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Drinking strong coffee before exercising increases fat-burning, new study finds

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228 points curmudgeon22 | 6 comments | 28 Mar 21 17:14 UTC | HN request time: 0.704s | source | bottom
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PragmaticPulp ◴[28 Mar 21 17:42 UTC] No.26612365[source]▶
> Subjects ingested 3 mg/kg of caffeine or a placebo at 8am and 5pm

3mg/kg is over 250mg of caffeine for an average weight man. Twice a day makes that 500mg.

An 8.4oz can of Red Bull contains 80mg of caffeine. They were giving these people an amount of caffeine equivalent to 6 cans of Red Bull. Not a perfect comparison because Red Bull contains other ingredients, but that's still a lot of caffeine. For another point of reference, that's 2.5 shots of 5 hour energy (200mg caffeine per bottle).

To top it off, the subjects were caffeine-naive, so they had no caffeine tolerance. They must have been feeling extremely energetic.

No wonder they burned more fat. I'm not sure this is going to translate to your casual coffee drinker or someone with a high caffeine tolerance.

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1. themolecularman ◴[28 Mar 21 17:49 UTC] No.26612446[source]▶
Interestingly I've heard about a strong relationship between heart attacks and consumption of energy drinks like Monster/Red-Bull.

I used to drink a lot of Red Bull and stopped as a result. But I sometimes think one of the reasons I haven't put on weight despite my lifestyle is because of my caffeine habits.

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2. SkyMarshal ◴[28 Mar 21 18:10 UTC] No.26612657[source]▶
Back in the late 00’s I discovered Redbull really helped me overcome after-lunch food-coma. I’d drink one right after lunch to help me get back to work and focus for the rest of the day.

After about 6 months of this, one day I was sitting at my desk having just finished my afternoon Redbull, and felt my heart skip a beat, literally. Like a little mini-heart attack. Scared the shit out of me, and I quit Redbull cold turkey that day.

At the time I was really into cycling, riding about 100 miles per week (50 on the weekend plus daily bike commute). I was in tip-top shape, with no family history of heart problems, and an otherwise normal, low-sugar, whole food diet.

Never experienced that since, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are studies that find a link between super-high caffeine energy drinks and heart or other health problems.

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3. dbsmith83 ◴[28 Mar 21 18:12 UTC] No.26612695[source]▶
Ah, this is called an ectopic heart-beat (usually harmless). Back when I drank too much coffee and didn't sleep in my last year of college, I got a few of these. Now I'm a one-cup-a-day kind of guy, and it hasn't happened much anymore.
4. SkyPuncher ◴[28 Mar 21 18:27 UTC] No.26612829[source]▶
Most energy drinks include other energy additives, which I think is where the dangers come from.

I can no longer drink red bull because it gives me really bad heart palpitations. Meanwhile, I can pretty much drink coffee all day without issue.

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5. krtkush ◴[28 Mar 21 18:29 UTC] No.26612846[source]▶
I was diagnosed with high BP very early in my life (23-24 yo). The doctor said it is okay to have everything in moderation but asked me to not touch energy drinks.
6. retrac ◴[28 Mar 21 18:38 UTC] No.26612929[source]▶
Caffeine, at least in large doses, is somewhat stressful on the heart by itself. It increases respiration and blood pressure and heart rate. A strong cup of coffee can give me minor palpitations.