Secret Soviet Muscle Food

The cartoon sailor was right: Spinach really does help build muscle.

A new study shows the phytoecdysteroids from spinach sped growth of human muscle cells by up to 20 percent. Rats injected with the extract for a month were also stronger, and had increased grip strength.

Muscle-building ecdysteroids are found in a variety of forms in nature--from insects to plants--but spinach is the only edible source.

But take note: The human cell study was conducted by treating samples of muscle tissue with the chemical—not by feeding people spinach. The team estimates that humans would have to eat more than 2.2 lb (one kilogram) of raw spinach every day to see results. “You could eat 5 kilos of spinach and it might not have these effects, we just don’t know,” says lead researcher Ilya Raskin, from Rutgers University, New Jersey.

While the muscle-building effects of spinach aren't certain, Raskin said this isn't the first time the question has been raised: “This goes back to literature from the former Soviet Union that showed these compounds have [muscle-building] anabolic effects,” says Raskin. “They tested the chemical in the 60s and 70s for military applications, for sports, for space, they were interested in things that make people stronger. I don’t know about the quality of those studies, but they were done.”

Secret military applications of spinach? Interesting.

So we couldn't help but wonder: If you could get the strength of a sailor and the power of Sputnik, how much spinach would you be willing to eat?