Asea as recovery product

el tel

Has anoyone tried the product ASEA? In a stickybottle article a while ago I think one of the riders of the domestic team sponsored by them said they used it and it aided recovery, posssibly perfomance (I can't remember for sure).

I can't find out much concrete about it, most of the discussion either saying it cures every ailment or is a big load of bull quackery.

niceonetom

It is definitely not a pyramid scheme.

RockWerchter

Redox Signaling Molecules are the way forward. The electrons they give your body have to be good for your power output...

desertcircus

Going by everything I can find, complete wafflebollocks. No actual evidence whatsoever that the product does what they say, no explanation of the chemical process the product supposedly promotes that improves your recovery, no convincing evidence that they're actually selling anything other than salt water.

Inquitus

68 lost souls

McCrystal swears by it. I was at a talk with him and the guy who is selling it to the Irish market. To be honest I didnt by into it but I respect BMC so I trust it works for him. I think a lot of the other things they talked about that night made a lot of sense, e.g. becoming a fat burner rather than a carb burner and being bale to run on empty.

The sales guy kept pushing ASEA though and talking about how it will cure cancer and that if we turn our bodies into a PH positive body we will never get sick ever.

ford2600

Sciencebasedmedicine summary



Bottom Line

ASEA is salt water. You can make your own salt water at home for much less than a dollar an ounce. The only value of the product is the entertainment value that can be derived from reading the imaginative pseudoscientific explanations they give

Eamonnator

68 lost souls wrote: »

McCrystal swears by it. I was at a talk with him and the guy who is selling it to the Irish market. To be honest I didnt by into it but I respect BMC so I trust it works for him. I think a lot of the other things they talked about that night made a lot of sense, e.g. becoming a fat burner rather than a carb burner and being bale to run on empty.

The sales guy kept pushing ASEA though and talking about how it will cure cancer and that if we turn our bodies into a PH positive body we will never get sick ever.

Who does Brian McCrystal ride for?

ROK ON

Eamonnator wrote: »

Who does Brian McCrystal ride for?

That's unfair Eamonator. Who are we to question the greats of irish cycling. Surely the reason they are great is due to the diet and intense focus. Pretty soon there will be a queue of fellas on here accusing you of never having done anything and don't you know your place.

Seriously though - a lot of the top athletes in this country have way too much time in their hands judging by the whackery that some of them come out with.

Eamonnator

Ask my father, am I a liar!

68 lost souls

Eamonnator wrote: »

Who does Brian McCrystal ride for?

At the time he was with Aquablue

Eamonnator

Who DOES Brian McCrystal ride for?

I would not expect anybody to have anything bad to say about their sponsors.

68 lost souls

ASEA now of course.

As I said I didnt think much of it and don't think it does much but it seemed to be doing something for him so if you use it and it works for you go ahead, I personally wouldn't and think the other parts of the diet are far more important and worth working on.

Al Wright

Nothing to do with the above product, but ASEA I know, (Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget ) is a very respected name in Ireland since the 1930s. Merged around 1988 with Brown Boveri to form the industrial giant ABB.

On the water, the following link discusses the claims;
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/asea-another-expensive-way-to-buy-water/

Casati

Did you ask BMC if he was personally involved in the distribution and sales of ASEA in Ireland?

nak

68 lost souls wrote: »

The sales guy kept pushing ASEA though and talking about how it will cure cancer and that if we turn our bodies into a PH positive body we will never get sick ever.

Wow. Why are people buying into the pH change myth? Absolute nonsense.

Think I'll stick to regular water thanks.

ht9zni1gs28crp

It not like Ireland like paying for treated water.....let alone salt water!

Cond0r

68 lost souls wrote: »

McCrystal swears by it. I was at a talk with him and the guy who is selling it to the Irish market. To be honest I didnt by into it but I respect BMC so I trust it works for him. I think a lot of the other things they talked about that night made a lot of sense, e.g. becoming a fat burner rather than a carb burner and being bale to run on empty.

The sales guy kept pushing ASEA though and talking about how it will cure cancer and that if we turn our bodies into a PH positive body we will never get sick ever.

McCrystal also swears by "Kangan water" which is even more ridiculous than the ASEA stuff. Read more here:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4139

I find it incredible that people buy into these blatant snake oil scams.

el tel

What about actual oil, made from actual snakes? That'd be lapped up no bother. Perhaps you can't get it - otherwise China would have more top athletes and cyclists.

More about ASEA, and the study on 20 cyclists
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/accused-of-lying-about-asea-not-guilty/

tailendcharlie

Cond0r wrote: »

McCrystal also swears by "Kangan water" which is even more ridiculous than the ASEA stuff. Read more here:



I find it incredible that people buy into these blatant snake oil scams.

placebos are proven to work...............

Alek

placebos are proven to work.

Nope. They make people feel better, but not actually better*.

* unless their ailment is psychosomatic.

tailendcharlie

Alek wrote: »

Nope. They make people feel better, but not actually better*.

* unless their ailment is psychosomatic.

No if they believe what they are taking will do them good it will cause a physical response in the body, its all in here:

hwebmd . com / pain-management / what-is-the-placebo-effect

tailendcharlie

Alek wrote: »

Nope. They make people feel better, but not actually better*.

* unless their ailment is psychosomatic.

No if they believe what they are taking will do them good it will cause a physical response in the body, its all in here:

webmd . com / pain-management / what-is-the-placebo-effect

joker77

Alek wrote: »

Nope. They make people feel better, but not actually better*.

* unless their ailment is psychosomatic.

That's just plain wrong.

Placebos / nocebos are incredibly powerful.

ford2600

tailendcharlie wrote: »

No if they believe what they are taking will do them good it will cause a physical response in the body, its all in here:

webmd . com / pain-management / what-is-the-placebo-effect

Michael Brooks book, 13 things that don't make sense dedicates Chapter 12 of his book to The Placebo effect. Interesting chapter

Alek

That's just plain wrong.

Placebos / nocebos are incredibly powerful.

That's only partially true.

They may work for pain or some types of allergic reactions / asthma which are at least partially psychosomatic effects.

They do not work for coronary disease, advanced lung cancer or a broken collar bone. Trust me.

If a patient stops feeling the pain of a burnt hand after taking a sugar pill, it means that it worked for the pain sensation, not the damaged skin.

niceonetom

joker77

Alek wrote: »

That's only partially true.

They may work for pain or some types of allergic reactions / asthma which are at least partially psychosomatic effects.

They do not work for coronary disease, advanced lung cancer or a broken collar bone. Trust me.

If a patient stops feeling the pain of a burnt hand after taking a sugar pill, it means that it worked for the pain sensation, not the damaged skin.

Oh, Trust you? Sorry... sorry... ok then.

Cond0r

el tel wrote: »

What about actual oil, made from actual snakes? That'd be lapped up no bother. Perhaps you can't get it - otherwise China would have more top athletes and cyclists.

More about ASEA, and the study on 20 cyclists
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/accused-of-lying-about-asea-not-guilty/

And the dangers of these kinds of "miracle* cures" are summed up succinctly in one of the comments on that page:

Then I tryed on my Brother WHO has a very serious Health issue called Epilepsia.
After my Brother had used ASEA for just 6 months – he went from 100% “normal” medication for his Health issue. Today he’s just taking 10% of his original medicin – and tops it of with ASEA.

People with real health issues discontinuing medication that have proven therapeutic effects is a great way to make them more sick, or even kill them.


* One of the ASEA products is actually called "Miracle gel".

Alek

joker77 wrote: »

Oh, Trust you? Sorry... sorry... ok then.

Do you mean that you can heal a heart attack with placebo? Great!

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4151

joker77

Nice clip niceonetom - he goes into it in Chapter 5 of Bad Science as well, great book that

Mr. Grieves

I think people frequently make a mistake of assuming athletes like Bryan McCrystal have more insight into nutrition or training than scientists (or cyclists of more average ability). McCrystal is successful because he was born with a huge engine. His dedication/interest in training and nutrition would only make a few percent difference either way. He may have taken the time to experiment with different techniques and can offer anecdotal information, but he's not going to be an authority.

For the same reason, I wouldn't be scrutinizing those stickybottle training reports from good domestic riders, looking for the 'secrets' of their success. The fascination we have with top athletes sure does sell stuff though.

Inquitus

Mr. Grieves wrote: »

I think people frequently make a mistake of assuming athletes like Bryan McCrystal snip.

He's a smart fella, his bike is getting subsidised by this product, he's not going to badmouth it, and if seeing Team Asea clean up sells more expensive seawater he's one of the winners.