They don't call it go-juice for nothing. Caffeine is the world's favourite performance-enhancing drug. And it is a drug, not a nutrient the most widely taken psychoactive stimulant known to humankind. In the UK, we knock back 98 million cups of coffee every day.
Besides getting us moving in the morning, it's known to improve athletic performance, from strength to endurance, as well as cognitive skills like alertness, reading speed and problem-solving.
"There's a massive list of supposed performance-enhancing substances," says James Betts, professor of metabolic physiology at the University of Bath.
This story is from the October 2024 edition of BBC Science Focus.
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This story is from the October 2024 edition of BBC Science Focus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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