The Need for Natural Alternatives to Caffeine in Sports Nutrition

Humans have made good use of botanical ingredients to boost intellectual and physical performance for centuries, and none is more prevalent than caffeine. Coffee is one of the world’s most popular and widely consumed natural stimulants in daily life, used by millions for their morning boost and to support their physical performance, especially during prolonged exercise. But it’s well-known caffeine has many undesirable side effects if too much is ingested—including increased arterial blood pressure, risk of arrhythmias during exercise, reduction of coronary blood flow and hypokalaemia. As it’s impossible to know how much caffeine you can tolerate without trial and error, there is strong interest in finding natural alternatives to replace it: enter mango leaf extract. Dr Nigel Gericke, Scientific Director, Nektium Pharma, joins us to scare your host into putting down her coffee mug, discuss the prevalence of caffeine in sports nutrition and highlight the potential for mango leaf extract.