RE: 2 fat burners at the same time?
-
Thursday, July 08, 2004 2:43 PM
Hmm...I'm no expert on this subject...but I would imagine you might suffer from some complications wtih too much of certain ingrediants.
For instance, caffeine alone, provided you took the recommended dosage on both sups you'd be planning to take, would have you consuming roughly 800-1000 mg of caffeine. Consider this chart below:
Oral Caffeine Dosages
Threshold 10 - 20 mg
Common 50 - 150 mg
Strong 150 - 400 mg
Heavy 400 + mg
LD50 (Lethal Dose*) 192 mg/kg in rats
* LD50 = dose which will kill 50% of the tested animals. It is estimated that fatal doses for humans are between 1 and 4 grams of caffeine, depending on body weight and tolerance.
So by these chart standings, you're consuming twice the Heavy range. I'm not sure what happens at doses of this level for extended periods of time (and even in this light, I'm referring to most energy pills recommendations of no more than 12 weeks on), but it's probably a bad idea, IMO....Read below for more info...
What are the symptoms of caffeine overdose?
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and can produce a variety of effects elsewhere in the body. The symptoms of a caffeine overdose ("caffeinism") will vary, according to individual differences and the amount consumed. Doses ranging from 250 to 750 mg (2 to 7 cups of coffee or tablets of NoDoz) can produce restlessness, diziness nausea, headache, tense muscles, sleep disturbances, and irregular heart beats. Doses of over 750 mg (7 cups of coffee) can produce all of the above as well as a reaction similar to an anxiety attack, including delirium, drowsiness, ringing ears, diarrhea, vomiting, light flashes, difficulty breathing, convulsions (extreme overdose). These amounts of caffeine may come from a single dose or from multiple doses at short intervals. Besides caffeine's effects, the essential oils of coffee may cause gastrointestinal irritation and diarrhea, and the high tannin content of tea can result in constipation.
How does caffeine affect sleep?
Studies of the effect of caffeine on sleep have shown that one strong cup of coffee, drunk 30-60 minutes before going to sleep, can cause restlessness and difficulty falling asleep, increased body movements, a tendency to be awakened more readily by sudden noises, and a decreased quality of sleep.
The wide variation in caffeine's effects on sleep may be related to whether the person is a habitual, heavy user or a non-user of caffeine. Non-users report greater difficulty with sleep after consuming caffeine. Heavy users may also experience sleep disturbances; however, their increased tolerance to the effects of caffeine affects their perceptions of disturbed sleep. Often they sleep for shorter periods of time, but have grown accustomed to this pattern.
If you use caffeine and are having trouble sleeping, you may want to try cutting back on your total daily intake or avoid consumption 5-7 hours before you plan on sleeping, to allow time for the caffeine to be metabolized.
Caffeine and Health Problems
HEARTBURN - In some people, coffee has been shown to relax the sphincter muscles at the lower end of the esophagus, allowing the stomach contents to "back up" into the esophagus; this is called heartburn. Caffeine alone has no effect on the sphincter muscles, so other substances in coffee apparently cause the heartburn.
ULCERS - Caffeine can increase the secretion of both acid and pepsin in the stomach, which could exacerbate an existing ulcer. However, since both "regular" and decaffeinated coffees have also been shown to stimulate the gastric mucosa and increase stomach acid secretion, caffeine is probably not the only component of coffee responsible.
FIBROCYSTIC BREAST DISEASE - In the late '70's and '80's, several well-publicized studies linked caffeine consumption with benign fibrocystic breast disease (FBD). More recent investigations, however, have not supported these findings. Individual women may notice a decrease in palpable breast lumps, the symptoms of FBD, when they limit their caffeine intake, although research has not shown a direct association.
HEART PROBLEMS - Caffeine has been shown to cause cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) in certain individuals; often persons with heart disease are told to avoid caffeine altogether. However, no evidence shows that caffeine is a causative factor in the development of heart disease. Also see "Has coffee drinking been linked to heart disease?" in this section.
HEART DISEASE - The relationship between coffee drinking and heart disease has been investigated in numerous studies but strong, independent risks associated with coffee drinking have not been clearly documented. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute recently found heavy coffee drinkers (defined as five or more cups per day) were two to three times more likely to have coronary heart disease than were nondrinkers (NEJM, October 16, 1986). This relationship was true even when accounting for other important risk factors such as age, smoking habits, serum cholesterol and blood pressure.
However, the study did not control for the effects of diet, sedentary lifestyle or high levels of occupational stress. Nor did it indicate the exact quantity in ounces of coffee consumed, the type of coffee (regular or decaffeinated), the brewing method, or the use of cream or sugar.
If coffee drinking does increase the risk of heart disease, it may do so through its effect on cholesterol. A few studies have linked heavy coffee consumption to elevated total serum cholesterol, although caffeine alone does not seem to be responsible. Perhaps it's not even the coffee, but a high saturated fat diet among heavy coffee drinkers that's increasing the risk of heart disease. Increased coffee consumption by men has been associated with increased calorie consumption from fat and increased cholesterol intake. (Adapted from DNS ALERT, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Dec. 1986)
Addiction and Withdrawal
Caffeine is addictive according to several definitions of 'addiction'. It causes withdrawal symptoms after cessation of heavy use (most commonly headaches) and regular users develop tolerance and experience cravings when ceasing use. Regular users can also become emotionally and mentally dependent upon their daily caffeine (coffee, soda, etc).
Withdrawal Symptoms
Caffeine has the potential to produce tolerance, which means that increased amounts of the drug are needed to achieve a consistent effect. Withdrawal symptoms can occur when use of caffeine is stopped abruptly. Users may experience fatigue, and most commonly, headaches. Primary withdrawal effects last for only a few days though mild withdrawal effects can last as long as a week or two.
craving
tiredness, lethargy
confusion and inability to focus
headaches
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!
"Did you dad ever make you put a banana in your shorts?"
~Vernon Dozier - Phil Hendrie Show