Two teaspoons of these seeds daily in water to make you superhuman. Well, that’s what the reviews seem to say. Again, experiment on yourself. I’ve been taking them for about 10wks now and feel stronger and able to go further and faster for longer.

What is it?

The seeds of a desert plant native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. Now grown commercially, it was a staple of 16th century Aztecs apparently.

How to take daily:

1. Two teaspoons in a small amount of water: 6-8oz glass or container. The quantity of water doesn’t really matter: just not sure you’d want to prolong the experience
2. I take first thing in morning
3. Soak overnight or minimum 15 mins, it goes like frog spawn and smells/ tastes like cold tea
4. I then take another glass after my morning run
5. Other people take with other juice/ squash etc.

How to take during trail ultras:

1. I prepare FuelBelt 7oz bottles made up with the same quantities described above and either take one per 90mins on a training run, or roughly 1 per aid station in drop bags/ with crew
2. On a long run the slightly lumpy cold tea is strangely refreshing, and great to give long burn food that’s easy to swallow and digest: however rough you feel. You end up wanting them like water.

The spec. in terms of % of recommended daily intake at 2,000 calories per day (for one ounce/ 4.8 tea spoons a day:)

• 9% of protein
• 13% fat: omega-3 fatty acids, over half of which is alpha-Linolenic acid
• 42% dietary fibre
• Essential minerals of phosphorous, manganese, calcium, potassium & sodium

You can also take in salads, sandwiches, soups etc.

Popularity increased due to Chris McDougall’s book, Born to Run

Reviewers say:

Good: Not ‘famous’ as specialist running socks, but an undiscovered gem. Totally waterproof, rendering redundant the useless Goretex trail shoes which retain water. Merino wool is warm – different thicknesses available. The layering of the wool and waterproof also seems to provide a good blister barrier as users report few injuries even over long ultras. Can tumble dry. Average life 2yrs with fairly heavy weekly use. Go for 2/3 pairs to rotate summer and winter.

Bad: Sizing is slightly odd. Go larger than expected – especially for tumble-dry shrinkage. Ankles seem to go baggy on the longer socks fairly quickly.

Price from: £21/$32

Links:

Sealskinz website