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Why Spirulina is Used by Athletes
An Ultimate Tool for Great Performance
Spirulina for Sports
An Ultimate Tool for Great Performance.
Spirulina also is known as Blue-Green Algae, it is the first known superfood on earth. Spirulina is among the most nutritious food on earth. It is incredibly great for everyone because of the nutrients in it. These nutrients have good effects on both the body and the brain. Furthermore, Spirulina plays a key role in sports; we all know that any sports activity involves intense physical involvement.
Spirulina for Sports – An Ultimate Tool for Great Performance:
Over a 1,000 of scientific papers have been published till date and results show that gram for gram Spirulina, compared to other foods, is just an incredible supplement:
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Spirulina has 3900% more beta-carotene than carrots.
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Spirulina has 2300% more iron than spinach.
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Spirulina has 300% more calcium than whole milk.
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Spirulina has 375% more protein than tofu and 200 % more than meat.
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Three grams of Spirulina has more antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity than five servings of vegetables.
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Comparing phytonutrient levels, Spirulina is 31 times more potent than blueberries, 60 times more potent than spinach and 700 times more potent than apples.
Spirulina, a Secret to Better Sports Performance:
In order to perform the best in any sport, participants need to be physically fit. Spirulina takes care of that. In this article, we are going to look at Spirulina for sports. Read on to have knowledge on how Spirulina can be used to improve sports performance, in what quantities to consume it and it’s health benefits.
How Spirulina Improves Sports Performance:
Till date, there are thousands of scientific reports that have been published to support the fact that a gram of Spirulina is superb compared to other foods. It is low in calories, but dense in nutrients; therefore it increases the energy for sports participants. In addition to this, Spirulina increases endurance, mental agility and speed. Spirulina becomes an effective supplement for sport participant and athletes because it prevents hunger, reduces blood pressure and fatigue. It is an alkaline and this makes it effective in regulating the internal PH of athletes and sports participants for better performance. Spirulina is rich in bio-available iron. This solves the iron deficit issue from sports participants that result from intensive training that causes muscle fatigue and exhaustion. Some studies revealed that the continuous intake of Spirulina resulted in increased iron in the body and this, in turn, lead to optimal physical capacity. Spirulina has also displayed a significant increase in physical support for both sportsmen and women. They tend to feel more bouncy, have improved sleep, have less fatigue after an intense performance and their strength generally improves. Spirulina tends to make the recuperation process quick and this greatly increases the performance of sports participants. As we have seen Spirulina for sports, displays many benefits that every sportsman and sportswoman ought to adapt. Before we look at the amount of Spirulina you should take before getting to a sports activity, let us first look at health benefits Spirulina has on sports participants.
Health Benefits of Spirulina
Spirulina is rich in vital nutrients that the body needs for optimum performance. A tablespoon of Spirulina is said to have 4 grams of protein, 11% of thiamin, 15% of Riboflavin, 21% of copper and 11% of iron. In addition to these, there are other nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, manganese among others. It has almost all the nutrients that are required for great sports performance. Spirulina increases the muscle endurance and strength. This is good for sports because the participant needs to be in their optimum performance and as studies reveal, Spirulina strengthens the muscles and boosts energy. It has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Inflammation in our body leads to diseases such as cancer. Spirulina is a good source of antioxidants that protects us from oxidative damage. Phycocyanin is the main compound that fights free radicals which causes inflammation. Sports participants ought to have a healthy cardiovascular system; the good thing is that Spirulina can help support a healthy heart. It helps in lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body. These two have been linked to increased risk of heart illnesses. Spirulina lowers the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and increases the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. Tied to the previous point, Spirulina lowers the blood pressure. Hypertension leads to many other diseases such as kidney disease, strokes, and heart attack; however, Spirulina increases the production of nitric oxide that relaxes the blood vessel and in turn lowers the blood pressure.
Consuming Spirulina for Sports:
Spirulina is available in two forms, tablet and powder form. Mostly, Spirulina is consumed as food topping or additional in booster shakes. This makes it easy to incorporate Spirulina into one’s food routine. For sportsmen and women, the standard dose is 3 grams in a day. This is equal to a teaspoon of Spirulina powder or six Spirulina tablets. The dose is adequate to offer enough nutrition needed for a sports activity. However, most studies give an average of 2 to 4 grams per day. For intensive activity, 6 grams a day is recommended; this improves the protective effect towards oxidation damage.
CONCLUSION:
Spirulina is a super food that we should live by. It offers a combination of nutrients for our bodies and makes us live a healthy and energetic life. Spirulina is a healthy vegetarian supplement that doesn’t pose a health risk to our bodies and as the famous vegetarian athlete, Jim Morris, who proved that it is possible to achieve great sports performances with vegetarian supplements. He won titles in Mr. USA, Mr. American, Mr. Olympia, among others without any animal products.
SPIRULINA NUTRITION: ATHLETES’ BEST KEPT SECRET
Athletes usually keep very closely they nutritional secrets, but with the Internet, reports start to show interesting insights in the everyday nutrition secrets of major athletes, especially about Spirulina for athletes and its powerful nutrients content. The public has heard about Superfoods for a few years now and they have become incredibly popular among athletes. One of the main reasons is because the food available in supermarkets does not contain as much nutrients as it used to and athletes need to ingest food which is very dense in nutrients to perform at their maximum potential. Superfoods provide “clean” energy, increase stamina and extend endurance. They also contain large doses of anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and other natural goodies like polyphenols in an “all natural” form, easily available for our bodies. Spirulina is blue-green algae (actually a cyanobacteria) used already by the Aztecs, declared “food of the Future by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. And today it is also used by NASA in their space program. According to research done by the NASA in 2012 “one gram of algae has the nutritional equivalent of 1,000 grams of fruits and vegetables”. (Boston MZ [PRWEB], August 2012).
Spirulina for athletes in the Olympics!
According to Citybizlist.com (a US news and business website), Olympic athletes have for over four decades tap into Spirulina nutrition for energy gain, endurance, and vitality as nothing else matches Spirulina’s incredible nutritional density. So yes, Spirulina for athletes is a real advantage! One of the first athletes to link success to the super algae is Lee Evans – The four-time American gold medalist and four-time world records holder in track and field. Evans said Spirulina nutrition “improved my training, gave me speed and improved my endurance all of which resulted in my faster times.” Another country using the power of Spirulina nutrition is China. China even has a Spirulina farm only for its Olympic athletes. Several large, elite groups (e.g., Carnegie Institute, World Bank, FAO) have endorsed and recommended Spirulina as the most nutritionally dense food in the world. Research has shown that Spirulina is composed of 66% of protein (compared to only 22% in beef). And, for the last 10 years, the Chinese Government has said that its Olympic athletes consume Spirulina. Other elite groups such as the World Bank, United Nations, and Carnegie Institute have endorsed algae for decades as the most nutritionally dense food in the world. The report on Cityblitz.com states that Spirulina has over 60 percent protein compared to meat, which is only 22 percent protein.
Why spirulina for athletes?
“Turns out that algae… is also the most nutritionally dense, lowest calorie in the world. Algae has been shown to increase an athlete’s energy, endurance, speed and mental agility. It also helps prevent colds, stops hunger, reduces blood pressure, cholesterol and fatigue, improves digestion, helps with weight loss, removes toxins, balances blood sugar, builds the immune system and more.” Cityblitz.com reports: Spirulina is also very alkaline and helps regulate our internal pH. This is why Spirulina for athletes is so efficient! During intensive training, athletes can experience non-anemic iron deficit, with clinical symptoms such as exhaustion and muscle fatigue. Spirulina is very rich in bioavailable iron and this is why Spirulina nutrition is important. A 1998 study with make and female athletes taking Spirulina for two months presented a significant increase in iron. Taking a few grams of Spirulina per day can decrease and eradicate iron deficit symptoms and increase optimal physical capacity (Trojacanec, Z. et al. Influence of extensive training on the number of erythrocytes and hemoglobin level and its correction. Inst. Med. Physiology, Skopje, Macedonia. Pub in XXIV FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine, June 1998). And a report on the effect of Spirulina supplementation on sportsmen by Milaðius et al. (2004) noted: “Studies have shown that Spirulina supplementation induced a significant increase in exercise performance and fat oxidation. After five days of Spirulina usage, sportsmen felt more bouncy, their sleeping quality improved, fatigue, after physical load performance was less, recuperation processes, became quicker, and their endurance when performing strength exercises improved.” But don’t forget that all Spirulina are created equal and if you too want to tap into the incredible power of Spirulina nutrition make sure to buy Spirulina of the best quality from Vivasha Farms Pvt Ltd.