Frog Fuel energized products contain caffeine.
FrogFuel Power Energized and FrogFuel Ultra Energized contain caffeine. We use green coffee beans as our source of caffeine because roasted coffee beans produce a chemical that is known to be carcinogenic. Both products contain 80mg of caffeine, which is roughly the equivalent of one cup of coffee.
CAFFEINE
We've all heard the warning: Coffee has a diuretic effect, is dehydrating, and doesn't count as a fluid replacer. While once deemed true, we now know differently.
The truth is, a moderate intake of coffee, cola, and other caffeinated beverages do count towards fluid needs -- particularly if you're accustomed to consuming caffeine on a daily basis. (Don't we all know someone who drinks only coffee -- no water -- and is fully functional?)
Given that about 80 percent of Americans drink coffee (55 percent daily, 25 percent occasionally), and the average intake is about 200 mg caffeine/day (3 mg/kg), most athletes are familiar with caffeine's benefits of heightened alertness and performance.
The U.S. military is intensely interested in the physiological effects of caffeine on hydration. With soldiers enduring the heat of Iraq, the military needs to know how to optimize hydration. Hence, they have researched the effects of moderate and high doses of caffeine (3 and 6 mg/kg body weight) on hydration.
Using subjects who habitually consumed a relatively low amount of caffeine -- equivalent to one, six-ounce cup of brewed coffee (100 mg/day; about 1.3 mg caffeine/kg), they found no detrimental effects of caffeine on 24-hour urine volume. (Armstrong, In't J Sports Nutr, June 2005) By day's end, the urine losses were similar whether the person consumed no caffeine or a high dose.
CAFFEINE AND PERFORMANCE
Caffeine is one of the best-tested ergogenic aids (substances, devices, or practices that enhance an individual's energy use, production, or recovery) and is known to help athletes train harder and longer. Caffeine stimulates the brain and contributes to clearer thinking and greater concentration.
There are more than 74 good studies on the use of caffeine for both endurance exercise and short-term, higher intensity exercise. The vast majority of the studies conclude that caffeine does indeed enhance performance and makes the effort seem easier (by about six percent).
The average improvement in performance is about 12 percent, with more benefits noticed during endurance exercise than with shorter exercise (eight to 20 minutes) and a negligible amount for sprinters. More benefits are also noticed in athletes who rarely drink coffee, hence are not tolerant to its stimulant effect.
Because each person responds differently to caffeine, don't assume you'll perform better with a caffeine boost. You might just end up nauseated, coping with a "coffee stomach," or suffering from caffeine jitters at a time when you're already nervous and anxious.
A moderate caffeine intake is considered to be 250 mg/day. In research studies, the amount of caffeine that enhances performance ranges from 1.5 to 4 mg/lb body weight (3 to 9 mg/kg) taken one hour before exercise. For a 150 lb person, this comes to about 225 to 600 mg. More doesn't seem to be better.
ACRYLAMIDE
The chemical, acrylamide, is produced during the coffee bean roasting process, as well as when sugars and amino acids found in other foods are cooked at high temperatures. It’s one of 65 chemicals included in a California law that requires businesses to warn consumers if they may be exposed to substances associated with cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive issues.
Acrylamide is present in several types of cooked foods, as well as cigarette smoke. The chemical forms when foods, usually starchy ones — including coffee beans, french fries, potato chips, canned black olives, breakfast cereals, and toast — are heated to high temperatures, Marji McCullough, strategic director of nutritional epidemiology at the American Cancer Society, told Live Science previously.
Acrylamide is also used in certain industries to make polyacrylamide and acrylamide copolymers — substances that are used in the production of paper, dyes, and plastics. These acrylamide substances are also used to treat drinking water and wastewater, including sewage, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Despite acrylamide's industrial uses, the primary ways people are exposed to the chemical are through cigarette smoke and food, the NCI says. People can reduce the amount of acrylamide in their diet by not heavily crisping or browning starchy foods, according to studies published in 2004 and 2008. Quitting smoking can also help, as people who smoke have three to five times the amount of acrylamide exposure markers in their blood than nonsmokers do, according to a 2009 review in the journal Nutrition and Cancer.
DOES ACRYLAMIDE INCREASE THE RISK OF CANCER?
Once it's in the body, acrylamide is converted into glycidamide, a compound that can cause mutations and damage in DNA, according to the NCI. But although acrylamide exposure is known to increase the risk of cancer in rodents, the evidence is less clear for humans, the NCI says.
Some studies suggest that acrylamide could increase cancer risk in humans, but others find that it doesn't have an effect. It's possible that researchers get mixed results in humans because it's challenging to determine how much acrylamide is in people's diets, the NCI says. Moreover, humans and rodents absorb and metabolize acrylamide at different rates, which may explain the disparate results between rodents and humans.
However, because of its link to cancer in rodents, acrylamide is listed as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency that's part of the World Health Organization.
REFERENCES:
1. Active.com