Trace minerals from deep in the ocean found to increase blood flow and reduce inflammation in the brain

A multi-national study discovered that 70 minerals and trace elements found in deep ocean water may improve blood flow and hemoglobin levels in the brain after exercise.

Based on a concept in paleobiology, life on Earth started from deep ocean waters. During the transition from sea to land, the nutritive complexity of living organisms was compromised. The photosynthetic organisms living on the surface may have depleted some of the biological components of water, but can still be found in deep waters that sunlight cannot reach. From this idea, scientists hypothesized that ingesting the minerals from deep ocean water may replenish incomplete molecular complexities and increase our physical capacity against energy-consuming and physically taxing challenges.

Currently, athletes consume energy-boosting food items and drinks that help replenish the nutrients and minerals that burn up during their games. However, energy drinks and energy bars are highly processed, and usually contain artificial components which are not good for the health. Researchers’ discovery of deep ocean minerals (DOM) may be a step closer towards replacing these processed energy-boosting foods with something more natural.

Findings of the study indicate that the consumption of DOM before, during, and after an exhaustive cycling exercise is associated with a significantly elevated level of cerebral hemoglobins, or proteins in the red blood cells which carry oxygen. This was the result of tests done on 12 men with an average age of 21 and nine men with an average age of 47. The double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study entailed a random assignment of DOM and placebo consumption.

While there were no significant differences between the beverages (DOM and placebo) for lactate response when cycling at 75 percent VO2 max, there were big differences between the cerebral hemodynamic responses, and effects were greater in the middle-aged men. VO2 max is the measurement of the greatest amount of oxygen that a person can use during intense exercise.

Furthermore, the consumption of DOM resulted in an increase in the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in middle-aged men after the exercise. NLR is a marker of internal inflammation. This connotes that DOM may be able to reduce the damage after intense exercise, or improve the speed of recovery after. As explained by the researchers, DOM supplementation improves the quality of the condition of the cells after an entropic challenge.

Results of the study only further confirm that the human body can be supplemented by what nature provides. Many studies around the world are diving deeper into the complexities of nature to fully discover what it has to offer, especially in terms of health.

Sources include:

NutraIngredients.com

FrontiersIn.org