Part 7: The Truth About Anabolic Steroids And Its Effects On Baseball Pitching Performance

Editor's note: This is the seventh of an eight-week series of articles examining the effects of anabolic steroids and other substances on baseball pitching performance and overall health. Source: MLB.

Many factors go into whether a baseball player should take nutritional supplements. Some of these include the nature of the particular substance purporting to bestow the claimed effect ("what it is"), its concentration ("how much of it is in the product"), its dosage, both suggested and actual ("how much does it say I should take, and how much do I actually take"), and its purity ("how refined is it").

Other factors include what effect the nutritional supplement may have if an individual baseball player is taking other supplements or prescribed medications, the time of day when the supplement is taken, etc.

Baseball players, when deciding whether to take a nutritional supplement, should not depend on the experience of another individual or baseball athlete with the substance. The athlete should ask a physician or trainer knowledgeable in these areas to provide information about the products before he takes anything.

(Series continues on Thursday...)