When road races approach, my diet goes haywire. I've overeaten on spaghetti dinners, skipped breakfast only to starve later and even resorted to chomping on cardboard-flavored energy bars. But in my search for some secret formula to running success, some magical remedy to cancel out the eight-mile long run that I neglected to do, there was always at least one known and trusted factor- hydration. And that meant drinking water, not tea, coffee and definitely not soda. At least that's what I thought.
I read an MSNBC article today that changed my conceptions about caffeine. According to Lawrence Armstrong, a professor of exercise physiology at the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Connecticut, caffeine doesn't dehydrate athletes. If consumed in moderation, about 500 milligrams or the equivalent of about three cups of coffee a day, caffeine can even help athletes work out longer.
I was so startled by this information that I did a little investigating about caffeine. What I found just startled me more. When in plant form, caffeine is a natural pesticide. It paralyzes and kills insects trying to feed on the plant. My immediate reaction, I can't believe we willingly ingest this stuff. On second thought, coffee- perhaps an alternative insect repellent?
So exercisers, runners and all caffeine drinkers, these are the facts. Pick your poison.
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