Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,194
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Mentioned: 132 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1565 Post(s)
Caffeine by itself isn't a strong diuretic, but is typically ingested with a quantity of water as a vehicle which doesn't contain enough minerals to allow the body to retain the water, which readily gets flushed to the bladder in order to maintain the blood's critical mineral balance.
Caffeine de-regulates the adrenal glands, maintaining a continuous high adrenaline level, which is bad for maintaining transient blood pressure response. A fainting sensation (lo-pressure "rush") when standing can be the result, which I suggest may be detrimental to one's work efficiency and perceived "energy" over any longer period of time.
I found medical literature from about 70 years ago which described such adrenal insufficiency in detail, supposedly made worse by the ingestion of sugar.