I just received some Stay Alert caffeine supplement chewing gum from actiongear.com. The website says the gum will be included in First Strike rations. The gum is cinnamon flavored, and each piece is 100 mg caffeine:
"Chew 1 piece for 5 minutes. If not alert chew a second piece."
"do not use as a substitute for sleep."
More info at www.stayalertgum.com.
BobS
Stay Alert caffeine gum
Cool stuff, BobS. I haven't tried that stuff but I have tried Jolt Gum:
http://www.joltgum.com/
This stuff is pretty good at keeping you awake but the flavor is not that great. And by "not that great", I really mean "nasty".
http://www.joltgum.com/
This stuff is pretty good at keeping you awake but the flavor is not that great. And by "not that great", I really mean "nasty".
That looks like a pricey way to stay awake. According to the web site, it is "6 Pack (6 packs - 5 pcs/pack) $7.65 + Shipping". That's 25.5 cents per piece. That's cheaper than a cup of coffee; but, it's kinda expensive for a pice of gum.
Lifesaver
P.S. Where did you find a First Strike ration?
Lifesaver
P.S. Where did you find a First Strike ration?
"That others might live."
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King Leonidas
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I read the stay alert gum site and find it suspicious that they are intentionally vague as to the exact percentage of difference between the absortion rates of the gum versus pill or food bar.
I have not read the original studies, I am going by their selected quotes from their website.
They are not numbered but I will refer the the following studies on the following web page as: Studies #1 - #5
http://stayalertgum.com/index.php?custo ... udies&=SID
Study #1
“In summary, caffeine administered in the chewing gum formulation was absorbed at a significantly faster rate while its bioavailability was near comparable to that of the capsule formulation for the 100mg and 200mg dose groups.”
How much is "significantly faster" ? Why don't they give an exact number from the study?
“...may prove useful in ameliorating the effects of mental or physical fatigue associated with sleep deprivation or shift work.”
No sh*t. The effects of caffeine have been well known for centuries, and have been exhaustively studied in the 20th century. Efficacy and safety have been well understood for a long time. Why did the govenment have to do another caffeine study?
Study #2
“Conclusions: It was concluded that caffeine was an effective strategy to sustain vigilance and alertness during military operations involving sleep deprivation.”
Already well studied, already universally accepted by the entire scientific community.
Study #3
“The use of a caffeinated chewing gum would appear to provide the most rapid absorption.”
Huh? "Would appear"? Where are the numbers?
“Chewing gums are more appropriate if rapid absorption and actions are needed, or weight or bulk is a concern.”
If they are comparing the weight/bulk with "Food Bars" then caffeine pills would have the same weight/bulk as the chewing gum. They still don't give any numbers for their "gum rapid absorption" vs. pills/foodbars.
“Pills and gums are both very lightweight and small in size, so they can easily be carried in pockets; gum has the advantage of stimulating salivation and enhancing the speed of absorption.”
They still haven't stated how much the gum enhanced the speed of absorption over a pill.
“The committee concludes that under certain circumstances, chewing gums may offer practical operational advantages over a food bar.”
May offer? All that money for research and this is their conclusion?
Study #4
“Cognitive performance deficits resulting from sleep loss or fatigue could be more quickly reversed by caffeine administered in achieving gum formulations and maintained over a long period of time.”
More quickly huh? Gum vs. pills. Caffeine vs. placebo. Guess what? Caffeine really works.
“Absorption in a gum formulation occurs primarily through the buccal mucosa, a well accepted method of increasing the rate of drug absorption. (Shargel et al., 1999)”
Yeah, great, but how much did it increase absorption rate vs. pills?, I'm still dying to know.
Study #5
“Conclusion: These results indicate that bi-hourly administrations of caffeine 200 maintain vigilance performance across a single night without sleep.”
Ummm, Duh.
http://stayalertgum.com/index.php?custo ... _Data&=SID
More silly and vague study quotes on this page. This one explains why this whole caffeine gum study was a waste of time and money.
“The long experience with the use of coffee suggests that caffeine is safe at levels required to achieve the desired effects, and its effects are reversible over time.”
I really hated the stay alert gum website. Gum chewing is noisy and can get you killed in combat, or you could choke. I am going to submit a proposal to the DOD for my new caffeine balm product. I call it "Let's Roll". APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD! [repeat 3x] Oh, and in my opinion the military should have just used over the counter caffeine pills and saved $250M.
I have not read the original studies, I am going by their selected quotes from their website.
They are not numbered but I will refer the the following studies on the following web page as: Studies #1 - #5
http://stayalertgum.com/index.php?custo ... udies&=SID
Study #1
“In summary, caffeine administered in the chewing gum formulation was absorbed at a significantly faster rate while its bioavailability was near comparable to that of the capsule formulation for the 100mg and 200mg dose groups.”
How much is "significantly faster" ? Why don't they give an exact number from the study?
“...may prove useful in ameliorating the effects of mental or physical fatigue associated with sleep deprivation or shift work.”
No sh*t. The effects of caffeine have been well known for centuries, and have been exhaustively studied in the 20th century. Efficacy and safety have been well understood for a long time. Why did the govenment have to do another caffeine study?
Study #2
“Conclusions: It was concluded that caffeine was an effective strategy to sustain vigilance and alertness during military operations involving sleep deprivation.”
Already well studied, already universally accepted by the entire scientific community.
Study #3
“The use of a caffeinated chewing gum would appear to provide the most rapid absorption.”
Huh? "Would appear"? Where are the numbers?
“Chewing gums are more appropriate if rapid absorption and actions are needed, or weight or bulk is a concern.”
If they are comparing the weight/bulk with "Food Bars" then caffeine pills would have the same weight/bulk as the chewing gum. They still don't give any numbers for their "gum rapid absorption" vs. pills/foodbars.
“Pills and gums are both very lightweight and small in size, so they can easily be carried in pockets; gum has the advantage of stimulating salivation and enhancing the speed of absorption.”
They still haven't stated how much the gum enhanced the speed of absorption over a pill.
“The committee concludes that under certain circumstances, chewing gums may offer practical operational advantages over a food bar.”
May offer? All that money for research and this is their conclusion?
Study #4
“Cognitive performance deficits resulting from sleep loss or fatigue could be more quickly reversed by caffeine administered in achieving gum formulations and maintained over a long period of time.”
More quickly huh? Gum vs. pills. Caffeine vs. placebo. Guess what? Caffeine really works.
“Absorption in a gum formulation occurs primarily through the buccal mucosa, a well accepted method of increasing the rate of drug absorption. (Shargel et al., 1999)”
Yeah, great, but how much did it increase absorption rate vs. pills?, I'm still dying to know.
Study #5
“Conclusion: These results indicate that bi-hourly administrations of caffeine 200 maintain vigilance performance across a single night without sleep.”
Ummm, Duh.
http://stayalertgum.com/index.php?custo ... _Data&=SID
More silly and vague study quotes on this page. This one explains why this whole caffeine gum study was a waste of time and money.
“The long experience with the use of coffee suggests that caffeine is safe at levels required to achieve the desired effects, and its effects are reversible over time.”
I really hated the stay alert gum website. Gum chewing is noisy and can get you killed in combat, or you could choke. I am going to submit a proposal to the DOD for my new caffeine balm product. I call it "Let's Roll". APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD! [repeat 3x] Oh, and in my opinion the military should have just used over the counter caffeine pills and saved $250M.