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...)

Part 6: Supplements and Steroids

 In the world of nutritional supplements, it seems that the supplement manufacturers have the upperhand ... for now, anyway.

In 1994, Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act. Under that piece of legislation, nutritional supplement manufacturers can essentially make any outrageous claim they like providing they don't claim to prevent, diagnose, treat or cure any illness or disease.

So guess what?

They don't do the latter, but they grossly exaggerate and oft times outright lie about what their particluar supplement does -- and there's no watchdog. There's no one out there to monitor and place supplements under stringent chemical analysis.

However, from some of the tests performed by Major League Baseball some supplements can increase testosterone levels and do act in a similar manner to anabolic androgenic steroids.

Therefore, ball players should be cautious before taking any nutritional supplements because serious side effects may, and often do, exist.

Andro was banned by Major League Baseball in 2001.

(Series continues....)

Part 5: The Truth About Anabolic Steroids And Its Effects On Baseball Pitching Performance

Editor's note: This is the fifth 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.

Nutritional supplements can include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, plant derivatives as well as a host of other natural and synthetic substances. They also come in a variety of forms from powders and pills to liquids and tablets.

In some way or another, ALL the nutritional supplements on the market claim to improve your sense of well-being, strength or performance. Because of such claims, I felt it was important to discuss nutritional supplements in this series on steroids because some of the claims allege some of the exact same desired effects that athletes (baseball players, in particular) would abuse steroids for.

If a nutritional supplement purports to increase testosterone levels in an athlete, enhance endurance, strengthen muscles, or increase explosive power should be treated as a steroid. (The side effects will be the same as steroids, but you're not likely to see a nutritional supplement label include the side-effects that their product -- which they "claim" will boost performance -- may have.)

The most common nutritional supplements on the market that claim to boost performance by increasing testosterone levels contain either DHEA (dihydroepiandrosterone) or andro (androstenedione). In some studies, both have been proven to effectively "become" testosterone (DHEA and andro are pre-cursors to testosterone which means the body, depending on administration, has the ability to change their molecular structure and turn them into testosterone).

DHEA is a naturally-occuring hormone, which, through interaction with other chemicals in the body, has been shown to turn into androstenedione. The theory behind DHEA supplementation is that the user will be able to increase andro present in the body, thus, boosting testosterone in the process.

The reality is that most of the studies done on DHEA have been performed by the companies trying to sell them, and as a result, may not be as "factual" as the labels claim.

More is known about androstenedione thanks to a study performed by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association in 2001. However, the findings concluded that andro, administered at the recommended levels on nutritional supplement labels, did not increase testosterone levels at all. Only when the levels of andro were raised to amounts far exceeding the recommended levels was there any negligible rise in overall testosterone levels in the body. And these levels, of course, aren't healthy. Not are they "legal." Andro has been shown to trigger "positive" steroid tests.

(Series continues on Thursday...)

Part 4: The Truth About Anabolic Steroids And Its Effects On Baseball Pitching Performance

Editor's note: This is the fourth 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.

By now you should be familiar with some of the adverse effects associated with steroid use -- changes in personality, hormonal effects, injury, etc. (Follow these links if you've missed my first three articles -- article one, article two, or article three -- of this special blog series.)

There are actually more adverse effects on your body. Here are some of them.

The adverse effects of the Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AASs) also relate to the method of administration. AASs are generally used orally or intra-muscularly. If taken orally, most of the AAS is inactivated by the liver, resulting in an increased risk of decreased liver functions, liver tumors and cysts. If, on the other hand, the AAS is taken by injection, the risks associated with needle use emerge, including HIV, hepatitis and other infections.

Common injectable steroids include:

• Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone decanoate)
• Depo-testosterone (Testosterone cypionate)
• Delatestryl (Testosterone enanthate)
• Durabolin (Nandrolone phenpropionate)
• Primabolin (Metheneolone enanthate)
• Winstrol-depot (Stanozolol)

Common oral steroids include:

• Anadrol-50 (Oxymetholone)
• Anavar (Oxandrolone)
• Dianabol (methandrostenealone)
• Halotestin (Fluoxymesterone)
• Maxibolin (Ethylesternol)
• Metandren (methyltestosterone)
• Nilevar (norenthandorolone)
• Nibil (methanalone acetate)
• Nilevar (norenthandorolone)
• Winstrol (Stanozolol)

(Series continues on Thursday...)

Part 3: The Truth About Anabolic Steroids And Its Effects On Baseball Pitching Performance

Editor's note: This is the third 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.

Injuries are common among steroid users -- and baseball pitchers who use steroids are no exception to that rule. As mentioned in Part 1 and 2 of this blog series, the principal reason for injury is that the increase of muscle mass or increased speed associated with anabolic androgenic steroid use is not accompanied by a proportionate increase in strength of the tendons, ligaments or joints.

Anabolic Androgenic Steroid (AAS) use may have an actual negative effect on tendons and ligaments. One study, cited in a pamphlet by Major League Baseball provided to professional baseball players (including me, of course) showed that chronic use of steroids reduced tendon strength.

Increased injury may also relate to the rapidity of weight gain, such as an athlete gaining 30 or 40 pounds in a period of time much to short for his body to adapt to such a significant increase in size -- which heightens the risk of injury dramatically. This is especially the case in pitching, where a pitcher is repeating an explosive movement in delivering a pitch.

Tendon and ligament problems, however, aren't the only negative side effects associated with steroid use. It is well-documented that AASs can and do cause a variety of mental changes, including irritability, excessive aggression, mania, paranoia, depression, anxiety and panic. Steroids can -- and often do, in fact -- lead to psychological and physical dependence which makes is hard to curtail use.

Steroid users also place themselves at an increased risk of a permanent reduction of naturally produced testosterone -- something which cannot be fixed -- and, as a result, can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, male pattern baldness, acne, prostate enlargement, thyroid problems and more.

(Series continues on Thursday...)

Part 2: The Truth About Anabolic Steroids And Its Effects On Baseball Pitching Performance

Editor's note: This is the second 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.

The "more is better" mentality is creating huge problems for those experimenting with and taking steroids -- especially for pitchers. That's because as the potency of anabolic (muscle-building) effects are increased, so too are the negative side effects. Those side effects are something the government has known about since banning steroids in 1990 and classifying them in the same category as heroine, cocaine, and narcotics.

Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) are controlled substances under federal law. In fact, the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 classifies AAS as Schedule III drugs, requiring a doctor's prescription for use.

What does this mean to you? Five things.

1. There are serious penalties for illegal manufacture, distribution, and non-medically prescribed use of AAS.
2. Since 2001 steroids have been banned in major league and minor league baseball -- if you use them, you can be suspended from baseball for life.
3. Because the government has banned steroids, 90 percent of the steroids you see on the "black market" are either completely fake, completely untested, completely unregulated, or completely dangerous. These black market steroids should be avoided at all costs.
4. There is no such thing as anabolic effects (muscle-building properties) without androgenic effects (the masculinization of the body like increased body hair, deeper voice, body acne, etc.). The result is that athletes who take steroids for their anabolic properties, to increase lean body mass, strength or endurance, cannot avoid the often harmful (and irreversible) properties  of the androgenic effects.
5. Since the increase of muscle mass associated with steroids is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in tendon or ligament or joint size or strength, the risk of serious injury is increased. This may be the No. 1 problem associated with AAS use.

(Series continues on Thursday...)

Part 1: The Truth About Anabolic Steroids And Its Effects On Baseball Pitching Performance

Editor's note: This is the first 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.

There are two distinct kinds of steroids you should be familiar with: 1) those designed to reduce inflammation, swelling or pain, and 2) steroids which are designed to increase strength or muscle mass.

The first category, known as anti-inflammatory steroids or glucocorticosteroids, are most commonly referred to as cortisone or prednisone. Often, professional baseball players are administered cortisone shots by a doctor to reduce inflammation and/or tendonitis.

The second category, known as anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs), is designed to increase muscle size and strength. ("Anabolic" indicates muscle building properties; "Androgenic" indicates "masculinizing" properties.)

Testosterone is essentially the prototypical anabolic androgenic steroid, but unlike the "designer testosterones" that appear on the black market under various pseudonyms -- like deca-durabolin, winstrol, stanzanol, etc. -- testosterone is actually produced naturally in the male testes (in the amount of about 4 to 10 milligrams per day in healthy individuals).

Testosterone, by its very classification as an AAS, has two distinct functions in the natural development of male human beings: 1) to build muscle size, increase lean-body mass, and increase body weight; and 2) to masculinize the body and develop normal male characteristics like facial hair, body hair, deep voice, and reproductive functions.

Naturally occurring testosterone is, of course, what makes males males. It's essential. And if your body does not produce adequate amounts of testosterone, numerous emotional and physical problems can occur, which may lead a physician to prescribe testosterone. However, such use in healthy athletes like yourself is extremely rare — and therefore, the use of additional testosterone is completely unnecessary.

(Series continues on Thursday...)