Originally Posted by berny
I know that caffeine seriously effects the way my heart operates. It does terrible things to the way it beats and I wouldn't be surprised if many of our fellow cyclists who push themselves well beyond normal limits, suffer similarly but are not aware that caffeine may be the culprit.
As no studies have been done that I know of, to assess the long term effects of caffeine consumption in athletes, I'm taking what I believe to be the prudent path and limiting my intake substantially. I mostly drink de-caf now and I've never felt better in my life.
Funny you should mention that. I recently experienced heart palpitations (what I can only describe as a fluttering sensation at center chest) and blame it on too much caffeine so I've cut back and am (mostly) switching to decaf.
I'm the only coffee drinker in the house so I use a Keurig single-cup system which is pretty good for what it is and there are plenty of choices from Horton's, Gloria Jean, etc for variety.