Popeye was right: spinach makes you strong

[UM-Bot]

Scientists have called for a chemical in spinach to be added to the list of banned substances for athletes.

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/328678/popeye-was-right-spinach-makes-you-strong

[XenoFish]

So...? Are we going to be looking at the Soy Olympics here in the near future? Where only limp twisted athletes are allowed to participate? 

[freetoroam]

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The most affordable and accessible foods with the highest concentrations of phytoecdysteroids are spinach, quinoa, and suma root. 

These plants contain high amounts of a powerful and naturally occurring form of phytoecdysteroid known as b-ecdysterone or 20-hydroxyecdysone.  Yes, you read correctly, it’s a steroid

http://creuslife.com/foods-that-contain-phytoecdysteroids/

So no natural foods allowed which are good for you, in moderation? 

Bit harsh.

I reckon it is because if someone likes their spinach, it could show up during the tests, then those who use the banned stuff can say "i had spinach for dinner". 

[Dark_Grey]

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One was a control group, another received a placebo, while the third and fourth respectively received two and eight capsules containing 100 mg of ecdysterone from spinach extract every day.

Spinach Ecdysteroid Content

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Spinach:  .01% of fresh weight = 45 mg b-ecdysterone in 450g spinach

So for the study, they gave one of the control groups the equivalent of ~70 oz (2000 g) of natural spinach worth of ecdysterone and the other group ~280 oz (8000 g) in natural spinach equivalent. 

For reference, this is a 10 oz container of spinach as sold by W*lmart.

Not sure what the minimum dosage of ecdysterone would be required for the "significant" strength gains cited in the study but I think it's safe to say that if it was detected in an athlete, said athlete would probably not be much further ahead than his/her competitors. Not unless they were eating pounds of spinach each day.

Years ago, it was predicted that supplement/steroid testing in sports would eventually become so advanced that virtually any athlete could be flagged for trace amounts of this or that due to naturally occurring compounds. At some point, testing becomes counter productive. Maybe it's time to split sports in to a "natural" league and an "enhanced" league. God help the "natural" athletes cause apparently even spinach contains anabolic steroids lol

[XenoFish]

'Scuse me while I shoot up this spinach.

I can see it now.

"Yes sir. I did in fact have a large salad before the competition."

[freetoroam]

5 minutes ago, Dark_Grey said:

Years ago, it was predicted that supplement/steroid testing in sports would eventually become so advanced that virtually any athlete could be flagged for trace amounts of this or that due to naturally occurring compounds

I guess they have reached this stage and do not want to take any chances with "spinach for dinner" excuses.

 

[XenoFish]

Everyday is forearm day.

[ExpandMyMind]

26 minutes ago, Dark_Grey said:

So for the study, they gave one of the control groups the equivalent of ~70 oz (2000 g) of natural spinach worth of ecdysterone and the other group ~280 oz (8000 g) in natural spinach equivalent.

Those last two are experimental groups. The control group is the one that isn't affected in any way, so as to have a baseline to compare against the other results.

26 minutes ago, Dark_Grey said:

Not unless they were eating pounds of spinach each day

To be fair, this would probably be doable for some athletes. Michael Phelps eats something like 9,000 calories a day, and The Mountain eats closer to 14,000. Although, eating so much of any one particular food would likely be harmful to your health in the long run, especially with some types of vegetables considering certain vitamins can cause damage when consumed in excess.

But the more likely method of ingestion would be some form of extract, I'd think, where they take the part that they need from the spinach, rather than eating more greens than a silverback gorilla.

Edited June 25, 2019 by ExpandMyMind

[Dark_Grey]

1 minute ago, freetoroam said:

I guess they have reached this stage and do not want to take any chances with "spinach for dinner" excuses.

That's what I'm getting at it - testing for "performance enhancing" substances become a moot point when basic foods contain trace amounts. I guess it depends on what the testing parameters are?

2 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Everyday is forearm day.

lol Popeye is the best. The old cartoons were brilliant 

Sinbad: "Tryin' to make a fool out of me, eh?!"

Popeye: "Hm looks like nature beat me to it" 

[freetoroam]

I think i need to invest in some share of  spinach, guinoa and suma root, i am no wolf of wall street but i got this strange feeling its a winner

[Dark_Grey]

1 minute ago, ExpandMyMind said:

To be fair, this would probably be doable for some athletes. Michael Phelps eats something like 9,000 calories a day, and The Mountain eats closer to 14,000. Although, eating so much of any one particular food would likely be harmful to your health in the long run, especially with some types of vegetables considering certain vitamins can cause damage when consumed in excess.

Oh I'm sure eating all that spinach is doable, but like you said it's just not likely considering all the other dietary considerations an athlete would have for the day.

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But the more likely method of ingestion would be some form of extract, I'd think, where they take the part that they need from the spinach. Rather than eating more greens than a silverback gorilla.

That's probably what the German Scientists are worried about. Testing seems to play catch up with the cheating, not the other way around. 

[ExpandMyMind]

2 minutes ago, Dark_Grey said:

Oh I'm sure eating all that spinach is doable, but like you said it's just not likely considering all the other dietary considerations an athlete would have for the day.

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There's only something like 120 calories per pound of spinach, so most athletes would be able to fit that into their diet no problem. It'd be more of a health considerations. I just found this:

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But some - namely spinach, beet greens, and Swiss chard - are also high in oxalic acid, the compound that gives hearty greens their signature earthy, slightly bitter taste.1 Consume too much and you may be in for unpleasant symptoms such as kidney stones, abdominal pain, low blood pressure, tremors or convulsions, vomiting, and weak pulse

https://www.fix.com/blog/foods-that-can-be-toxic/

 I'm pretty sure 8lbs a day would have you in a box. In the ground. Covered in soil.

[AllPossible]

It should also be noted that eating spinach everyday is good but the problem is the amount of pesticides they put on it. Spinach needs to be organic if your gonna eat it daily. Actually alot of fruits & vegetables are saturated in pesticides. Do your research if you plan on eating alot of 1 thing

[spartan max2]

 

I'll say it.

Banning a vegetable is dumb 

[Trihalo42]

"Some of the participants were given placebos, others were given ecdysterone capsules containing the equivalent of up to 4 kilograms (or 8.8 pounds) of raw spinach a day. "

"During the study, which was supported by the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA), those taking the supplement saw their physical strength increase three times as much as their placebo-taking counterparts."

https://www.dw.com/en/german-scientists-say-spinach-chemical-should-be-banned-from-sports/a-49342711

[HandsomeGorilla]

How about we ban what's REALLY important? Good genetics! Mommybolon and Daddydrol. That's really what matters in the end, anyway. That's what wins competitions.

Dope testing is silly. You'd have to be downright stupid to get caught. Competitors know what they're being tested for and when they're testing for it and working around drug tests is an entire industry unto itself. 

Truly natural athletes really have it rough, but that's the nature of the beast. Despite what anyone takes, however, the top athlete will always be the top athlete. Take the drugs away and that lineup will remain more or less the same, only the records and physiques will be less impressive and people won't watch them anymore...LOL

People don't want to see ordinary guys and girls out there competing, they want to see marvels. Personally, I think there should be either a category where every athlete is rigorously tested for any and every available compound that exists (impossible) on a constant basis or a "???" category. 

Guess which category people would pay to watch? 

[Ironside]

You can legally buy ecdysterone as a supplement so why bother chewing all that greenery anyway? Spinach has always been tastier than that disgusting green demon we call lettuce

Edited June 29, 2019 by Ironside

[Golden Duck]

Oh (oh) collard greens

[rashore]

On 6/25/2019 at 3:26 PM, AllPossible said:

It should also be noted that eating spinach everyday is good but the problem is the amount of pesticides they put on it. Spinach needs to be organic if your gonna eat it daily. Actually alot of fruits & vegetables are saturated in pesticides. Do your research if you plan on eating alot of 1 thing

Organic spinach is sprayed with organic pesticides. And a lot of organic fruits and vegetables are saturated in organic pesticides, and organic herbicides and fungicides too along with other organic chemicals. Organic farming just uses organic chemicals instead of synthetic chemicals.. it does not mean no chemicals are used.

[Gwynbleidd]

On 6/29/2019 at 7:40 PM, Ironside said:

You can legally buy ecdysterone as a supplement so why bother chewing all that greenery anyway? Spinach has always been tastier than that disgusting green demon we call lettuce

I agree. I love baby spinach in particular, especially for summer salads and the big stalked dark green leafy spinach in winter dishes.  Oh and baseless Quiches too!  Wow, I'm feeling quite peckish now.