point moot, mostly because they already do. Ephedrine especially is used by body builders who are trying to raise their metabolic rates, burning more fat to get more muscle definition.
But users should realize that they are playing with fire, especially if they have blood pressure problems, Graham said.
Even if the drugs work, they still are wrong, said Paul Melia, chief operating officer of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, which tracks athletic drug use. ``The athlete has to be aware, they are ultimately responsible for what ends up in their system,'' he said.
And the study's finding that the drugs can improve performance justifies the disqualification of athletes who have ingested cold medications that contain ephedrine's chemical cousins - frequently along with caffeine, Jacobs said.
On the Net:
Abstract of the study, in the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query;Enter in search box: Bell Jacobs Caffeine Ephedrine
Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine: http://www.dciem.dnd.ca/DCIEM/welcome-e.html Food and Drug Administration report on ephedrine: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/(tildedms/ds-ephe3.html
End Adv for Monday, Aug. 20, and thereafter
Copyright: Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Interesting ,,,
Its good for the military, but not us!!!
Dont they know how STUPID they sound!
Study Backs Exercise Supplements
2001 August 19 Printer-friendly format Email this article to a friend
By IRA DREYFUSS Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Caffeine and ephedrine supplements could help soldiers tap their deepest reserves of strength, according to researchers who say that giving the drugs to troops could be ethically sound even though giving them to athletes is not.
Men using caffeine and ephedrine increased their performance in bursts of powerful effort, the study found.
``The change we get in terms of very high exercise intensity would be of interest to the military,'' said Ira Jacobs of the Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, a research arm of the Canadian Department of National Defence. ``It could be another component in an arsenal of tools that might be included ... in the event of an emergency.''
For athletes, however, Jacobs said, ``We are in no way advocating the use of caffeine and ephedrine.'' Not only are there health risks, but high levels of either substance constitute doping, and are banned by the International Olympic Committee and other organizations.
Just the same, athletes in training are likely using both, in what amounts to uncontrolled experiments on their own bodies, so it makes sense for scientists to try to learn what the substances do, said Jacobs' colleague Douglas G. Bell.
In the study, 24 volunteers whose average age was 32 underwent tests of their anaerobic performance. The results were published in the American College of Sports Medicine journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
In one part of the experiment, 16 men were tested to see how much power their muscles could generate in 30 seconds or less against heavy resistance on a stationary bike. Another eight men biked in a separate but also very taxing test of 2 minutes or more, while researchers measured chemicals in their exhaled breaths to assess their metabolic capacity for anaerobic work.
Men in both types of activity were given capsules of caffeine, ephedrine, both, or placebos.
In the 30-second bike test, administration of ephedrine produced an increase in power compared with the fake drug, the study found. The gain came only in the first 10 seconds, and was only 1.5 percent greater. However, that could be enough to make a difference between victory and defeat among elite power athletes, Jacobs said.
In the longer anaerobic test, caffeine combined with ephedrine produced an increase of about 7 percent in the ability to do work.
Ephedrine appeared to increase the ability of nerves to call on muscles to do work, the study said. Caffeine, meanwhile, seemed to increase the abilities of the muscles themselves to do the work, it said.
However, neither compound is safe at high doses, Jacobs and Bell said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers ephedrine, in particular, risky for people with high blood pressure, heart conditions and neurological disorders. FDA has reported serious injuries and a number of deaths among the general public. High doses of caffeine also may raise blood pressure, Bell said.
Although the study suggests that caffeine and ephedrine may improve performance, it doesn't prove the case, said researcher Terry Graham of the University of Guelph in Ontario, who was not connected with the study.
In very intense activities such as those that the study examined, there is ``a fair amount of variability day to day,'' Graham said. A small amount of normal variation might be enough to account for improvements that the study attributed to the drugs, he said.
The results for caffeine seem more supportable than those for ephedrine. Other researchers have found caffeine has an effect - it enhances aerobic endurance - but not much is known about ephedrine, Graham said.
As for whether the findings would encourage athletes to use ephedrine or caffeine, Graham considers the point moot, mostly because they already do. Ephedrine especially is used by body builders who are trying to raise their metabolic rates, burning more fat to get more muscle definition.
But users should realize that they are playing with fire, especially if they have blood pressure problems, Graham said.
Even if the drugs work, they still are wrong, said Paul Melia, chief operating officer of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, which tracks athletic drug use. ``The athlete has to be aware, they are ultimately responsible for what ends up in their system,'' he said.
And the study's finding that the drugs can improve performance justifies the disqualification of athletes who have ingested cold medications that contain ephedrine's chemical cousins - frequently along with caffeine, Jacobs said.
On the Net:
Abstract of the study, in the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query;Enter in search box: Bell Jacobs Caffeine Ephedrine
Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine: http://www.dciem.dnd.ca/DCIEM/welcome-e.html Food and Drug Administration report on ephedrine: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/(tildedms/ds-ephe3.html
End Adv for Monday, Aug. 20, and thereafter
Copyright: Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
