Coffee and Acidity

What are the best coffee options in Costa and Starbucks?

As many of you are probably coffee drinkers I thought I would give you an indication of the best choices to make when you are at your barista of choice.

Obviously because of the higher milk content Latte’s will contain more calories and thus are higher in carbohydrates than a standard Americano black coffee with added milk if preferred. As many of you probably know asking for skimmed milk will decrease the calorie content. This can be significant and in a medium Latte the calories are nearly halved in comparison with whole milk with a 6 gram saving in fat! With a Cappuccino the difference is a little less but still significant. A standard Americano is always the way to go as this is standard espresso with hot water and a dash of milk. Tea is also a great option for this reason.

Acid and Nutrition

When a food is ingested, digested, and absorbed, each component of that food will present itself to the kidneys as either an acid-forming compound or a base-forming one.  When we get the totals of these loads we have what is known as an acid-base load.

Why is this Important?

Well every cell in your body functions at its peak within a certain pH range and this is different for different cells. In today’s world we are nearly all forcing our cells to live in a highly acidic environment. The most significant problems with this are that it is awful for bone health but also IGF-1 and growth hormone levels, both of which are essential for recovery and muscle growth!

Some examples below: (the higher the value the more acidic it is, 0 being neutral)

Chicken                                    8.7

Rump Steak                             8.8

Cod Fillet                                  7.1

Milk                                            1.0

Carrots                                     -4.9

Cauliflower                              -4.0

Apricots                                    -4.1

Milk Chocolate                         2.4

Kiwi Fruit                                  -4.1

Key things to know are that although the higher protein foods have high acidic values they also produce the compounds needed to break them down effectively thus counterbalancing their values.

What I am saying here is not to start worrying about eating acidic foods but that it is a newly researched area and that the scientific evidence shows it can significantly hinder your body’s attempts to recover when you are in a state of acidosis(highly acidic). My advice would be to always try to include a large amount of vegetables with highly acidic meals to counteract them and give you’re cells the best possible chance of working optimally.

 “Failure is waiting for those who dwell on the successes of yesterday. You must train harder tomorrow than ever before”

Is Coffee Bad?

Caffeine use in elite sport is a well researched area and so I can evaluate many studies and detail some evidence based tips for you on its use to maximise performance. Firstly, the increase in nerve activity brought about by consuming caffeine stimulates the release of the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) which in turn, leads to such effects as increased blood flow to muscles and the release of glucose by the liver. Caffeine also increases brain levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is involved in cognitive (thinking) processes, alertness and memory. For this reason alone there are numerous studies which show that caffeine significantly improves mental focus. Also in a recent study from the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, researchers showed that coffee is the number one source of antioxidants in the average American's diet.

If stimulatory effects are your goal then freshly brewed black coffee is the way to go and not a large latte which is full of milk! An average cup of black freshly brewed coffee contains about 130 milligrams of caffeine (compare that to the 80 milligrams in a regular Red Bull), plenty to give you the mental focus you are after. But remember, everything in moderation because athletes who rely on caffeine to get "up" for games or training are often creating a mental "barrier" that is hard to escape. And as your body develops a tolerance to caffeine it will take more and more caffeine to get the same feeling of "focus" you've come to expect. Also avoid putting a lot of sugar or sweeteners in your coffee or you will ruin the effect you are looking for by increasing sugar content just like r

egular Red Bull. So if you want to use coffee as a pre training/match stimulant then you must not over use it during the week! A maximum of one cup per day would be advised and then 1-2 cup freshly brewed coffee 1-1.5 hrs before competition (game time).

Will it dehydrate me?

A study on the effects of high dose pre-exercise caffeine ingestion found no significant impact on hydration (Can J Physiol Pharmacol, 68(7): 889-92, 1990). Other studies have showed a mild diuretic effect in extremely high doses (8 cups filter coffee per day!). However, this diuretic effect is also governed by the concentration of caffeine in any given drink. For example, an espresso coffee provides around 100mg of caffeine in just 50ml of water, but you’d have to drink around 1 litre of tea to obtain the same amount of caffeine, significantly hydrating your body in the process! A medium Americano contains around 100mg caffeine (1 espresso shot) but 350 ml water.

My advice is clear on caffeine, if you want to gain a stimulatory benefit from it then abstain from using it a lot until competition/training time. The message from years gone by of cutting out tea and coffee is WRONG because there is no evidence of a diuretic effect when used this way and you will also then lose the hydrating effect of drinking the water you made it with!