Hurray! It’s the weekend but sadly, for me, some weekend treats are off –limit, however, I am still on the subject of coffee ….

I went out running on the fells this morning with the Friday morning gang and I was staggered at how awful I felt. Okay, admittedly Whitside is a tad steep to start but my legs felt like lead and I had chest pains!!!

To begin with I was cursing myself for not doing enough training but then, I thought, the most common ingredient in sports energy beverages is caffeine. The ergogenic effects of caffeine on athletic performance have been demonstrated many times and there have also been countless studies into its broad range of metabolic, hormonal, and physiological effects on athletes.

So, when I got home I dug out a paper on the safety of energy beverages

[1] investigating the effects of long-term exposure. One of the conclusions was that energy beverages can result in alterations to the cardiovascular system and should not be used by anyone who has an underlying heart condition! Ok – this must be reason number 4.

Think I will put in a full stop – it is Friday night after all. Have a great weekend all.

1. Energy Beverages: Content and Safety, J.P. Higgins, November 2010