When I was young, I did not necessarily understand coffee as a drink, not to mention the need for it. Do not get me wrong. It is not that I preferred tea or anything like that! I did not feel that urge to have a daily cup every morning. Later in life, especially after I started working, coffee became a natural commodity, and little by little, I became somewhat of an addict.
I ended up making a habit out of it, almost without notice. Then, when I came to realize the level of my addiction, I started doing a little research over the advantages and disadvantages of caffeine.
I went on reading dozens of articles over the web, and studied several health and bodybuilding platforms like gym-expert.com, looking for actual truth behind coffee and supplements derived from it. By that time, I was already trying to cut down my consumption, replacing it with tablets, which, by the way, I hated at first. In the end, however, they turned out to be quite useful and much healthier, and I will try my best to explain why.
How do Caffeine Pills Work?
These are products that contain a high level of pure caffeine. While some of them are based on the synthesized substance, others are made from highly concentrated coffee bean or green tea extract. The most powerful ones use anhydrous caffeine, which translates into the dehydrated version of the substance.
It means a pure molecule, no different from the natural one found in coffee and tea that has absolutely no water in it. They have the same effects as the powder, from raising awareness to keeping you awake, without having to go to the trouble of preparation. Then there are caffeine pills for training, which can raise your level of endurance and strength, increasing your overall performance while training.
Dosage
The average dose for adults is 400mg per day. However, given the powder, it’s quite easy to overlook this aspect. Moreover, when you add the level of stress each of us is subjected to daily, the risk of exceeding the recommended dosage increases exponentially.
I know this because I ended up doing it every day, without even noticing. Unlike powder coffee, the tablets such as Vivarin are delimited, in dosages of 100mg or 200mg. This way, anybody can avoid overdosing, which is one of the main factors that can lead to addiction. The recommended dosage for training varies between 200mg and 400mg, depending on your weight, administrated 30 or 40 minutes before starting the workout.
Benefits of Caffeine Tablets
Letting aside the clear advantage of being able to control your daily dosage precisely, there are various other benefits brought in by tablet consumption. Remember how I said that at first, I hated them? Well, this was since I created a daily morning habit of drinking coffee. I got over it pretty fast, and looking back in retrospect; I have managed to save a lot of time this way. So I avoid being late for work on a large number of occasions.
Moreover, since I never actually liked the taste of coffee, things are much better now, when I swallow a small pill every morning. And let’s not forget pricing. Tablets are considerably cheaper than a whole month’s supply of powder coffee, so you will end up saving a considerable amount of cash. It is excellent stuff, but the most important benefit you will draw from this is the certainty of constant quality.
The Downside of Caffeine Tablets
When you come to think about the classic debate between the powder version and the tablet one, the disadvantages presented by the first are pretty much the same as for the latter. Containing pure doses of main substance, the pills will also affect your appetite, decreasing it considerably.
They will also accelerate your metabolism, and if you suffer from hypertension, you can end up experiencing palpitations, insomnia, or arrhythmia. Just like the powder version, the pills may increase the urine output, forcing you to visit men’s rooms more often. Nevertheless, I think that the most significant downside of choosing pills over powder is the complete lack of taste, affecting all those who love the unique flavor of brewed coffee.
Conclusion: Caffeine Pills vs. Coffee
The bottom line it seems that there are just as many pros and cons for both ways of administrating caffeine. Pills might be a better choice for people in certain professions that are extremely soliciting and time-consuming. While the daily morning cup might suit best those who live calm, peaceful lives and have more time at their disposal.
The moment I switched to tablets, I started feeling better, I stopped experiencing daily headaches, and I began experiencing noticeable energy boosts. The most important thing to remember is that caffeine has always been and always will remain a drug. Regardless if you prefer serving it in a cup, or you are like me, and you think swallowing a pill is much faster, the dangers of overdosing remain the same. You should always pay attention to your daily level of consumption and never go overboard.
Nina Smith 
Kim Marks