Lance Armstrong has been in a center of negative media publicity this year because of his doping scandal. Cordyceps is a form of medicinal mushroom that has been known to promote exercise endurance. So, could Lance Armstrong, the 7-time legendary winner of the Tour De France cycling competition, have used Cordyceps instead of illegal doping drugs?
In October, the USADA released its decision against arbitration and the summary of evidence alone against Lance Armstrong was overwhelmingly long – 200 pages!
One of the illegal pharmaceutical drugs Armstrong supposedly used was EPO or Erythropoeitin, which increases the ability of the blood to carry oxygen by increasing the number of red blood cells.
Considering that since even Olympic winners have revealed using a legal natural performance enhancer, Cordyceps medicinal mushrooms, we ask: Could Lance Armstrong have used Cordyceps instead of EPO?
Could Cordyceps Become an All-Natural Doping Supplement for the Lance Armstrongs of the future?
There is no conclusive answer. On the other hand, researchers in Delhi, India performed a study to find out if Cordyceps would promote exercise endurance. The animal test was an overwhelming success. Rats, who exercised and enjoyed Cordyceps as part of their exercise program, were able increase their endurance almost 3-fold. Even rats who did NOT exercise improved their exercise endurance 1.80-fold. This means that you might be able to improve your exercise endurance without actually exercising!
But, let’s go back to Lance Armstrong and his doping issues. Erythropoeitin increases the number of red cells and therefore the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles. This boosts performance during the actual cycling competition instead of enabling Armstrong to exercise longer.
This leads to another very specific study performed by researchers Colson SN, Wyatt FM, Johnston DL et al. Their focus was on finding out if Cordyceps supplementation in male cyclists would have an effect on muscle tissue oxygen saturation. The study was conducted in Waco, Texas.
The results were disappointing – at least for anyone trying to replace EPO drugs with Cordyceps. A formula containing Cordyceps and Rhodiola Rosea herb did not significantly enhance muscle tissue oxygen saturation during maximal exercise.
Conclusion: If you want to boost your exercise endurance – even without exercising, you might want to try out Cordyceps medicinal mushroom. But if you are trying to find a legal way to replace EPO, used by Lance Armstrong, or some other doping mechanism, Cordyceps might not be a solution.
Sources for this article included:
http://theconversation.edu.au/the-lance-armstrong-witch-hunt-is-over-and-hes-a-witch-1012
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15903375
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