One year it's beetroot juice. The next moment, everyone will be taking baking soda. The latest hot trend when it comes to natural supplements is broccoli sprouts.
Everyone on the team has tried it and it feels like many get a very positive effect from it. I believe in it very much, otherwise I would never take it. And I like that it's just broccoli, it's not worse than that, says Edvin Anger.
He is, however, speaking in his own interest. Anger is one of several cross-country skiers on the Swedish World Championship team who is an ambassador for a company that sells broccoli sprout juice.
Swedish research
But there is research that backs it up. A study conducted at the Gymnastics and Sports University had two groups perform hard interval training for a week on two separate occasions. One week they received a drink with 150 grams of broccoli sprouts, the other a placebo drink.
The result showed that the broccoli gave lower lactic acid levels, improved performance ability, and less oxidative stress in the muscles.
It means that athletes can handle hard training better, has Filip Larsen, one of the researchers behind the study, told Centre for Sports Research.
When Swedish runner Andreas Almgren set a European record on the 10-kilometer road earlier this year, he had broccoli juice in his body.
If it were a miracle cure, it would quickly be classified as doping. I experience that I get a certain effect from it. I think the big effect could be that you use it over time and get better recovery. But I don't think you can expect to take a broccoli shot before a race and then think you'll lower your half-marathon time by five minutes, says Almgren.
First World Cup victory
Orienteering star Tove Alexandersson also claims that she has made some of her best performances loaded with broccoli. And Edvin Anger took his first World Cup victory last winter with the same supplement.
I've made my best results when I've used it, says Anger.
William Poromaa, who also collaborates with the aforementioned company, says he relies on research results.
It doesn't matter what I believe, I go by what is evidence-based. And what you can see is that you can lower lactate levels quite significantly, says Poromaa.
Before today's World Championship race, 10 kilometers classical, it's therefore no question for the Swedish medal candidate:
It'll be broccoli.
