Caffeine Has Stronger Effect on Men

Men can get away with spending less at the coffee bar than women it seems, thanks to new research from the University of Barcelona in Spain that found that caffeinated coffee delivers a harder kick to men than women, providing more alertness in lesser doses.

PERK YOURSELF UP

In the study, 688 healthy university students (238 male and 450 female, mean age 22) drank either a cup of espresso containing 100 mg of caffeine or a cup of decaf espresso with just 5 mg. The study was double-blind, meaning that they did not know whether their espresso was caffeinated or not. Students were asked to self-rate their alertness levels before and at 10, 20 and 30 minutes later. To account for differences in alertness in morning and afternoon, researchers varied testing sessions between 11 am and 1 pm and 4 pm and 6 pm.

Researchers found that…

  • Regardless of gender, the caffeinated coffee (100 mg caffeine) had an almost instant impact on participants’ perceived levels of alertness. Apparent at 10 minutes, the effects increased at the 20- and 30-minute intervals, and were stronger in men than women.
  • Ten minutes after drinking decaf (5 mg caffeine) coffee, both women and men reported the increases in alertness — though interestingly, in this case, women reported a stronger impact than men. The effect was not sustained in either men or women at the 20- and 30-minute intervals.

Results of the study were published in the October 1, 2008, issue of the journal Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry.

WHY THE DIFFERENCE?

Curious about these differences, I asked Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND, about the study. In his opinion, there are likely numerous factors at play, all of which warrant further examination before conclusions can be drawn. For example, he noted that gender differences may be related to levels of enzymes, which vary among men and women, and also that decaffeinated coffee has a variety of compounds that may affect women in a different way than men.

I don’t particularly care for coffee, personally, but it’s clear that study after study is demonstrating health benefits to moderate coffee consumption. Up to a few cups a day of black coffee, depending on your metabolism, may offer protection against liver disease, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s and other ailments. As with haircuts, men are lucky enough to be able to get away with spending less to achieve the same benefit.

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