Are these mushrooms magic?
It is natural that we look for substances that improve our performance. We put a lot of work in to gaining a few seconds over the course of a race so if we can take a supplement that can give us that extra edge it’s clearly worthwhile. It is also right that some of these are banned as they are no longer considered fair-play. However, it does sometimes seem that a rather arbitrary line is drawn between the legal and illegal performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) but we won’t go into that here. Rather, we’ll focus on a new legal PED that seems to be gaining traction. The humble fungus.
Cordyceps is a genus of fungus that less resembles your typical mushroom and more the shrivelled carrot you find at the bottom of the vegetable box. It has been used as a Chinese alternative medicine for centuries and, like many Chinese herbal remedies, is a one-stop fix-all claiming curative properties for cancer, respiratory illness and mental health issues. However, it is also recognised for its ability to ‘give you energy’. This is a rather broad claim but one that has recently been grounded in science.
Thongsawang et al gave twelve male long distance runners 2g of Cordyceps sinensis powder daily for 2weeks and then put them through their paces to identify their response. They found that Cordyceps can increase our lactate threshold and reduce our fatiguability, two key measures of ‘fitness’.
The science
Excuse me while I geek out…
First, a recap on a component of cellular metabolism. Glucose is converted to pyruvate during glycolysis releasing ATP, the unit of power within the cell. The next step of metabolism is key in determining how much energy we yield from a single glucose molecule. Either a) it enters the high energy yeilding but time consuming aerobic metabolic pathway, or b) it is converted to lactate in the rapid, non-oxygen requiring anaerobic metabolic pathway. The latter step creates an hydrogen ion as a by-product producing an acidic environment. The lactate molecule is then shuttled out of the cell into the blood stream to the liver where it is metabolised by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) back to glucose to return to the working muscles.
A polysaccharide produced by Cordyceps can stimulate the shuttling of lactate out of the cell towards the liver and up regulate LDH prompting the more rapid cycling of lactate. It can also up regulate cellular markers for endurance and reduce inflammation by mopping up those pesky reactive oxygen species.
The field test
Cue me checking amazon for a deal on a bucket load of Cordyceps!
After a little research though, I quickly released that not all Cordyceps sinensis supplements were made equal. As they are grown on rice, the amount of pure Cordyceps in the supplement varies. I settled on a 3rd party qualified, organic, vegan capsule.
I conveniently had the Virgin Money London Marathon on the calendar two weeks after my bundle arrived through the door. I took the capsules religiously each day as if my life/marathon time (as if there’s a difference) depended on it. They caused me no GI upset and were pretty much flavourless.
So what happened?
My legs have never felt so good is what happened! I set off at a pace I would have never thought sustainable and maintained it for the entirety of the race (see my separate post on the race for a more detailed race report). Specifically, my legs felt fresh for far longer than I have experienced in the past. Crossing Tower Bridge at the half way mark I took the opportunity to check in with my body and was surprised to find little or no complaints from any of the key muscle groups. It was only at 20 miles that things started to get uncomfortable. My form started to slip before I noticed any discomfort which I take to mean that fatigue (contributed to by a combination of both mental and physical factors) set in before muscle function deteriorated from local biological processes.
I also noticed that my recovery was accelerated. Where I would normally suffer from achy muscles and joints there was none. Sure I felt tired and the first week of training back was a bit of a slog but there was nothing in my legs telling me not to run, more a mental fatigue saying I couldn’t be bothered.
A disclaimer
This is a single case study and therefore inherently unreliable! We all have good and bad days when we run and this might have simply been a great day for me. I am by no means endorsing the use of Cordyceps as a performance enhancer, simply looking over some literature and saying I had a good race after taking some supplements. If you ate a pineapple and the next day it rains, does it mean a pineapple causes it to rain? Some people might think so.
Even more importantly, I am definitely not saying that Cordycreps are a replacement for hard work in training. Consistency and dedication are where the biggest gains are to be had and are what we should be focusing on. This is just a discussion on a topic I found interesting.
Will I continue taking Cordyceps? Probably in the lead up to a race. They cause no GI upset for me and are relatively cheap. Perhaps they’ll give me a placebo pushing me beyond my usual physical and mental restraints. Maybe they make superman, who knows.