Living the start-up life lifestyle has led me to explore almost every legal pick-me-up on the market from coffee and espresso to Redbull and 5 Hour Energy in a quest to find something sustainable that didn’t leave me feeling like I’d been punched in the stomach while trekking through the desert. Along the way I’ve learned some startling things and discovered some new research on the effects of caffeine and it’s alternatives.  Now before you read any further, let’s be clear that the best alternative to caffeine is sleep, exercise and a healthy diet.  This post is aimed at those for whom that’s not always possible or preferable and who still need a quick pick me up from time to time.

Brief overview of Caffeine and Coffee

First a little basic background on our favorite energy booster. Caffeine is the most widely consumed stimulant in the world with an estimated 80% of the worlds population consuming it daily. Caffeine works by blocking Adenosine receptors in the brain. Since Adenosine has a generally inhibitory effect on neural activity, Caffeine thus causes the opposite effect and increases neural activity – the desired effect at the root of most Caffeine consumption.

Adenosine also has a normal vasodilation effect on the cerebral blood vessels, causing them to expand to allow more oxygen to flow to your brain cells. Since Caffeine also inhibits this function it has been used to treat migraine headaches and when consumed on a regular basis is responsible for the nasty caffeine headaches most caffeine addicts feel when they haven’t had their morning brew. What most people don’t know is that vasoconstriction due to 250 milligrams of caffeine can decrease bloodflow to the brain by 20%-30% putting your brain into a slightly hypoxic state (aka suffocation). While your body can adequately handle this by increase your heart and respiratory rates it is good reason to make sure you’re consuming caffeine moderately.

There can be a significant individual variation in your tolerance to Caffeine so everyone experiences it’s effects slightly differently. Just some of the variations include anxiety levels, alertness levels, mood changes and mental performance. Interestingly extroverted personalities tend to show performance improvements with large doses while introverted personalities tend to show performance impairments. Day to day I personally end up with a variety of these effects and personally tend to feel the anxiety more than not which has led me to search elsewhere to keep my energy levels up while staying competitive at work.

So what’s the alternative to Coffee?  More after the break…

Coffee Alternatives

So are there alternatives to coffee that won’t give you shaking muscles and bouncing legs? Well, there are some prescription medication that can help in extreme cases, but generally I’d avoid them at all costs (yes Caffeine itself is a drug but a socially accepted one with relatively manageable side effects).

Let’s talk about the most popular caffeinated beverage for a minute.  In our Starbucks saturated society (I’m actually writing this from a Starbucks in Taipei) many people don’t realize that oftentimes common health problems are related to over consumption of coffee.  Here are just some of it’s negative side effects:

• Increased stomach acid production – sometimes leading to stomach ulcers and acid reflux symptoms
• Can cause high blood pressure and irregular heart rhythms in sensitive people.
• Stimulates the nervous system causing anxiety, nervousness, difficulty sleeping and dizziness.
• Decreased motor coordination (writing, driving) and mental efficiency for one to three hours after consumption.

Energy Drinks

Okay, so how about the energy drinks? Well, besides caffeine, they’re full of sugar and all kinds of other ingredients that depending on your choice of brand will cause many of the same negative side effects of coffee. If you’re craving an energy drink boost, I recommend you try a sugar free alternative which can minimize the extreme swing in insulin production and the associated sugar high and crash. Also as always make sure you drink plenty of water when consuming any highly caffeinated drink.

Teas are the more mild choice and provide a good stimulant effect without the jolt of coffee. They often have a good deal of caffeine but still less than a cup of coffee and typically are mostly just water. Be slightly weary of sweetened bottled teas as they often are loaded with sugar.

• Green Tea – Full of antioxidants
• Black Tea – About half as much caffeine as coffee.
• Yerba Mate – Not technically a tea and has no caffeine.  Has a stimulant effect due to xanthines which are in the same family of alkaloids as caffeine.

Energy Shots and B-Vitamins

More recently a new class of energy supplements has appeared on the market, the most recognizable of these being “5 Hour Energy” know for having as much caffeine as a cup of coffee (about 100mg) with none of the negative side effects.  How is this possible?  A quick read of the ingredients show some interesting additions to the typical energy drink profile.

• Niacin at 150% daily value.
• Vitamin B6 at 2,000% daily value
• Vitamin B12 at 8,333% daily value

As you can see, there is an extremely high level of Vitamin B in these drinks. While deficiencies in B vitamins can lead to depression, insomnia, weakness, mental confusion, memory loss, and other cognitive deficits most people in developed countries get plenty of all B vitamins from their normal diet. It is not clear whether such high levels of B vitamins saturating your body has any positive effects, however many B vitamin supplements claim to boost energy, cognitive ability and even treat depression. I’d like to say that I do feel a healthy boost from these supplements, but the effect is subtle and difficult to separate from the possible placebo effect combined with a good shot of caffeine.

Some people swear by these “energy shots” and in personal experience they are quite effective. One more note to take on these caffeine and B vitamin supplements: be sure to have them long, long, long before you plan on sleeping. As the name suggests, give yourself at least 5 hours of activity to let it pass through your system.

In November 2008 I found myself researching work-out supplements for a new routine I was starting based on the principals of muscular hypertrophy (growth) as recommended by the little-known Colorado Experiment. That story will be left for another post, but as an interesting side effect to my search for knowledge I found a product called “NO-Xplode”.

Ridiculous name right? I thought so too, but it came highly recommended by some of the foremost experts in the field of professional body building and at a price point of about $40 I thought it might be worth a try. NO-Xplode is a pre-workout supplement that claims to give you “elevated physical and mental energy, muscle-expanding pumps, unparalleled strength and stamina; not to mention tunnel-vision like mental focus”. Basically it’s a stimulant that gives you the energy and motivation to hit the gym. The recommended serving is 2 or 3 scoops, so I thought I’d play it safe and start with just 1. Wow, the feeling it gave me can best be described as borderline manic, like the strongest coffee you’ve ever had. After a great workout and until about 6 hours thereafter I was wired, extremely thirsty and near euphoric.

Anyway, the jury is out on the effects of such high amounts of B vitamins and some people may have adverse reactions (such as “Niacin Flush” a relatively benign skin reaction associated with consumption of high levels of Niacin, vitamin B3) so before you try one of these supplements, be sure to check with your physician and start with a small dose to test your body’s reaction.

All that said, I now avoid drinking coffee, but prefer to stick with the occasional tea while I’m working. And only use NO-Xplode on occasion before going to the gym or if I just feel like I need a something to really get me going as I’m still slightly skeptical of it’s safety.

What do you find works best for you?