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Silver willow bark

The scientific name for this herb is Salix Alba. It is used as a natural medicine and consists partly of the substance salicin. The discovery of salicin inWhite Willow Barkhas led to the production of the well-known aspirin. White Willow Bark is used in fat burners because of the powerful thermogenic effect of the substance. Caffeine, ephedrine, aspirin is approximated. Contrary to aspirin, White Willow Bark is beneficial to the digestive system because it contains only bio-active nutrients. When mixing White Willow Bark with/in thermogenic fat burners, it is advisable to adhere to the specified dosage and not to exceed it. WWB has long been used in sport for its pain and anti-inflammatory properties, for example to enable athletes to continue training in the short term despite overloading ligaments and tendons. The use of WWB for short-term immune stimulation in athletes who are at risk of infection due to a high training load also seems conceivable, while its use to increase endurance performance probably still needs to be verified. A low dose of 100mg per day is sufficient to prevent platelets from clumping together and thus improve the flow properties of the blood. The analgesic effect of WWB is clearly evident at doses of 500-1000mg per day. However, the anti-inflammatory properties of WWB only come into play at doses of 1500-2000mg per day. Athletes can benefit from supplementing with White Willow, not only because it relieves pain but also with the peace of mind that White Willow does not cause liver damage that is typical of some synthetic salicin products. It is important for athletes that WWB relieves pain and supports healing in the event of overuse injuries to the musculoskeletal system, but they should not be tempted to continue training unabated. The injured area should be spared or immobilized, as otherwise the condition may worsen despite the administration of WWB. Bodybuilders with competition ambitions must be aware that WWB and other so-called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen or diclofanac lead to slight water retention in the body, so that definition suffers. Therefore, such preparations should not be taken in the last few days before a championship.

References

  1. Hendler SP (1991) The Doctor's Vitamin And Mineral Encyclopedia. Simon & Schuster, New York
  2. Simpson RE, Phillis W (1993) Adenosine And the Adaptation to Exercise. Sports Med.15/93, quoted from (OV, 1993) Trainers Digest, Leistungssport 5/93