Caffeine can be helpful when sleep deprived, but at a significant cost to your health. Here’s a few ways caffeine is slowly killing you.

Tolerance & Dependance
In a relatively short period of time, your body builds a tolerance to Caffeine. As you increase your concentration or frequency, the negative effects of Caffeine come to light. Do you have trouble functioning in the morning without a cup of coffee? Then you’ve developed a dependance.

Drinking coffee can be a tough habit to kick. The effects of withdrawal can last up to five day with symptoms including headache,  irritability, inability to concentrate, drowsiness, insomnia, stomach and joint pain.

Bone Loss
We know how important the health of our bones can be. As we age, it becomes increasingly difficult to hold onto our bone density, especially in women. Whether you know it or not, that cup of coffee is robbing you of your bones. Caffeine interferes with the Vitamin D receptors in the body and disrupts your bodies ability to regulate calcium in the blood stream. As little as 300mg per day or 1 large cup of coffee has been shown to accelerate bone loss in  women.

Dehydration
Caffeine is a diuretic, causing dehydration and electrolyte loss (sodium & potassium) through urination. I strongly recommend against my athletes using caffeine for performance. The minor increase in performance is disproportionately offset by it’s diuretic properties. Fluid loss as low as 5% by body weight can decrease performance output by 30%. Think about that next time.

Sources
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 74, No. 5, 694-700, November 2001
Caffeine intake increases the rate of bone loss in elderly women and interacts with vitamin D receptor genotypes 1,2,3,4

Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2007;35(3):135-140. © 2007 American College of Sports Medicine
Caffeine, Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, Temperature Regulation: Electrolyte Balance

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The vitamin industry has consistently posted domestic annual sales figures at $23 billion. It’s one of the few products everyone is told they need, while there’s little to no research that supports it’s benefits unless you’re severely malnourished.

I’m not saying we don’t need vitamins, because we do. There are 40 essential nutrients your body needs to function and survive. It’s just that multivitamins don’t work. Because mulit’s create a false sense of dietary security, most people eat poorly thinking the multi will make up for it. Not only is this not true, it’s actually less effective.

Absorption
There are receptor sites for different nutrients. In the body these receptor sites are limited, and can be overloaded by competing nutrients or refined carbohydrates. When we metabolize complex carbohydrates such as fruits or non-starchy vegetables, digestion happens slower than with refined carbohydrates. This allows the receptors time to absorb the nutrients.

Your receptors can’t absorb a days worth of nutrients all at once by using multivitamin, and we can’t absorb the nutrients sufficiently when the digestive process is taxed with refined carbohydrates.

Outsmarting Nature
Our bodies are incredibly complex. We need a precise amount of each essential vitamin and mineral. Unprocessed Fruits, Veggies, Protein Sources, and Nuts happen to have all the nutrients we need, in very safe concentrations. Using an artificial nutrient source poses several risks.

I stopped taking a multivitamin ten years ago, because they caused me to vomit if I didn’t eat enough before hand. I switched to a liquid multi, but it still irritated my digestive system. My reactions were mild compared to the damage they can cause children. Over absorption of Vitamin A is known to cause birth defects, while an Iron overdose can be lethal to children.

Conclusion
Don’t take the easy way out. Try to improve your diet naturally, even a small increase of fruits and veggies will have a significant impact. Unlike a multi, eating whole foods is a improvement you will notice after just a day or two. You will digest food easier, have more energy, and get sick less often.

Sources
Vitamin, Mineral, and Specialty Supplements and Risk of Hematologic Malignancies in the Prospective VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) Study Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. October 1, 2011 20:2298-2308

Dietary Supplement Use in the United States, 2003-2006J. Nutr. 2011 141: 261-266

Increasing longevity by tuning up metabolism, Bruce N. Ames EMBO Rep. 2005 July; 6(S1): S20–S24

Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Prevention of Chronic Disease,  The Johns Hopkins University Evidence-based Practice Center, Baltimore, MD AHRQ Publication No. 06-E012 May 2006

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The SkiErg is a great training tool for runners, where you can increase ones propulsion force without increasing their stroke rate or cadence. The Recovery Phase of the motion activates the posterior chain of the legs similarly to hill runs or track sprints. My athletes can simulate the stresses of hill sprint intervals or distance, without having to find hills of optimal grade and distance. The PM3 or PM4 is fantastic, allowing output to be measurable and repeatable.

Preventing Injury
A common cause of injuries in runners stems from compensating for strength imbalances. The SkiErg was intended as a Bilateral exercise, but can be modified by having the athlete stand one leg on a 4″ box. Using this single leg technique you can overcome asymmetrical strength differentials in the legs, decreasing the risk of injury, while increasing performance. Make sure to train each leg equally to balance out, I don’t recommend over training the weaker leg.

Injury Rehab
The SkiErg is a great tool for maintaining your fitness level through injury rehab. In some injury cases the athlete may not be able to run due to the impact forces, the SkiErg allows you to train without generating high impact forces. In the extreme cases where loading the legs isn’t possible due to injury, the SkiErg can be performed on a stool or plyo box (Arms only, or Arms and Waist), allowing you to complete your endurance training.

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Cholesterol serves a bunch of different beneficial functions in the body. Without it we wouldn’t survive. Cholesterol is needed to build and maintain cell membranes and create Bile in the liver, which breaks down and absorbs dietary fat and fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, & K). Cholesterol is also a precursor molecule for the synthesis of vitamin D and several steroid hormones such as testosterone, estrogens, and cortisol.

Cholesterol Sources
It’s important to note that only about 25% of our blood cholesterol comes from our diet (animal fats from beef, eggs, milk, etc…). Most of the cholesterol in our blood (about 75%) is produced by our bodies in the liver, intestines, adrenal glands, and reproductive organs. So while our diets do have a small impact on our overall cholesterol, it’s really genetics and exercise that make a big difference.

HDL & LDL
It’s recommended after age 20, you have your cholesterol screened by your physician every 5 years. This screening measures your HDL & LDL levels.

HDL is the “good cholesterol”. It carries cholesterol back to the liver and other tissues, removing cholesterol from cell and artery walls. Higher concentrations of HDL is linked to better overall health.

LDL molecules are known as the “bad cholesterol”. Their job is to transport cholesterol in the blood. When the supply of LDL molecules exceeds our body’s demand, it can often get trapped in the blood vessel walls and contribute to arterial plaque. This formation of arterial plaque causes hardening of the arteries and is the main cause of heart attacks and stroke.

More Information
For more information visit the American Heart Association by clicking here.

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