ergo-log.com

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

22.11.2019

Red spinach extracts come in different shapes and sizes

Yesterday we wrote about a human study in which athletes were able to complete a time trial of 4 kilometers in a significantly shorter time after a week of supplementation with red spinach extract than after taking a placebo. In 2017, American scientists at Auburn University published another human study in which red spinach supplementation turned out to have a ergogenic effect.

Human study
The researchers measured the endurance of 15 recreational athletes twice with an exercise test. On one occasion the subjects had taken a placebo 60-75 minutes before the test, and the other times capsules with 1 gram of red spinach extract.

The supplement used was Oxystorm, a product from DolCas Biotech. [dolcas-biotech.com] DolCas Biotech sponsored the research.

A gram of Oxystorm contains, like the product we wrote about yesterday, 90 milligrams of nitrate. Oxystorm, however, is not made from Amaranthus tricolor, but from its relative Amaranthus dubius. Just like Amaranthus tricolor, Amaranthus dubius is an edible vegetable, which is also called red spinach.

Performance improvement
The extract increased the concentration of nitrate in the subjects' blood, but had no statistically significant effect on the time to exhaustion.

Red spinach slightly lifted the ventilatory threshold. When using the extract, subjects were able to exercise more intensively before they had to breathe deeper to provide their muscles with sufficient oxygen.

The effect found is subtle and less convincing than the effect of the study we wrote about yesterday, which was to be expected. In yesterday's study, the subjects took a red spinach extract for 8 days. Nitrates work better after a loading phase.

Source:
Sports (Basel). 2017 Oct 16;5(4).

More:
Red spinach, a natural NO booster 21.11.2019
Athletes perform better after six days of spinach, collard greens or beetroot 14.01.2017
Spinach and rucola work just as well as beetroot for athletes 15.07.2016

Archives:
Endurance Supplements
Nitric Oxide

Loading phase increases performance improvement by nitrates Athletes who take a portion of nitrates 2-3 hours before training or competition - in the form of spinach, beetroot or potassium nitrate - perform better. The same athletes will perform even better if they take such a dose of nitrates every day for 2 weeks.	Your mental arithmetic improves after a bottle of beet root Supplementation with beetroot juice - and probably also other sources of nitrate and nitrite - makes you a little cleverer. Ninety minutes after intake, if you're repeatedly given sums to do in your head, you'll make significantly fewer mistakes.	UV radiation enhances performance-enhancing effect nitrates This Scottish study even suggests that without exposure to UV-light nitrates may do nothing at all...