Strength Conditioning and Nutrition 101

Intro

The other day I was walking in my local organic market (shout out for planet organic) and I came across a seed (the size of a nut) I had never seen before. I picked up the package and to my surprise it was a seed from the Amazon in Peru. The package had all these grand claims such as:

For more of their claims visit saviseed

Being my usual self I was skeptical (How could I have not heard about something so amazing? ... This can ‘t be true) so I purchased a bag to see how it tasted and did some research. It successfully past the taste test and didn’t provide the oh so lovely fish burps. Let’s take a look at what the research has to say about it.

Research:

The sacha inchi comes from the Amazon which is considered the world’s most important centre of biodiversity. On top of this, it is where many of our important agriculture crops were first domesticated (e.g. cassava, pineapple, cocoa, rubber). The Amazonian plants have significant economic potential; however, little is known about them, due to neglect by the scientific community (one example is the sacha inichi) (this is likely why all of my colleagues and me had never heard of it). The plant has been used by the Incas 3000 years ago. Tribal groups and chancas Indians extract oil from the seeds which they use for preparation of meals. Further, roasted seeds and cooked leaves are an important part of the diet.

Sacha Inchi historically has been used by the indigenous people for cosmetic purposes for women (mixed with flour). It has also, been used as a medical treatment for rheumatic problems and aching muscles.

Only recently, has effort been put towards encouraging and introducing Sacha Inchi as an alternative crop. This was done to reduce the pressure and dependency of local cultivation of cocoa. With the successful integration of the oil in cosmetic products has already begun to have positive effects in agricultural terms. Due to its incredible composition of high unsaturated fatty acids, it has very recently been introduced as a dietary supplementation and is now available to consumers.

Overview

Comparison Chart

Cost

The cost by volume seems high with 5 pounds of the seed sitting at around $90. However, having one ounce a day is more than enough (equals approx 7 fish oil pills a day along with other benefits). When having one ounce a day, the five pounds would last you 80 days, but the question is can you stop yourself at one ounce.....

Sources