A new product on the coffee scene is the Go Cube. This is a chewable cube that contains caffeine and has the texture of a gum drop. Oddity Central says it is a way to kick start your day.
San Francisco entrepreneurs Geoffrey Woo and Michael Brandt have come up with a revolutionary way for coffee lovers to get their early morning caffeine fix – chewable caffeine cubes. Each 35-calorie bite-sized ‘Go Cube’ is the equivalent of drinking roughly half a cup of coffee. So if you’re running late with no time to brew a fresh cuppa joe, just pop two cubes and you’re good to go.
Go Cubes are 100 percent vegan, made of a special blend of compounds that improve memory and alertness. With a texture similar to gum drops, each cube contains 50 mg of caffeine, 10 mg of Vitamin B6, and 100 mg of L-Theanine, an amino acid found in green tea. B6 helps aid cognitive function, while theanine helps reduce the anxiety associated with a pure caffeine buzz. They also contain about six grams of sugar per cube, and come in three different flavors – pure drip, latte, and mocha.
Is this just another variation on No Doze pills or do coffee Go Cubes really help cognitive performance. We know that coffee helps us wake up and we know that coffee before exercise helps athletic performance as well.
According to CNN.com there are five reasons to drink coffee before your workout.
A Spanish study, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, found that trained athletes who took in caffeine pre-exercise burned about 15% more calories for three hours post-exercise, compared to those who ingested a placebo.
According to the report the necessary amount of caffeine to gain this effect is 4.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. For a 154 pound person this comes to 250 mg of caffeine in a 12 ounce cup. Additionally researchers in Japan have shown that blood flow is increased for an hour and a quarter after drinking coffee with caffeine. And, it turns out that drinking two to three cups of coffee before exercise resulted in less perceived pain from a hard workout.
But, do coffee Go Cubes really help cognitive performance? What does vitamin B6 do to aid cognitive performance and how might theanine help cognition?
What Researchers Say about B6 and Cognitive Function
As far back as 2003 researchers reviewed studies relating to B6 and cognitive function. Their findings are available in PubMed.gov under The Effect of B6 on Cognition.
This review found no evidence for short-term benefit from vitamin B6 in improving mood (depression, fatigue and tension symptoms) or cognitive functions.
It is known that older people have decreased levels of B12 and B6 and that older people have decreasing cognitive function. But when researchers gave B6 supplements in a clinical trial there was no improvement in cognitive function.
So, does acoffee Go Cube really help cognitive performance? Coffee helps you wake up and stay awake. There is no evidence that the addition of B6 makes any short term difference. Effectively Go Cubes are No Doze with sugar and a vitamin.