
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.
この記事は BBC Science Focus の October 2024 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は BBC Science Focus の October 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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