Jumat, 29 Juni 2012

Could caffeine transform the average nan into supergran?

Could caffeine transform the average nan into supergran?

  • Stimulant found to boost muscles in elderly

By Claire Bates

PUBLISHED: 04:30 EST, 29 June 2012 | UPDATED: 07:25 EST, 29 June 2012

Drinking coffee could help older people maintain their strength and reduce their chances of falling and injuring themselves, a new study has found.

The decline in muscle strength that occurs as we age can reduce quality of life by making everyday tasks harder.

The process is not well understood, but it is clear that preserving muscle tone is key.

Fighting fit? Caffeine was found to boost older muscles. However, it can also stop the body from absorbing calcium

Fighting fit? Caffeine was found to boost older muscles. However, it can also stop the body from absorbing calcium

It is known that in adults in their prime caffeine helps the muscles to produce more force. But as we age, our muscles naturally change and become weaker.

So, sports scientists at Coventry University looked for the first time at whether caffeine could also have a strengthening effect on pensioners.

Their study on mice revealed that caffeine boosted power in two different muscles in elderly adults - an effect that was not seen in developing youngsters.

Jason Tallis, the study's primary author, said: 'With the importance of maintaining a physically active lifestyle to preserve health and functional capacity, the performance-enhancing benefit of caffeine could prove beneficial in the aging population.'

The researchers isolated muscles from mice ranging in age from juvenile to elderly, then tested their performance before and after caffeine treatment. The stimulant is found in coffee and a number of soft drinks.

Coffee

Coffee has also been linked to improved memory

They looked at two different skeletal muscles, which are the muscles we can control voluntarily. The first was the diaphragm, a core muscle used for respiration; the second was a leg muscle called the extensor digitorum longus (EDL), used for locomotion.

Tallis said: 'Despite a reduced effect in the elderly, caffeine may still provide performance-enhancing benefits.'

Consuming caffeine has also been linked to improved thinking processes and improved memory skills in later life.

However, previous research has shown that excessive caffeine intake may cause the body to rid itself of calcium - a nutrient vital in supporting bone strength in later life.

It can also temporarily increase blood pressure, although the long-term effects of this are unclear.

The latest study will be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology this month.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

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Two "coffee is good for you" articles in one week ? Time for writers to declare their interests in certain companies , perhaps ?

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Oh, I must tell my 95 year old father and 93 year old mother who have always drunk tea (and continue to pull up concrete slabs in the garden to weed under them) that they should have been drinking coffee all this time.

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On my 65th birthday I squatted with 805lb, the most I have ever managed !! And I don't take Steroids, Caffeine or any other muscle enhancing drugs !!!!

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Caffeine is good for women but not for men, when men drink coffee it increases their stress levels but when women drink it they get the benefits without the drawbacks. Men should drink tea and women should drink coffee.

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