Personal Injury Law

Men Feel Coffee Effects In Ten Minutes

By Jane Akre

It doesn't take a study to understand that coffee's caffeine load can raise energy levels quickly.

But no one had ever studied how gender differences might apply.

Now Spanish researchers have found that a single espresso can increase the energy levels in ten minutes, especially for men.   Women became alert as well, but less so.

University of Barcelona investigators studies 668 university students before they drank an espresso and for as long as 30 minutes after.

 The peak effects of caffeine are felt about 45 minutes after being consumed, but the greater impact was seen among the males.  The report is published in the journal,  Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 

Anna Denny of the British Nutrition Foundation said to BBC News, "Research into 'gene-nutrient' interactions is moving forward quickly and we are finding out more about how our genetic make-up affects our requirements for certain foods and nutrients, and how our bodies react to these. In the future this could allow scientists to formulate dietary recommendations based on our genetic makeup, as well as our age and body size."

16 ounces of a drip-brewed decaffeinated coffee contains approximately 8 to 12 milligrams of caffeine, MSNBC reports.  16 ounces of regular coffee contains about 170 milligrams of caffeine. 

Interestingly, even students who drank decaffeinated espresso were more alert, with the effects more noticeable among women.  Investigators are not certain if that stems from a placebo effect.

The boost from coffee lasts two to three hours and varies according to individual sensitivity, metabolic rate and age, Bloomberg reports. 

Drinking up to six cups a day may cut the risk of dying from heart disease, according to a study released in June and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.  

The research, from Harvard School of Public Health looked at the relationship between drinking coffee, and health and death.

For Women 

Caffeine is not linked to an increase in the risk of breast cancer, a new study reports.  And traditionally doctors have told pregnant women they can have coffee in moderation.

But the latest research shows that having caffeinated coffee during pregnancy, particularly more than two cups of coffee daily nearly doubled the risk of miscarriage when compared to women who did not drink coffee. 

Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Research Division in Oakland followed 1,063 pregnant women throughout their pregnancy monitoring their coffee intake. The numbers were collected from October, 1996 to October 1998. 

The study is published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on December 24, 2008 (boomark / email).