Metabolic effects of a caffeinated sports drink consumed during a soccer match

Abstract

Abstract-The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of the intake of a caffeinated sport drink (CAFD) compared to a commercial carbohydrate drink (CHOD) on biochemical parameters and rate of perception exertion in youth soccer players. The experiment was setup in a double-blind crossover design where athletes consumed 5mL.Kg -1 body weight (BW) before the game and 3mL.Kg -1 BW every 15 minutes during the game. Intake of the CAFD resulted in increased blood glucose (BG) and blood lactate (BL) levels and average of maximum heart rate compared to consumption of the CHOD (p = 0.01). No difference was observed in the other variables. CAFD promoted greater plasmatic concentration of BG and BL compared with the CHOD. The CAFD did not increase the mobilization of free fatty acids, did not alter the plasma potassium concentration and was not able to reduce subjective perceived exertion.Keywords: caffeine, sport drink, glycemia, lactate, hydrationResumo-"Efeitos metabólicos de uma bebida esportiva cafeinada consumida durante uma partida de futebol." O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar o efeito da ingestão de uma bebida esportiva cafeinada (CAFD) em comparação a uma bebida carboidratada comercial (CHOD) sobre parâmetros bioquímicos e a taxa de percepção de esforço em jogadores de futebol categoria juvenil. O desenho experimental foi duplo-cego cruzado, onde os atletas consumiram 5mL.Kg -1 de peso corporal (PC) antes do jogo e 3mL.Kg -1 PC a cada 15 minutos durante o jogo. A ingestão de CAFD resultou no aumento da glicemia (GS) e do lactato sanguíneo (LS) e do valor médio da frequência cardíaca máxima em relação ao consumo do CHOD (p = 0,01). Nenhuma diferença foi observada nas outras variáveis. CAFD promoveu maior concentração plasmática de GS e LS em comparação com o CHOD. A CAFD não aumentou a mobilização dos ácidos graxos livres, não alterou a concentração de potássio plasmático e não foi capaz de reduzir a percepção subjetiva do esforço. Palavras-chaves: cafeína, bebida esportiva, lactato, hidrataçãoResumen-"Efectos metabólicos de una bebida deportiva con cafeína consumida durante un partido de fútbol." El objetivo fue verificar el efecto del consumo de una bebida deportiva con cafeína (CAFD) frente a una bebida carbohidratada comercial (CHOD) sobre parámetros bioquímicos y el índice de percepción de esfuerzo percibido en jugadores de fútbol de la categoría juvenil. El diseño experimental utilizado fue de tipo doble-ciego cruzado, donde los deportistas ingieren 5mL.Kg -1 del peso corporal (PC) antes del partido y 3mL.Kg -1 PC a cada 15 minutos durante el partido. El consumo de CAFD produjo un aumento en la glucemia (GS) y del lactato sanguíneo (LS) y del valor medio de frecuencia cardiaca máxima frente al consumo de CHOD (p = 0,01). No hubo diferencias en las demás variables. CAFD produjo mayor concentración plasmática de GS y LS en comparación con la CHOD. La CAFD no aumento la movilización de ácidos grasos libres, no hubo alteración en la concentración de potasio plasmático y no fue capaz de reducir el índi...

Caffeine Supplementation and Physical Performance, Muscle Damage and Perception of Fatigue in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review

“…Most investigations administered caffeine 30–60 min prior to testing, with the exception of the studies conducted by Andrade-Souza et al (2015) where the consumption of caffeine was carried out 3 h after a practice session, 4 h after its effects were evaluated in a simulated match [ 25 ]. Also, Guttierres et al (2013) used a protocol that included the ingestion of caffeine 1 h before the test and every 15 min during the protocol [ 26 ]. Finally, Ranchordas et al (2018) employed caffeine 5 min before the tests because they used caffeinated gums [ 17 ].…”

“…Guttierres et al, [ 26 ], in an experiment with 20 youth soccer players (age: 16.1 ± 0.7 years), observed the effect of caffeine (contained in a sport drinks) on free fatty acids mobilization. Participants consumed the beverage 20 min before a soccer match and every 15 min during the game with a total caffeine consumption of 7.2 mg/kg.…”

“…Graham, et al, [ 44 ] showed that caffeine with glucose increased insulin secretion versus glucose consumption alone. In the Guttierres study, blood glucose concentrations were higher possibly due to an increase in sympathetic nervous system activity [ 26 ], increasing adrenaline and noradrenaline and glycogenolysis [ 45 , 46 ]. Moreover, blood lactate concentrations increased with the ingestion of caffeine, likely indicating, in an indirect manner, that players achieved a greater intensity in the trial with caffeine.…”

“…An important limitation of this study was that the amount of caffeine consumed was very low (80 mg) and thus, the effects of caffeine would have been limited due to dosage. On the contrary, Guttierres et al, [ 26 ] and Lara et al, [ 28 ] found that caffeine tended to cause an increase in exercise heart rate with a concomitant reduction in the perception of fatigue. While caffeine has been proven to reduce perception of fatigue in exercise protocols that used a fixed exercise intensity [ 47 ], these investigations [ 20 , 26 , 28 ] used exercise protocols more applicable to soccer, where exercise intensity can be freely chosen, as happens during soccer play.…”

Administration of Caffeine in Alternate Forms

“…Caffeinated sports drinks have also been studied for many years, with most reports demonstrating that caffeine added to a sports drink has a further performance enhancing effect above that of a carbohydrate (CHO)-electrolyte solution alone, as reviewed by Kovacs et al [ 8 ], Cureton et al [ 9 ], and Spriet [ 6 ]. These findings will not be reviewed here, but include studies that examined the effects of caffeinated sports drinks on cycling [ 10 – 12 ], running [ 13 ], golf [ 14 ] and soccer [ 15 , 16 ] performance.…”