Hamilton Naturopathic Doctor
Dr Justin Gallant ND
  • Home
  • Naturopathic Medicine
    • What is Naturopathic Medicine?
    • What to expect
    • Diagnostics
    • Typical Patients
    • Conditions
  • About
    • Qualifications
    • Education
    • Philosophy
    • Why I'm an ND
    • Principles of Naturopathic Medicine
    • Me in the Media
  • Book In
    • Advantage Chiropractic
    • Free consults
    • Fee Schedule
  • F.A.Q.
  • Contact
    • Feedback
  • Blog
  • Events

Caffeine and Arginine: A combo that could be killing athletes 

2/12/2013

 
Picture
There have been several reports in the news lately of healthy athletes dropping dead due to a sudden heart attack. A couple of these reports, including the most recent Boston Marathon death have mentioned athletes having caffeine in their system and some have claimed the athletes are taking a supplement which contains caffeine and the amino acid L-arginine. Caffeine alone should be used with caution in endurance training, since it can be a strong stimulant based on your metabolism and your genetics”


Read More below if you're interested

Arginine, Dehydration and Low Blood Pressure

If you’re already dehydrated from sweating, your blood pressure will drop pretty low, if you add arginine into the mix you’re blood pressure will drop even lower. When your blood pressure drops too low and the hypotensive triggers (things that decrease blood pressure) are gone, eventually you can get rebound hypertension. This effect is seen in surgery when a patient is purposely put into hypotension with medications that dilate the blood vessels (the same effect arginine has). Once this drug wears off, with the body’s intention of bringing the blood pressure back to homeostasis, the blood pressure elevates higher than normal (rebound hypertension).  I suspect that this effect is why these athletes usually die once they are resting or right after the event. ​

How Caffeine and Arginine Affect Your Heart

Think about how hard your heart will have to work if you dilate all of your blood vessels and take caffeine. To start, you take arginine which will lower your peripheral resistance and help blood flow easier through the body. Now your blood pressure is lower because it doesn’t have to work as hard to pump to the rest of the body since there is less resistance. Now you start physically exerting yourself, increasing the demand for oxygen and nutrients to your tissues (Muscles, skin, etc…). Your heart works harder to pump blood to these tissues but because the path is wider it takes more blood to transport the oxygen and nutrients. Now your heart is trying to pump more blood than usual to these tissues. This scenario is dangerous enough and now we’ll factor caffeine into it. Caffeine simulates stress, so it puts us into the stimulated fight or flight mode. This increases the heart rate even more and increases the demand of the tissues that the heart needs to pump oxygen and nutrients too. On top of all of this our lungs have to compensate and oxygenate this increase in demand. These are sure determinants to lead to heart failure. 

Factors that Influence How Preworkouts Affect You

  • Temperature
  • Caffeine factors (how each individual metabolizes caffeine, route of caffeine administration, other ingredients, etc…)
  • Underlying heart conditions (most go undiagnosed until a cardiac mishap takes place)
  • How hard the athlete pushes themselves
  • Duration of the athletic event
  • Hydration status
  • The Condition the athlete is in
  • Dose and administration of arginine
  • How well the liver and kidneys are functioning
  • Genetics
  • There are several other factors that need to be considered as well.  

Highway Analogy for Caffeine and Arginine

Regularly your blood vessels are like a 1-lane highway. Traffic will congest the 1-lane highway and the main street that cars are entering it from. You take arginine to vasodilate your blood vessels into a 3-lane highway. Now the cars have a calm steady flow and the pressure is taken off of the main street. Now picture all of these cars as ambulances trying to get to accidents at all the different highway exits. It’s a blizzard out there and as time goes by there’s more and more demand for these ambulances.  The Hospitals are sending out as many ambulances as they can but they can’t keep up with the demand because the accidents are so far apart. Eventually the Hospitals run out of ambulances and now that the arginine has worn off the highway is back down to 1-lane highway and all of the ambulances start smashing into each other. ​

Preworkout Advice

  • Rely more on proper hydration rather than banking on “performance-enhancing” supplements.   
  • See a licensed health professional about proper training and supplementation
  • Just because something is natural or over-the-counter doesn't mean it is safe. 
  • I've had a lot of patients come in on preworkouts and not even realize they're taking one. Be careful! 

To make a long story short:  

  • Dehydration and arginine reduce your blood pressure. When low blood pressure is combined with stimulants it can be fatal, especially once the body tries to maintain homeostasis and rebounds into hypertension. 
Nicole
2/12/2013 05:41:13 pm

Sehr gut! a very thought provoking article. I can't say I'll quit using caffeine before my future races, but I promise not to add the L-arg now.
I can't quite give up caffeine just yet. Taking caffeine during long distance races (+30km) makes the difference between crossing the finish line with a big smile, vs. balling my eyes out and swearing off running forever (for me at least).

Dr. Justin Gallant ND link
7/17/2015 04:54:41 am

I'm glad you've promised not to add L-arginine.
I'm sure you'll survive many more long distance races ;)

vitor
6/8/2013 03:01:09 am

i wanto to know..what do you suggest to someone that want to use arginine but have the effect of caffeine too?

Dr. Justin Gallant ND link
6/9/2013 02:49:43 pm

Hi Vitor,

It depends on what you are supplementing with Arginine for.
Also, when you say, "Have the effect of caffeine too" do you mean supplement with caffeine as well or are you asking me what else would have the effect of caffeine?

Craig
7/10/2013 05:38:13 pm

It's my understanding that caffeine increases blood pressure. If I understand you're write-up correctly you're saying that the diuretic effect causes a decrease in blood pressure? I've always wondered the same thing about supplementing with the two if one dilates the arteries and one constricts them.

Dr. Justin Gallant ND link
7/16/2013 06:23:12 am

Thanks for the inquiry Craig!

Caffeine will indeed cause a spike in blood pressure initially and then once the diuretic effect has taken place blood pressure will drop after fluid loss.
They can definitely pose a dangerous interaction when used in combination.

shariff
6/24/2014 08:55:37 pm

Great article. I've experienced this myself taking a supplement combining caffeine & l-arginine. The negative effects seem definitely more pronounced during running versus lifting weights.
It was quite nice at first, I've become visibly vascular and it definitely provided nice gains, but I could feel my heart racing faster than it ever has, and extreme dehydration.
This is a dangerous combination I will never use again.
Thanks for spreading the word and giving us the science behind it as well. This article is a must-share

Dr. Justin Gallant ND link
7/17/2015 04:55:26 am

Thanks Shariff!
I'm glad you'll never combine them again.

Ramir link
10/6/2015 09:23:42 pm

I'm so thankful for all the information I've read in
This site, because I was planning to take both supplements, L-Arginine & Caffeine...
Thank you for the knowledge you've shared Dr. Justin Gallant.

Dr. Justin Gallant ND link
3/23/2016 07:23:07 pm

Thanks Ramir!

I appreciate the appreciation!

GLM_Research
1/23/2016 09:06:36 am

I'll just echo the words of shariff. After a week or so on caffeine and arginine weight training gains were nice, but while running it felt like my heart was going to pound its way out of my chest.

Amanda
3/21/2016 06:07:25 pm

I have POTS, and autonomic failure. I am thinking about adding this to my supplements. Although I run a little low with my blood pressure. How long would you suggest for therapeutic purposes?

Dr. Justin Gallant ND link
3/23/2016 07:24:30 pm

Hey Amanda,

I don't recommend this combo at all, it's dangerous.

Anthony
6/10/2016 10:25:57 am

Thanks so much for posting this article. I think you may have just saved many lives - possibly my own. I am a 50 year old male and have been supplementing with L-Arginine for fitness/workouts and have enjoyed the additional benefits in the bedroom. Recently, I've noticed excessive dry mouth, difficulty breathing/wheezing when exercising, excessive urination. While I quit caffeine months ago, I've been taking other supplements to enhance my overall well-being and, yes, libido. Epimedium (Horny Goad Weed) can cause breathing problems with long term use as can L-Arginine in asthmatics. While I've never had asthma, I have had many of they symptoms - especially when going on a run have needed to carry an Albuterol inhaler. I've also read L-Arginine can cause potassium imbalance and hydration issues, as reflected in your post. Tribulus Terrestris is another supplement I've enjoyed and recently read it TOO is a diuretic and can cause dehydration! All of this lead me to an IV clinic where I 'plumped up' with electrolytes hoping it would help boost up my system. Thankfully, NOW know what has been causing my symptoms and have been saved from doing myself further harm. It seem what helps us can cause other problems.

Dr Justin Gallant ND link
6/10/2016 02:21:37 pm

Thanks for reading Anthony!
I appreciate the feedback.
It's a serious issue, hopefully as awareness spread these supplements will disappear over time.

Nick N
1/11/2018 06:25:03 pm

What about protein, and bcomplex vitamins. That shouldnt be a problem.

Derek
12/17/2016 03:48:54 pm

Ibe been taking preworkout for several years and i have been adding arginine to them so i should stop

Dr Justin Gallant ND link
12/31/2016 05:44:55 pm

Glad you got the message.
One less potential heart attack victim!

nahal
12/30/2016 11:18:49 am

Thanks for the great article!

I am a powerlifter and worried about my blood pressure due to heavy weights (max effort). I was thinking about taking electrolytes and stim-free pre-workout supplements, which usually contain arginine, Citrulline..etc, as it will lower blood pressure.

Do you think that's a good or bad idea?

will I have to worry about pressure rebound if I am pre-hypertensive ?

Dr Justin Gallant ND link
12/31/2016 05:49:26 pm

Hey Nahal,

Thanks for reading!
Good question!
There are so many different factors it depends on (dose of arginine, citrulline, etc...) if you're dehydrated, quick position changes, how low your BP drops, type of exercise, etc...

You'll be a lot better off without stims mixed in but I'd work with someone to figure out what's best.

It might be a good idea to try the supplements without a workout to see how much they drop your blood pressure, and if there is a rebound effect after. At least then you'll have a baseline without a workout.

Naveen link
1/17/2017 01:55:19 pm

I ve taking a combination of l arginine & Caffeine For months.now starting pain in my heart I am now going to take the pain out of the heart occur in with the symptoms, what do I do now and I settled it takes Whey Protein and also take Omega three capsules

mark
2/13/2017 11:26:15 pm

Only when I workout for strength such as delts-arms or back-chest, do I drink a very strong cup of coffee 20min before then take arginine and beta alanine.
Have had no bad side effects. During middle of those workouts I take a whey protein with creatine.
So should I skip the coffee and still be safe with the rest?

Dr Justin Gallant ND
3/1/2017 12:03:50 am

Hey Mark,

I'd skip the coffee for sure.

Nate
3/28/2017 10:52:10 pm

As a student, I like to drink coffee during classes, but I also like to take Arginine when I lift. Is there a safe period between the time I drink my last cup of coffee and when I take my Arginine? Also, with a cup of coffee being about 300 mg of Caffeine, is the time determined by the amount in mg of caffeine or is it just not safe at all? The dosage of my Arginine is 1250mg, also I drink roughly 3-4 cups of coffee per week day. Thanks for any help you can give!

Dr Justin Gallant ND
3/29/2017 06:10:19 pm

Hey Nate,

Thanks for writing in.
There are so many different factors (amount of caffeine, liver health, genetic ability to metabolize caffeine, how quickly you drink it, etc...) so it's difficult to give exact numbers.
The best thing you can do is listen to your body.
If you feel really jittery, shaky, nauseous, like you're about to have a heart attack every time you work out, etc... I'd definitely cut down on both. You can monitor your blood pressure as well.
You can also judge by tracking heart rate and blood pressure.
If the heart rate is getting really high and blood pressure is dropping really low, that's a bad combo.
1250mg of arginine and 1200mg of caffeine in a day are pretty high doses.
I find that if my patients get enough protein every 4 hours the caffeine requirement comes down big time. Too much caffeine can lead to burnout down the road.

Hopefully this helps!

Varaprasad
4/21/2017 03:37:33 pm

Great Article doc, will quit the combination as you gave good insight on how it affects....

Dr Justin Gallant ND
5/3/2017 06:24:19 pm

Hey Varaprasad,

Thank you!
Hopefully it helps!

Mohammad
6/28/2017 06:21:23 am

Hi doctor thanks for the information.
Can i take l argenine and amino energy of ON company(which hase coffein)in one period but use them in different hours (not together)?or i shoud not use them in a period?

Dr Justin Gallant ND
12/14/2017 11:09:27 pm

Hey Mohammad, sorry for the delayed response.
I'd work with a naturopathic doctor or trainer to figure out what is safest.
We all handle caffeine and workouts differently.
It's important to be aware of the warning signs and take caution
I'd never combine arginine with caffeine.

Anish Sarkar
9/22/2017 04:34:46 am

Very very valuable information!
I am into weight training and supplement L-Arginine with Coffee for boosting my workouts at the gym.
A year back i was experiencing bit of uneasiness and faster heart beats. Upon seeing doctor and doing rounds of blood tests and other tests, found my lipid to be on the higher side. Thus suggested me to take metoprolol (Seloken XL 50mg) along with Rozavel 10 mg to reduce the cholecterols. I am taking these medications since then.

As mentioned i am supplementing with L-Arg and coffee as pre workout. Off late (a week at most) i am feeling bit exhausted while i am progressing my workouts and post workout. With a bit of uneasiness right at the center of my chest just around the esophaegus. Could it be due to L-Arg and coffee?

Dr Justin Gallant ND
12/14/2017 11:10:31 pm

Hey Anish,

It definitely could be!
I'd be careful with that combination!

LhLove
1/9/2018 11:04:23 am

Hi Dr. Gallant,
What are your thoughts on beachbody's energize? I do not see the Arginine listed. However I sometimes feel dizzy or shaky (rarely) during and/or after workout. I have been looking for an alternative, and I am thinking of using a gram of raw beta alanine, along with a low dose of caffeine?
Thank you!

Dr Justin Gallant ND
1/16/2018 10:23:58 am

Hey!

I do like that it doesn't contain Arginine.
I'd work with someone who can take a health history and recommend specific nutrients for you. I can only recommend specific stuff to patients. If you live in an area where naturopathic doctors are regulated, try to find one who focuses on sports medicine.

sudhir sindhu
1/16/2018 05:56:27 am

Hi Dr Gallant
I have been using 200mg of caffeine before my 10k runs for 2 years. I used to take L arginine too, but stopped taking it last year. now, although my resting heart rate is still 58bpm, my heart rate during running has increased by 10-15bpm for the same speed and same distance. and the heart rate elevates rather rapidly which makes me exhausted in the middle of the run. I go for running thrice a week and for strength training twice a week. on strength training days, I use pre workout supplement which contains creatine monohydrate, 275mg caffeine and citrulline malate. now, after reading your article, I have decided to quit taking pre workout on gym days. for outdoor running, I plan to reduce caffeine to 100mg. but I'm unable to bring back my running heart rate to the levels of last year. I would be greatful for any help from your side in this regard.
thanks

Dr Justin Gallant ND
1/16/2018 10:31:00 am

Hey Sudhir,

I'd look into Phil Maffetone.
He has some really great resources, including a couple of his endurance and training books.
https://philmaffetone.com/
Let me know where in the world you live and I'll try to connect you with someone who can help 1-on-1.

Rajeev Anand
4/27/2018 09:52:03 pm

I am 52 years old. Can I take L Arginine only? Is it safe.

Dr Justin Gallant ND
4/29/2018 10:40:48 am

Hey Rajeev,

Thanks for writing in.
I'd work with a professional one-on-one to determine that.
It depends on your blood pressure, medications, other supplements, you're on, how much caffeine you take-in, etc...
Look for a naturopathic doctor, functional medicine doctor or personal trainer who has good knowledge of supplements and nutrition.

Robert Fallo
4/29/2018 05:35:48 pm

Hi! I was just wondering Dr, I was thinking about taking Citrulline Malate with coffee as a pre workout before hitting the weights. I am also 19 years old and have about maybe 1-2 other cups of coffee during the day. Would you recommend not to do this? And what would be the best replacement for the caffeine to keep me up during the workouts, as sometimes I go to the gym with only 4-5 hours of sleep?

Thanks!

Dr Justin Gallant ND
5/21/2018 04:26:51 pm

Hey Robert,

I usually advise against anything that will lower your blood pressure and stimulate your heart at the same time, which is was citrulline and caffeine would do.
Caffeine is much more safe on its own.
You should work with a health professional in order to figure out what would be best for you. I can't recommend anything specific online to non-patients.

Dan
5/20/2018 02:50:42 pm

My understanding of L- Arginine is that it's used mainly for heart health. Is it only dangerous when combined with Caffeine? I'm not a big fan of coffee, so i think I'll stay away from coffee for now on. But first I'll talk with my doctor for further information on how safe is L-Arginine. I also have moderate high blood pressure.138/83 to 143/93 through out the day. Should i continue to use L-Arginine? Or stop using both all together?

Dr Justin Gallant ND
5/21/2018 04:30:23 pm

Hey Dan,

Thanks for writing in.
L-Arginine does have some great effects on the heart.
I'm just advising to not use in combo with high doses of caffeine.
Definitely inquire with your doctor as it would be wise to be monitoring your blood pressure to see how much it drops while taking L-arginine. Arginine can also active the herpes virus, so cold sores can recur while on it. If your doctor isn't up to speed on arginine it might be worth seeing a naturopathic doctor if they're regulated in your area. We take 3 years of clinical nutrition which includes a lot of education on supplementation.

Matt
6/12/2018 01:09:22 am

Hi Dan,

For the last couple of weeks I've been having Double Espresso about 45 minutes before training and a mix of arginine, glutamine, and BCAAs right before training. I feel some heart stress in in hours after training, so I'm going to remove the arginine from the pre workout mix. In your opinion, do you think it would be safe to just take the arginine in the morning before or after my first meal, and then wait a couple of hours and have my Double Espresso, and then right before training my glutamine and BCAAs?
In other words, if I take my Arginine a couple of hours before consuming caffeine, are the health risks minimized?

Milad Kassaie
9/27/2018 04:39:21 pm

Hi Doc,
Are you not gonna take this article down, now that it's proven caffeine is not diuretic? Even if we accept diuretic effects of caffeine, would it happen by means of sweating alone? Would adding electrolytes to our water help regain lost sodium and other minerals?Also, why cause panic without going into the details of what doses of caffeine and arginine would have this destructive synergistic effect? Toy have mentioned factors, but It doesn't seem to be what people have taken away from this article; Only the fear of sudden death has sinked in, which in itself maybe more dangerous than the effects of the modest amounts caffeine and arginine they would otherwise take to improve performance. Granted, I have experienced the acute hypotensive effects of arginine first hand and it's not pleasant at all. there was no caffeine involved.
I think this hasn't been fact-checked and thought through close enough. There seems to be some misunderstanding of the mechanisms of action of these drugs on the cardio vascular system. Also, if this danger was as real as you describe, we would have heard more about the widespread anecdotes and warnings from other sources.

Dr Justin Gallant ND
10/4/2018 12:44:15 pm

Hey Milad,

Thanks for pointing that out.
I wrote this article before all of the articles about coffee not being a diuretic came out.
I will amend that part of the article, but there is still risk with caffeine's stimulant effect combined with dehydration due to sweating, as well as the hypotensive effect of L-arginine.

We're all different in terms of genetics and liver metabolism so it's impossible to say what exact dose puts you at most risk. I'm just putting awareness out there of the potential risk and people can judge their risk based on personal experience and what I've mentioned.

People are taking very high doses of caffeine out there. I wouldn't call them modest amounts.

If you're looking for anecdotes, feel free to read the anecdotes above your comment. I try to raise awareness on novel issues, which could be the reason why you're not finding widespread information on it. I prefer not to write about the same thing everyone else is writing about, and offer new information to the world.

Just Google, "Preworkout Death" and you'll find some widespread stories these days. There weren't as many when I wrote this article but it's becoming more and more well-known. I'd rather people know that there is a potentially lethal risk of taking pre-workouts based on the title, rather than a title that just mentions a bunch of minimal potential side effects. What would be the point in that?

Thanks again for pointing out the caffeine/dehydration point, I haven't edited this article since all of that information came out.

Have a great day.

Randall Smith
5/4/2019 08:34:54 pm

I am 67 years old. At 52 years old I was 200 lbs, lifting weights and could push more than 700 lbs with my legs. 2 months ago I was 120 lbs. and had trouble huffing and puffing up the long hill to my house.

I decided to lift again and have gained a modest 10 lbs. And am a lot stronger.

I lift heavy and am taking L arginine at a modest amount ....2.5 grams before and 2.5 grams after the workout. I only lift twice a week. I have used coffee as well the last two weeks and have not felt any ill effects, but after reading your article I have decided not take the risk...so no more caffeine.
As for L-Arginine I have read read so many conflicting claims from different studies and experts and doctors..that it is difficult to know who to believe.
All I know, is that in 2 months, lifting twice a week at the dosage 2.5 grams of L-Arginine before and after I have made remarkable gains that would have been unbelievable years ago. And most of those gains are in my legs. This is a big help for me.

(By the way I live in a South American Country...and I lift various sizes of banana trees. Yeah..really...banana trees.)

Thanks for the article.

Dr Justin Gallant ND
5/29/2019 12:50:00 pm

Hey Randall,

Thanks for writing in!
I have nothing against L-arginine without caffeine, and there is research showing that it can be an ergogenic aid, meaning it helps build muscle.
Happy to hear you responded so well to it.

Storm link
9/28/2019 05:06:56 pm

Can l - citrulline fermented be mixed in a cup of coffee pre-workout?

Kyle
10/14/2019 12:12:05 am

This article saved my life.. literally! I was taking l Arginine for 11 months, the benefits were amazing. My hair loss comepltry stopped and my hair actually started growing back. The libido portion was amazing as well. For my workouts I gained serious muscle mass in the 11 months. However, recently I started to have heart palpitations. Then my hair started falling out again. Then the chest pains. Then I started seeing my heart beat in my stomach. Then I saw this article. Then I went to the hospital. Turns out l arginine was the cause of the good and bad. After 11 months my body started rejecting the supplement and the ambulances started to crash... thanks to this article I realized it was the l arginine. I was probably going to die. We need to be more aware of this harmful supplement. Improper use like I did could result in death. I am still losing my hair, but I am much healthier now than I was when I was having heart issues. Stay away from caffeinated sodas and energy drinks.

Chad
5/17/2020 10:50:00 am

First off in my comment I am talking about Citrulline, a lot if people who do not know much about supplements please do your research on Citrulline before commenting a negative comment on my comment. I do not have a PHD, but I am a successful bodybuilder and healthy as can be. I am currently 260lbs and 12% bodyfat.
I take Citrulline by its self and have for many years in my bodybuilding career. Though it will not give you energy, it will give you extremely great pumps and if you add caffeine to the mix for some energy it works great as well now you have energy and a great pump. Here is the line Citrulline enlarges the size of your blood vessels to give you a pump and caffeine makes the blood vessels smaller so that your blood is flowing faster to give you energy. So you don't want to take to much caffeine with Citrulline because it counteracts with each other. If you want a great pump and some energy you have to find the right amount of caffeine you can take that will give you good energy everyone will be a different amount that best suites them. but not enough caffeine where it takes away the Citrulline. For example 200mg of caffeine is my magic number for having good energy without interfering with my pump. there are many many good side affects that comes with taking Citrulline especially for your heart, and not any negative side affects. It has been proven that there isn't any negative side affects from Citrulline after different Universities as well as scientist has done many different studies on Citrulline. I am not saying this article is wrong by any means, but this is the first and only article I have read saying anything negative towards supplements like L- Arginine or Citrulline. Even though Citrulline was not mentioned in this article, Citrulline makes Arginine. I am writing this to let people know Citrulline is completely safe and works fantastic. For the people who say "Well the doctor said it was this the reason why my BP is up" or something along those lines, think about your diet, think about your weight, think about how much you exercise. Also how much caffeine you take in a day or even genetics will make you have higher BP then normal. There is absolutely no evidence that Arginine nor Citrulline is a negative cause of your heart, it's just more less measures doctors want you to take because it is extra supplement you are taking.

Dr Justin Gallant ND
5/24/2020 09:46:30 pm

Hey Chad!
Thanks for writing in man!

If I can find time, I should edit this article to discuss citrulline, since a lot of companies are using citrulline instead of L-arginine now.

Just playing the devil's advocate here.
There are a lot of negative effects of L-Arginine. Here is one more mainstream article:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318174#Side-effects-of-L-arginine

If Citrulline is a precursor to arginine, technically, it could increase the risk of those side effects as well.

If someone's blood pressure is on the low-end (a lot of females have low blood pressure), or they are on blood pressure meds, and they take something with Citrulline or Arginine, they could drop their blood pressure even more. This is especially true if they don't know well enough to take electrolytes during or after a hard workout, since they can become dehydrated, dropping their BP even lower.
Adding a large dose of caffeine to an already low blood pressure system is dangerous. Throw stress, anxiety, pre-existing heart conditions into the mix and you have a combo that can kill.
I'm glad you have been successful and found what works for you, but this article is more of a warning, especially for those who are just starting out and aren't aware of the risks.
Hopefully this clears things up.
There are a lot of other articles like mine but you have to google "preworkout risks" or "preworkout dangers" instead of the ingredients.
I recommend Citrulline, Arginine BCAA's, etc... to patients regularly, but if their caffeine intake (coffees, plus preworkouts) is too high, I'll get them to reduce the caffeine. I have recommended caffeine on it's own when it was indicated and when risk factors were ruled out as well. If patients are taking a preworkout because they don't have energy to workout, I'll also investigate to see why they have a lack of energy (sleep, iron deficiency, low T, vitamin D deficiency, burnout hypothyroidism, etc...) instead of getting them to jack a system up that is crashing.



Carleton KendrickFo
8/11/2020 12:06:05 pm

A couple of hours ago I mixed 1 teaspoon of L-Citrulline-Malate (2-1) and a serving of Whey protein powder into a cup of coffee. I am feeling jittery. After reading your suggestions, I'm guessing that the unpleasant jittery sensations are directly related to this first-time combination of the caffeine n coffee and the L-Citrulline-Malate combination.I'm rather worried about whether this has elevated my BP/heart rate to a dangerous level or if the effect will be transitory and will pass in time. I am well aware you cannot ethically advise me what to do right now. That said, if this does pass without my having a heart-related event, I'm guessing that you might agree that my body chemistry is telling me not to repeat this combination again. Much appreciation Dr.

Gabriel
8/8/2020 04:25:49 am

In terms of the desired effect for bodybuilders or fitness enthusiasts as a whole, isn't it counter effective to have something like caffeine which raises BP combined with L arginine or even citrulline malate which decreases BP? In a sense, it sounds like the effects may collide and cancel out the desired effects which would be the effects as an individual item.


Comments are closed.

    Dr Justin Gallant ND

    Naturopathic Doctor with a passion for teaching about health. Health detective, health guide, health ambassador and health educator. 
    Hamilton, Ontario

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Alternative Medicine
    Anemia
    Arginine
    Attitude
    Caffeine
    Cancer
    Coconut Oil
    Coffee
    Cortisol
    Depression
    Digestion
    Fatigue
    Fish Oil
    Gluten
    Health
    Health Quotes
    Heart Health
    Hypoglycemia
    Hypothyroidism
    IBS
    Insomnia
    Intermittent Fasting
    Iron Deficiency
    Marathon
    Natural
    Naturopath
    Palpitations
    Refreshing Sleep
    Relationships
    S.A.D.
    Seasonal Affective Disorder
    Skin
    Sleep
    Supplements
    Training
    Valentine's Day
    Vitamin D
    Vitamin D Deficiency
    Waking Up
    Weight Loss
    Winter

Dr. Gallant's office is located in Advantage Chiropractic and Massage

59 Dunsmure Road
Hamilton, Ontario
L8M 1S1
Phone: 289-808-9076
Fax: 1-289-667-0100


website: www.DRJGND.com

​email: justin@DRJGND.com 
Hours

Monday: 10-7pm
Tuesday: 9-4pm (virtual only)
Wednesday: Admin day
Thursday: 10-7pm
Friday: Admin day
This website is intended for educational purposes only. There are no contents on this website that are intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Should you require medical advice, diagnostics or treatment, please contact me or your nearest healthcare professional.