[Vision2020] Hypocrisy

[Art Deco]

Heirloom:

Thank you for your question.

I posted the article because for months, no years, so-called critics including self-serving national politicians and business people have moralized about steroids.  But when it comes to making a telling statement about the real dangers and demonstrating to youth that their elders take the super-steroid problem seriously, they show themselves to be pathetic hypocrites with a 7 month sentence!  Ordinary shoplifters sometimes get longer sentences.

There is much evidence showing there is very high probability that prolonged use of certain kinds of steroids are greatly harmful.  For some other steroids, their long term effects (and benefits) are not clearly known.  

In fact, certain combinations of normal nutrients, e.g. zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6 produce the same effect as certain steroids -- they elevate testosterone levels significantly.  (You do not even have to take these as tablets -- just eat the right combination of foods.)  Taking 2 grams of L-Glutamine twice daily can elevate Human Growth Hormone levels by 4 - 5 times (HGH promotes faster muscle maintenance and development among other things).  Coffee + sugar is a very effective short range physical and mental performance enhancer (and pleasure sensing enhancer and intensifier).  Some steroids are part of many, many medical treatment processes.

Many these of these legal nutritional practices are used as physical and/or mental therapies as well as performance enhancers.  I use L-Glutamine and other nutrients (perfectly legal) during long, intense periods of exercise like the 93 mile bicycle ride I recently did or when climbing peaks in the Canadian Rockies, for example.  When I really want to really enjoy Concerto for Orchestra (Bela Bartok) or other music, I sometimes drink a Starbucks' Frappuccino or Espresso.

I would not use the kind of drugs that BALCO designs and manufactures because their long range effects are not clearly known and because they are not legal at present; best indications now are that some steroids produce very undesirable long range (and short range) effects.

But are we to ban zinc, magnesium, L-Glutamine, and vitamin B6 supplements for everyone?  Are we to ban coffee and sugar?

There are at least two related questions that I am not sure have been totally answered in this debate:

[1]    Should those involved in athletic competition be allowed to freely choose the nutrients they consume?  If not, what are the criteria that should be imposed on their choices?

[2]    What are the long range harmful/beneficial effects of each of these steroidal performance enhancers?

Until these and other factual questions are answered better, I am sorry to say I can not give a simple yes or no answer to your question.

Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: heirdoug at netscape.net 
  To: deco at moscow.com ; vision2020 at moscow.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2005 3:10 PM
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Hypocrisy


  Wayne,
  Are you for or against steroids? ___yes ___no ___no response

  I for one can't imagine Fox on steroids!


  -----Original Message-----
  From: Art Deco <deco at moscow.com>

  Does anyone else have a problem with this sentence?
   Via Fox News:
   



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