The NFL Players Association put out a warning to its players that if they were eating meat from Mexico or China, there was a chance that the meat could be tainted with steroids. It sounds crazy to think that a positive test could result from a burger, but this is real and there are not only a number of recorded cases of this happening, it could be far larger than just a problem for athletes.
The steroid in question is clenbuterol. It is an anabolic steroid that is used by ranchers to add lean muscle mass to their cattle more quickly. The drug is cheap and very effective. Used since the 1960’s, the drug has been banned for use in the US, but is still used widely in other countries. It’s also still used in the US, though penalties for its use keep it to a minimum.
The warning is pointed towards those two countries because of the wide usage there. China is especially willing to push the limits as their expanding economy has raised the demand for beef there to record levels.
One myth is that it takes a large quantity of meat to trigger a positive test. Remember that steroid testing is triggered by the presence of a substance and not the level of that substance, as it does in other tests, such as for marijuana. NFL players often eat big quantities of food, so as more athletes shift to Paleo or LCHF diets, there shouldn’t be an increased risk. Eating any tainted meat is the problem, not how much of it is eaten, at least in terms of triggering a positive test.
Instead of quantity, it appears that one of the major factors may be what part of the cow is being eaten. Clenbuterol tends to collect in the liver and kidneys, so the use of offal in recipes would cause more risk. Eating a beef hot dog for lunch might end up riskier than eating a porterhouse at dinner!
To be clear, the contamination doesn’t change the taste or quality of the meat, though lean muscle mass is only about size. Much of the flavor in beef comes from fat (“marbling”) so a bigger, heavier cow might not have the best tasting beef. The key is that beef is sold by the pound, so a rancher looking to maximize profits doesn’t really care about the taste — or that an athlete might order a ribeye and test positive.
This has happened. Over half of the U17 athletes in a soccer tournament held in Mexico in 2011 subsequently tested positive for clenbuterol. These cases were dismissed, but were brought back when two professional cyclists also tested positive, including Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
The detectable period on clenbuterol is long, as much as six months, so NFL players and other tested athletes might want to stock up on organic beef. You might giggle at the phrase “tainted meat” but this warning is no laughing matter.
The steroid in question is clenbuterol. It is an anabolic steroid that is used by ranchers to add lean muscle mass to their cattle more quickly. The drug is cheap and very effective. Used since the 1960’s, the drug has been banned for use in the US, but is still used widely in other countries. It’s also still used in the US, though penalties for its use keep it to a minimum.
The warning is pointed towards those two countries because of the wide usage there. China is especially willing to push the limits as their expanding economy has raised the demand for beef there to record levels.
One myth is that it takes a large quantity of meat to trigger a positive test. Remember that steroid testing is triggered by the presence of a substance and not the level of that substance, as it does in other tests, such as for marijuana. NFL players often eat big quantities of food, so as more athletes shift to Paleo or LCHF diets, there shouldn’t be an increased risk. Eating any tainted meat is the problem, not how much of it is eaten, at least in terms of triggering a positive test.
Instead of quantity, it appears that one of the major factors may be what part of the cow is being eaten. Clenbuterol tends to collect in the liver and kidneys, so the use of offal in recipes would cause more risk. Eating a beef hot dog for lunch might end up riskier than eating a porterhouse at dinner!
To be clear, the contamination doesn’t change the taste or quality of the meat, though lean muscle mass is only about size. Much of the flavor in beef comes from fat (“marbling”) so a bigger, heavier cow might not have the best tasting beef. The key is that beef is sold by the pound, so a rancher looking to maximize profits doesn’t really care about the taste — or that an athlete might order a ribeye and test positive.
This has happened. Over half of the U17 athletes in a soccer tournament held in Mexico in 2011 subsequently tested positive for clenbuterol. These cases were dismissed, but were brought back when two professional cyclists also tested positive, including Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
The detectable period on clenbuterol is long, as much as six months, so NFL players and other tested athletes might want to stock up on organic beef. You might giggle at the phrase “tainted meat” but this warning is no laughing matter.
