Caffeine Boosts Muscle Strength 5 Percent (in mice)

Caffeine, Geezer’s preferred pain reliever for muscle aches, has been shown to boost the strength of muscles about 5 percent. Yes, there is a catch–the muscles tested were mouse muscles, but mouse muscles, the researchers assure us, are similar to our own. The L.A. Times reports that researchers from Coventry University in England took two different types of mouse muscle — a leg muscle called extensor digitorum longus, and a diaphragm muscle — and tested their performance when dosed with 70 micromolars of caffeine – equivalent to “a couple of espressos.” The scientists worked with mice at ages 3 weeks, 10 weeks, 30 weeks and 50 weeks. The Times reports that the 10-week and 30-week-old muscles — roughly analogous to young adulthood and middle age — benefited the most: They improved up to 5% for the leg muscle and 6% for the diaphragm. The very old mice saw less benefit, with a boost of up to 3% and 2% respectively, and the very young mice saw a limited 1% and 2% improvement. Read more in the Los Angeles Times.