HOW TO USE

Body & Mind Fuel for athletic & non-athletic endeavors alike. 

SAF/BSAF show their versatility as an energy drink concentrate, energy gel shot, hot tea; mixer for spirits & sparkling water and topping on granola, yogurt & ice cream. They power up your mind & body for work, sport & pleasure. Both are crafted from phytonutrient rich, functional-food concentrates using the collective power & knowledge of nature & science. To best use SAF/BSAF you need to understand a little science behind their ingredients. We will let the SAF researchers talk the science. It won’t hurt, we promise. 

SUPPORTING YOUR BODY’S PHYSIOLOGIC DEMANDS DURING ATHLETIC ENDEAVORS: SCIENCE 

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SmartAthleteFuel & BeetSmartAthleteFuel are used identically & interchangeably. 

Energy Done Better: Natural food concentrates containing simple & complex sugars, small amounts of protein, amino acids, & omega fatty acids to give you a smooth, long lasting energy profile, preventing the sugar spikes & crashes of typical energy products. Bonus, phytonutrients & tea Theanine may help you mobilize fat stores into your immediate energy pool faster to further extend your endurance (@5). 

Electrolytes, Done Better: A full complement of electrolytes & trace minerals (not the questionably absorbed elemental magnesium & potassium used by so many energy products). Bonus, Theaflavins may help increase the absorption of minerals from the gut.

Addressing Oxidative & Inflammatory Stress; Performance, Recovery & Well-being Vampires: During prolonged & high output exercise, rising levels of oxidative stress & inflammation (as a response to micro-trauma) begin to adversely affect cell membranes, electrical activity, mitochondria (the powerhouse of cells), & even DNA. Unchecked they begin to impede your performance & cause damage to your body. This occurs no matter how many calories, electrolytes, & fluids you try to push into your body. To help counteract oxidative stress, SAF’s 5 natural plant concentrates contain nitrates, micro & phytonutrients that may act as direct free radical scavengers. Bonus, they may help turn on your body’s own mechanisms to deal with these free radicals & their deleterious effects (@1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 48, 49, 50, 53). Additionally, micro & phytonutrients within SAF/BSAF’s ingredients are believed to have anti-inflammatory activities which would help address the deleterious effects of inflammation on performance, recovery & well-being (@1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 48, 49, 50, 53).

Decreasing Oxygen Consumption, Lactic Acid Production & Increasing Cellular Efficiency: Research on Beets & Nitrates, suggests that at equal levels of exercise, nitrates & phytonutrients decrease oxygen consumption & decrease lactic acid production (@62, 61). Bonus studies including Shannon’s 2017 study, suggest nitrates & phytonutrients may work synergistically to increase the efficiency of muscle contraction, mitochondrial respiration, glucose uptake, & calcium handling (@65). The results in Wylie’s 2013 study would support this: At steady state exertion, Beet Juice ingestion extended the time to exhaustion by 12-14% (@54).

Improve Blood Flow & Breathing: Micro & phytonutrients in SAF/BSAF’s ingredients may help your heart contract more efficiently (inotropic effect) (@5). Phytonutrients, metabolized Nitrates, & Theanine (an amino acid in matcha tea) are felt to have vasodilatory effects to allow more blood flow to your heart, lungs, muscles & brain (@5, 6, 54, 61, 62, 65). Bonus, natural substances in the Matcha tea are felt to be bronchodilators making it easier to breathe (@5). Improved blood flow & Breathing (oxygenation) support your physiologic demands needed to reach higher levels of performance & recovery.

Getting your mind into your game, Mind+Body= A Winning Combination: We all know that outa body experience where our mind & body are one in our game/work or pleasure. Our game becomes nearly effortless.  We think it, it happens. We are completely focused, play smarter & more efficiently. Ceremonial matcha tea is dominantly an alpha brain wave stimulator = FOCUSED ALERTNESS (@66). Bonus, vasodilatory effects of phytonutrients & metabolize nitrates may increase brain perfusion which led to improved cognition and decreased retraction times in Presley’s study (@55). CAFFEINE dominantly produces beta brain wave activity. A fight or flight, “attention deficit disorder” arousal. Additionally, caffeine tends to be: vasoconstrictor (less blood flow), diuretic (gotta pee), G.I. stimulant (gotta poop) and Chronotrope (elevates heart rate). NONE of these are the physiological effects you want during your event. For further discussion on THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLEY OF caffeine see the PERFORMANCE page, A NOTE ON CAFFEINE.

 Onboarding SAF/BSAF: Once ingested & dealt with by your gastrointestinal system, nutrients or metabolites GENERALLY peak within your bloodstream between 1 to 2 hours, then decline over the next 4 to 6 hours as they are metabolized, excreted, moved into a different body space, & are used up by your athletic endeavors. Knowing this allows you to wisely time the “dosing” of SAF/BSAF.

 

PUTTING THE SCIENCE TOGETHER FOR ATHLETES: 

  1. SAF/BSAF provides energy calories & electrolytes. This is the typical stopping point for some most energy products. Beyond providing calories, caffeine & electrolytes, most energy products leave you stranded at the performance train station as smart competitors roll on by. Not so with SAF/BSAF. Bonus, SAF address your broad physiological needs, not simply energy. In doing so they should keep you on the performance train way longer than sugar & caffeine.
  2. SAF/BSAF provide a natural, broad energy & electrolyte spectrum. Bonus, they may even help address absorption of these nutrients and may help mobilize fat stores into your immediate energy pool faster.
  3. Simultaneously, SAF/BSAF ingredients may address both oxidative & inflammatory stress that develop during high output exercise. Collectively oxidative & inflammatory stress degrade performance on a cellular, & sub-cellular level, no matter how many calories, electrolytes (or caffeine) you attempt to pour into your body.
  4. Many researchers believe micronutrients contained within SAF/BSAF’s ingredients work on your body’s physiological efficiencies leading to less oxygen consumption & less lactic acid production. Bonus, this would result in less fatigue & higher exercise output & duration.
  5. Improved Blood flow & Breathing (oxygenation) according to many research studies. Bonus, positively addressing your performance & recovery 
  6. Finally, the oh so important, but neglected brain. Bonus, bringing your mind into your game.  Mind+Body = A Winning Combination!   

BEST USE THEORY: With the above science (you read it didn’t you) you will better conceptualize our theory & protocols for using SAF/BSAF to best support your body’s physiological demands as you optimize your performance, recovery, & well-being.

PRE-LOADING; BEFORE YOUR EVENT: This elevates plasma levels & body stores of energy, electrolytes, antioxidants, & anti-inflammatory agents. It helps cue up your body’s own mechanisms to combat the eminent oxidative stress & inflammation. It improves blood flow allowing more of these nutrients to reach all parts of the body & mind. It may help initiate physiologic events to help your body be more efficient & bring your mind into your game.  All of this occurs before the event. Now your body/mind & physiology are pro-actively loaded & cued up waiting to efficiently take on whatever your event will bring them.

RE-LOADING; DURING YOUR EVENT: As your event progresses you draw down your pre-Loaded stores of energy, electrolytes, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, & micro nutrients that may help enable your body’s physiology to be more efficient. Thus, you need to continue RE-Load these to keep your body ahead of the demand & oxidative/inflammatory stress curves. If you fall behind the demand & oxidative/inflammation stress curves your physiology suffers, tanking your performance & recovery. Effectively Pre-loading & Re-loading should help enable your physiology to support higher intensity & longer duration athletic endeavors. Concurrently, staying ahead of the demand/stress curves (not going into deficits) will shorten your recovery. 

REPLENISHING; AFTER YOUR EVENT, RECOVERY: Your body now is in the reparative mode. You have drawn down on your pre-loaded & re-loaded stores & they need to be Replenished. Calories, electrolytes, vitamins, proteins, & amino acids for repair & strengthening are needed. In addition, inflammatory & oxidative stress resulting from repetitive microtrauma during your event CONTINUE TO RISE AFTER YOUR EVENT. Unchecked, they will continue to harm your body, immunity & prolong your recovery. Thus, additional antioxidants & anti-inflammatories are needed now and in the immediate future. Studies based on ingredients contained within SAF/BSAF (Pre-loading, Re-loading & Replenishing) for ½ Marathon) showed improved performance, less muscle breakdown, faster strength recovery, fewer upper respiratory tract complaints & improved sleep post event (@1, 2, 3, 4).

PROTOCOL FOR RACE DAY:

  • PRE-Load before event: 1 SAF gel 3 PM the day before the event. 1 SAF gel 1-hour before the event followed by water. 1/2 SAF gel sublingual 10 minutes before the gun, the other 1/2 SAF gel goes into your water bottle. 
  • RE-Load during event:  Hydrate during the event with 1.5 packets SAF in 1st water bottle use in the 1st hour. Beyond the 1st hour, 1 packet in each additional water bottle consumed every additional hour. Events lasting greater than 3 hours consider replenishing with a SAF gel. Usage is dependent upon your level of efficiency as a fat burner  and energy needs/usage. The more efficient you are, the less energy you will have to replace during your event. However, hydration electrolytes & oxidative/inflammatory stress still need to be addressed. You will need to experiment with this (not on race day) and you may need to supplement with additional carbs & protein. If you do not use SAF as your energy drink, use it as a gel shot every hour. 
  • RE-plenish post-event for recovery: 1 SAF/BSAF gel ASAP after finish followed with fluids. 1 SAF gel at 2 & 6 hours post event. Try mixing it with chocolate milk. 

    PROTOCOL FOR EVERY DAY ATHLETIC USE: 

    • Energy drink, 1-SAF gel into 16 to 22 oz of water, shake gently. Try placing ¼ SAF gel directly in your mouth, sublingual, 10 minutes before exercise, the rest going into your water bottle. Exercise beyond 1-hour at modest to high intensity, consider replenishing with 1-SAF gel/drink for every additional 1-hour of exercise.

    PROTOCOL FOR TRAINING: 

    Training is a balancing act between stress & recovery. Stressing your body evokes the physiologic responses to grow stronger & more efficient. However, severe oxidative & inflammatory stress (caused by intense & prolonged exercise) can be detrimental. It can minimize your training effect & extend recovery time. For training sessions lasting about 1-hour at mild to modest output, use SAF as described in EVERYDAY ATHLETIC USE.  Training session longer than an hour & at moderate to high output, use 1 SAF gel 1-hour before, ¼ gel 10 minutes before, & remaining into water as an energy drink. Add 1 SAF gel/drink for every additional 1-hour of moderate to high output training. Training at moderate-high output, lasting greater than 2 hours, consider 1 SAF gel ASAP after training (try it with your recovery chocolate milk). 

     ANYONE, ANYWHERE USE:

    SAF/BSAF are dominant alpha brain wave stimulators. This produces a conscious & focused mental alertness. Caffeine on the other hand, is dominantly a beta wave stimulator producing a fight or flight mental alertness. We all have experienced the heartbreak of too much Java love. A heart pounding, attention deficit rage in search of a bathroom. SAF lifts your body with simple & complex sugars, proteins, amino acids, omega fatty acids, vitamins, & minerals. This prevents the simple sugar peak & crash associated with ultra-refined sugar & caffeinated soft & energy drinks.

    • Cold drink: Dilute in 8 to 22 oz of cold water to desired taste. 
    • Mixer with sparkling water: Leave a little room in a glass with sparkling water & SLOWLY  add SAF INTO the sparkling water as it will fizz, then GENTLY stir. 
    • As a Mixer with your favorite Spirit: Ice + 0 to 4oz of water (+ or - sparkling) + your favorite spirit & SAF. So good!
    • Hot as a tea: Great substitute for coffee or tea at home/work for a morning/afternoon pick me up. To 6 to 10 ounces of hot water add ½ to 1 SAF according to your taste. Great Hot energy drink for winter sports!
    • Topping: Use as a topping on granola, yogurt, ice cream or cheese cake. Get creative & tell us your favorite use! 

    We believe the research attesting to the health & well-being attributes of the micro & phytonutrients within SAF/BSAF’s ingredients is compelling. These nutrients may address issues associated with the brain, eyes, teeth, gums, skin, joints, muscles, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, immune system, and your state of mind. They may address chronic oxidative & inflammatory stress. Stressors felt by many researchers to be common pathways to chronic diseases including: cardiovascular disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, dementia, diabetes, inflammatory arthritis, unbalanced immune system, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, & premature aging. Now that’s a healthy garnish on your anyone-anywhere pick me up!

                                                 Game On! 

    IMPORTANT USAGE NOTE: SAF is much more LIQUID than a Goo gel. When opened it cannot be resealed. Even if completely used, the slight residual LIQUID in the packet will likely leak from the tear opening. If you cannot dispose of the opened packet and need to carry it, considering carrying SAF in a snack Baggie to dispose the opened packet into to protect your clothing. Alternatively, partially fill a goo flask with 3 to 4 packets of SAF to quickly and cleanly consume SAF, but refrigerate any unused portion. SAF is a natural product without preservatives or additives. Once it is opened and diluted it is best used within 8 hrs or refrigerate. If left in your bottle for days, it's on the path to cherry wine! So clean your bottles well after use and DON’T use in HYDRATION PACKS! Natural cherry & beet phytonutrients can stain clothing!  While SAF is shelf-stable unopened, shelf-life can be extended with refrigeration

     

     Note: The statements made on our website have not been evaluated by the FDA (US food and drug administration). The products and information are not intended to diagnose, prevent or cure any disease or health issues, nor be a substitute for medical advice. Our products and information are not to be read as a specific remedy nor intended to guarantee any specific result. We are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of our products or any suggestions, information or procedures discussed in this site. Many of the studies SmartAthleteFuel's researchers used to formulate their conclusions presented in this website are referenced for the consumer to review and draw their own informed conclusion.BeetSmartAthleteFuel & SmartAthleteFuel are food products only.