Steroids in Bullriding?

The steroids scandals have claimed the latest and perhaps most unlikely suspect yet. The sport of bull riding may start drug testing some of its athletes – not the riders, the bulls. As if the four-legged beasts that weigh up to 2,200 pounds don’t have enough testosterone, some bull owners allegedly are injecting the animals with anabolic steroids. “Oh, I think damn near everybody’s doing it,” said Jerry Nelson, one of the sport’s top bull owners. “It ain’t going to slow down. It’s just like baseball, football, whatever. It’s not going to slow down until you legislate (against) it.” Gary Warner, a prominent veterinarian in the world of bull riding, said he recently received calls from two bull owners asking him to look into the possibility of drug testing what some in the industry refer to as “the bovine athletes.” Warner intends to bring the matter up for discussion at this month’s World Finals in Las Vegas.

The PBR board of directors met Sept. 20 to discuss the implementation of an anti-steroids policy, tour CEO Randy Bernard said.The board will meet with Warner and PBR’s attorney before fine-tuning the language, according to Bernard, who said the policy likely will call for the testing of the top-performing bulls at each event. Gilbert Carrillo, a former rider who now raises bulls, said he would welcome drug testing considering what he’s seen on the circuit. “When you got a 2-year-old bull or a 3-year-old bull looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, there is some form of steroid there,” he said. The practice dates back at least to the late 1990s, when Nelson said steroid use was so rampant he decided to give it a try. He said his bulls became more aggressive and muscular but also developed side effects. For some, hair color changed. Others grew sterile, jeopardizing their value as potential breeders.

Nelson said he promptly swore off steroids, but how many other trainers followed suit is a matter of debate. Warner, who works with some of the sport’s leading trainers, said inquiries from bull owners about steroid use has dropped substantially in the past 10 years to the point where few in the industry even have discussed it since he got the recent calls about the possibility of drug testing. Though there is no anti-doping policy for livestock in the Professional Bull Riders tour – the major leagues of bull riding – or the rest of the rodeo world, the use of anabolic steroids in bulls is unapproved and illegal. Despite what steroids might do for major-league sluggers and NFL linebackers, Warner said he sees no competitive advantage by pumping bulls full of steroids. Yes, he said, steroids promote muscle gain, but only if you work out. “The case in point is, gee, we’re not sticking a bull underneath the weight rack and doing 700-pound squats,” Warner said. But suspicions of drug use heightened in 2004 when someone found empty syringes outside the pen that housed the bulls during the Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Las Vegas. The syringes could have been used to inject vitamin B-12 shots, which are approved for bulls. But Don Kish, president of American Bucking Bull Inc., took renewed concerns to the board of directors. Read more

How stress effects your body

stressed.jpg

Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life. Many events that happen to you and around you — and many things that you do yourself — put stress on your body. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. But how does stress affect health?

The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked, and stress-related tension builds.

Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress — a negative stress reaction. Distress can lead to physical symptoms including headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping. Research suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases.

Stress also becomes harmful when people use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to try to relieve their stress. Unfortunately, instead of relieving the stress and returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances tend to keep the body in a stressed state and cause more problems. Consider the following:

* Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
* Seventy-five to 90% of all doctor’s office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.
* Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, or arthritis in addition to depression and anxiety.
* The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared stress a hazard of the workplace. Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually.
* The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic, untreated stress reactions.

So find ways to balance the stresses in your life and let yourself RELAX. (WedMD)

Plums

plumssmaller.bmp

There are few fruits that come in such a panorama of colors as the juicy sweet tasting plum. The plum season extends from May through October with the Japanese varieties first on the market from May and peaking in August followed by the European varieties in the fall.

Plums belong to the Prunus genus of plants and are relatives of the peach, nectarine and almond. They are all considered “drupes,” fruits that have a hard stone pit surrounding their seeds. When plums are dried, they are known as prunes.

Health Benefits
The fresh version (plums) and the dried version (prunes) of the plant scientifically known as Prunus domestica have been the subject of repeated health research for their high content of unique phytonutrients called neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid. These substances found in plum and prune are classified as phenols, and their function as antioxidants has been well-documented.

Significant Antioxidant Protection from Phenols
These damage-preventing substances are particularly effective in neutralizing a particularly destructive oxygen radical called superoxide anion radical, and they have also been shown to help prevent oxygen-based damage to fats, such as the fats that comprise a substantial portion of our brain cells or neurons, the cholesterol and triglycerides circulating in our bloodstream, or the fats that make up our cell membranes.

Better Iron Absorption Plus More Antioxidant Protection from Vitamin C
The ability of plum and prune to increase absorption of iron into the body has also been documented in published research. This ability of plum and prune to make iron more available may be related to the vitamin C content of this fruit. Our food ranking system qualified plums as a very good source of vitamin C.

In addition to assisting with absorption of iron, vitamin C is needed in the body to make healthy tissue and is also needed for a strong immune system. Getting a little extra vitamin C around cold and flu season is a good idea, and may also be helpful for people who suffer from recurrent ear infections. Vitamin C also helps to protect cholesterol from becoming oxidized by free radicals. Since oxidized cholesterol is the kind that builds up in the arteries and causes damage to blood vessels, some extra vitamin C can be helpful for people who suffer from atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease. In addition, vitamin C can help neutralize free radicals that could otherwise contribute to the development or progression of conditions like asthma, colon cancer, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, so vitamin C may be able to help those who are at risk or suffering from these conditions. Owing to the multitude of vitamin C’s health benefits, it is not surprising that research has shown that consumption of vegetables and fruits high in this nutrient is associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes including heart disease, stroke and cancer. Read more

Copyright © Fit Fuel Blog 2007 All Rights Reserved.