Pacman haters will not stop hitting the 8-division world boxing champion whatever it takes. If they can’t beat Pacquiao in the ring, they will do everything to destroy his reputation. A recent article published by an anonymous writer created a buzz in the boxing world because of a renewed allegation that Pacquiao used anabolic steroids before his fight against Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. Boxing writers ignored this but many reacted when Sugar Shane Mosley picked up the story and blast it on his twitter account.

Mosley, a Bitter Loser?

Shane Mosley lost to Manny Pacquiao in a lopsided fight. Analysts say that Mosley changed his fight plan when he was sent to the floor on the third round. He knew Pacquiao can knock him down. A thing he must avoid because of his untainted record for not succumbing to an opponent by a TKO. But for boxing fans, he should have fulfilled his promise of giving them a good fight.

And recently, Mosley made another mistake when he tweeted the alleged use of steroids by the Pacman. Based on online sources, the information was sent to Mosley by Bella Rodriguez, his Latina girlfriend. The author of the article claimed that a former Filipino sparring partner of the Pacman confided to him that the latter was injected with steroids and HGH. This happened before his fight against Hatton where Pacquiao knocked down the British boxing star in the early round.

Mosley might have discerned that it is not the right thing to do. He later tried to distance himself from the issue. In his latest tweet, Mosley said that he never wrote or said Pacquiao was on anything. “I said the better man won the night.”

Steroid Story Not True

The Pacquiao camp shrugs off this latest accusation against the pound for pound king. Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, told the media that the story is totally absurd and they will not respond to it. “If you can show me a Filipino sparring partner we had, then it put some credence to the story but we’ve never had one,” he said. Pacquiao’s chief of staff also reiterated that Pacquiao never had a Filipino sparring partner when he started fighting in the United States. Jake Joson told a local media in the Philippines that they already informed Bob Arum about this issue and consulted their lawyers about any possible action against the author of the story.

Joson assured the public that Pacquiao never took any banned substances. The boxer only relied on vitamins and legal food supplements. According to Joson, Pacquiao won his titles fair and square. Those power punches are natural and not the result of taking performance enhancing drugs like the relentless accusation of his rivals.

When Pacquiao was asked by the media after he arrived in the Philippines, he just smiled and said that the new allegation is not true.

Drug Test Results Clean

Meanwhile, the Nevada State Athletic Commission already released the drug test results of the two fighters. Both fighters were clean of any substance of abuse according to the statement released by Keith Kizer, the executive director of NSAC.

Sparring Partner’s Own Story

The sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao in his last training defended Pacquiao. In the interview of Chris Robinson of the Boxing Examiner, Karim Mayfield confirms Pacquiao is not on steroids. Mayfield is the sparring partner of Pacquiao during his training in the Pacquiao-Mosley fight. “I can’t judge any of his prior fights but I’m sure, almost 100% sure, that the man couldn’t have been on steroids,” Mayfield told Robinson.

“I’ve never seen no superman stuff out of him that would indicate he was on steroids. Yes, he was faster than other guys I sparred with but it wasn’t super blazing and he did have power but it wasn’t like no super power,” he added.

Mayfield confided to Robinson that Pacquaio is just like any other fighter who is also suffering from fatigue. “I definitely saw several bad days where he was tired from sparring, you know what I mean? I don’t even see how steroids could be attached to him,” he said. As regards to the fight, Mayfield blamed Mosley for not giving the fans a good fight.

After the University of Waterloo steroid scandal, Canadian colleges and universities intensified their campaign against the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in sports. Most of them established anti-doping programs such as steroid education. Some of them employed the services of The Taylor Hooton Foundation to make their effort more effective.

The large number of players caught using steroid in the University of Waterloo football team was considered as one of the worst doping scandal in Canada. A player from their team was also caught using HGH. It was the first infraction of a collegiate player in the history of North America. As a result, the university decided to suspend the football team for an entire season.

The CIS and CCES

The Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) immediately stepped up their drug testing program to avert a similar incident. Early this year, they conducted unannounced drug testing at Wilfrid Laurier and other universities in the country. No athlete returned positive for banned substances. However, a recent finding of the CCES dismayed officials from both organizations.

Two Football Players Caught Using Steroids

The CCES recently announced that two football players from the Laval University failed a doping test. Rouge et Or football players Michael Abraham, a second year linebacker; and Steeve Vachon, a first year offensive lineman were all suspended for two years. The CCES banned these players for testing positive for steroids.

In February, Abraham tested positive for the steroid 19-norandrosterone. Vachon was caught using the oral steroid methandienone last March in a spring training camp in Florida. Methandienone is commonly known as Dianabol or D-bol while 19-norandrosterone is popular in the market as Nandrolone.

Both players admitted to taking steroids and waived their right for a hearing. University of Laval head coach Glen Constantin was saddened by the news. “I’m disappointed kids will still, at this day and age, make these judgment errors. It’s unfortunate,” said Constantin. He also added that the off-season test conducted on his players was the first in the University. Though this is a bad news for university football, coaches in the country are happy that the anti-doping program is working.

Top Football Team in Canada

The Rouge et Or football team is one of the best teams in University football. They can boast of their 6 Canadian championships since 1999. The team won the Vanier Cup last season. According to the CEO of the CIS, Laval University is the destination of top athletes because they employ the best coaches in the country. “Certainly they are very well regarded for the quality of team that they field every year,” Marg McGregor told The Star. However, the use of steroids by some football players tainted Laval’s reputation. Are those championship titles the result of taking performance enhancing drugs by their players?

Testing Strategy More Effective

The CIS chief is not yet alarmed on the two new cases of doping football players. Out of the 285 players tested last season, less than 1 percent has tested positive for steroids. This is still within the world average. She warned players that their current testing strategy can catch doping players. “It is a very different atmosphere now. (Getting caught doping) is not a long shot, so if there are people on steroids they’re likely to be detected and embarrass themselves and their schools and ruin their football careers,” she told the Star.

Coach Constantin, on the other hand, is planning to increase the awareness training and substance use education program for his football team. This will help deter players to take steroids and other banned substances.

Human growth hormone or HGH testing has never been administered to NFL players. However, being one of the popular performance-enhancing drugs, the league is making a way to include HGH in their drug testing procedures.

The NFL is open to the possibilities of giving HGH testing to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). As is recalled, the players and the players union have been resisting third party administration of drug testing. However, the league can unilaterally impose the drug-testing program including penalties and rules associated with it even without an agreement as a result of the labor problem.

WADA and NFL

WADA is overseeing the testing of Olympic athletes. This organization also produces the list of banned substances annually. Getting WADA to oversee the drug testing program is only one of the contingencies of the league once the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit declines a full stay of an injunction for lifting the lockout.

Besides using WADA, another option is getting the National Center for Drug Free Sport to oversee the drug testing. This is the organization that is collecting urine samples of NFL tests. Still, testing for cocaine and marijuana is left to the teams. The program focuses on performance enhancers like HGH as the league believes that they require a uniform policy for this procedure for more integrity of the league and their sports.

HGH Testing for Athletes

The popularity of HGH among athletes is getting more and more serious these days. HGH is a substance that can help optimize muscle and boost bone-building capacities of the body. This is also known to help in increasing metabolism and is known to burn fat faster, too. Though the body produces HGH naturally, supplementation is still on the rise. This is because athletes see them as a good way to get physical gains without being detected on whether it is naturally or artificially produced. With this, it is common that athletes abuse HGH supplements.

The introduction of HGH testing will make sure that the league and the game will be fair and credible enough. Making sure that no one abuses such drug for their advantage will make sure that the games will be clean all the time. However, the problem today is that most athletes and the union are against HGH testing. Detecting HGH use can only be done through blood testing. Since this is inconvenient for a lot of athletes, the drug testing as a whole is denounced by most of them. This is not to mention yet that blood testing for HGH detection is still garnering questions about its accuracy and validity.

Harsher Sanctions for Doping Players

Basically, HGH can offer a lot of positive effects to the body. However, with the abuse of this substance, it is just right to stop players who are abusing it. The question now is whether the union and the players will agree on this proposal once the lockout is over. One thing that worries many NFL players is the current punishment being implemented by WADA. Cheating athletes are given a minimum of 2 years suspension under WADA’s rules while the NFL only impose 4-game suspension from the games.

Protein supplements are among the most popular dietary supplements these days. It is said that these supplements improve athletic performance and also increase the effectiveness of regular exercise. Because of these positive effects, the selections of protein supplements that are offered in the market have also increased. However, it is important that you have a full understanding of this bodybuilding supplement before taking them.

The Right Dosage of Protein

Following the American Dietetic Association standards, an average healthy adult needs 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. For instance, if you are 150 pounds, you need around 54 grams of protein a day. For endurance athletes, the daily protein recommendation must be increased to 0.55 to 0.65 grams per pound. This is to support the increased protein turnover while exercising to help improve athletic performance and strengthen the muscles. As you know, protein plays a very important role during exercise. It creates, sustains, and also repair muscle cells.

On the other hand, strength training athletes have a recommended daily allowance of 0.55 to 0.77 grams per pound. This higher protein recommendation along with adequate energy from carbohydrates can sustain muscles and support muscle growth as well.

Taking Protein Supplements

As a note, before taking protein supplements, it is recommended to get the protein needs of the body from food sources such as lean meats, poultry, eggs, milk, fish, soy, and dairy products. Taking protein supplements ensure that you get an adequate amount of protein for your daily needs. This is especially true for busy people such as those who do not have the time to prepare a good meal at home.

There are different kinds of protein supplements such as soy, whey, and individual amino acid supplements. This product is also available in different forms such as protein powders. It is still best to get protein from a variety of sources instead of focusing on just one kind of supplement. This is because taking just one amino acid supplement can open risks for deficiencies. Other amino acid supplements such as proline and serine can cause adverse effects to your health.

When choosing a supplement, it is also essential that you make sure that it is safe for your consumption. Take note that some protein supplements can be contaminated with substances that are banned by certain associations such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association. This includes substances like DHEA, HGH, androstenedione, and ephedrine. This is often the reason why protein supplements are abused by athletes because most of the protein supplements are known to do well for muscle building and improving performance.

Misuse of Protein Supplements

A lot of athletes think that using protein supplements will help them improve athletic performance. The truth is this is not the function of supplements in the first place. They are there to ensure that you have an adequate amount of protein in the body. In fact, stopping the use of supplements usually does not pose a change in the way athletes perform.

The most common problem with protein supplements, however, is that they often times contain illegal substances that are not displayed in the label. This makes it possible for a lot of athletes to consume illegal substances without their knowledge. Worse, certain side effects can come in the picture such as nausea, vision trouble, liver problems, and a lot of other health risks.

Most people who want to stay young tend to take medicines and supplements to counter the signs of aging. While it is a fact that all of us will grow old, many are still hoping that taking supplements will help slow down the ageing process. This kind of thinking is not only confined to fitness conscious individuals but it is also common to professional athletes who want to stay at their best regardless of age.

The Dehydroeipandrosterone Sulphate

Health experts all agree that some of the hormones in the body are responsible in the overall health and lifespan of an individual. Various researches were already conducted to find the mystery of the ageing process. Just recently, a group of researchers from the King’s College in London UK reported an interesting finding. They were able to determine the genes that control the level of dehydroeipandrosterone sulphate or DHEAS in the body. This is a steroid produced by the adrenal gland and plays a major role in the ageing process.

Genes Affecting the DHEAS Levels

The researchers found out that there are at least 8 genes that affect the DHEAS production in the body. While medical practitioners know that DHEA levels decline as individuals grow older, they still need clinical data that will explain how the steroid deteriorate. At the age of 85, it is believed that the production of the DHEAS in the body declines up to 95%. This is the reason why many doctors associate the deficiency of DHEAS to age-related diseases such as type-2 diabetes and lymphoma. It can also reduce the lifespan of an individual.

There were 14,846 people from Europe and USA who participated in this study. The researchers analyzed their DHEAS levels and 2.5 million variants of their genes. They found out that there are 8 common genes that control the level of the steroid DHEAS in the blood. Some of the genes were also attributed to the occurrence of diseases in older people.

According to Dr. Guangju Zhai of the King’s College, the research is the first large-scale study that unlocked the mystery surrounding DHEAS. “We have identified specific genes that control its concentration levels and shown that some of these are also involved in the ageing process and age-related diseases,” the doctor said.

Role of the Steroid in the Ageing Process

However, the researchers suggest that further research should be conducted since there are still many questions that must be answered in the DHEA’s role in the ageing process. Dr Zhai said that their study did not tackle on the issue whether the sustained level of DHEAS in the body can really delay the ageing process and avert age-related diseases.

Flourishing Market for DHEA Supplements

Several pharmaceutical companies are already selling various anti-ageing products including DHEA supplements. All of these products promise a revitalized and healthier body. In fact, DHEA supplements are now regarded as “the fountain of youth” elixirs. It does not only counter the signs of ageing but it also provides more energy, increased libido, and it preserves muscles.

This supplement is banned in most sports organizations but it is still popular to fitness conscious individuals. Most anti-ageing clinics in the country offer treatment of DHEAS aside from the more popular human growth hormones.

The findings, according to co-researcher Professor Tim Spector, are significant in understanding how our body works. “This study shows the power of collaborative genetic studies to uncover mechanisms of how the body works. For 50 years we have observed the most abundant circulating steroid in the body, DHEAS, with no clue as to its role. Now its genes have shown us its importance in many parts of the ageing process,” he said.

MLB contends that the steroid era is a thing of the past. If there is one thing that they should be proud of is the implementation of a robust drug testing program. The rampant use of performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroid is already over as evidenced by insignificant number of players failing a steroid test. Just recently, Commissioner Bud Selig issued a statement that baseball had the toughest, most comprehensive drug testing program in professional sports.

While the conviction of Barry Bonds in the steroid trial did not make a dramatic impact in the sports of baseball, the MLB is still trying to portray that they are not putting their guards down against doping players. Some sportswriters believe that baseball fans are already tired about this issue. What they want to see is for baseball to give them more exciting games just like when players were hitting home run records.

Even if the MLB claims that they have instituted a fool-proof drug testing program many are still skeptical about its effectiveness. The latest report of the Major League Baseball showed at least 10 percent of players were tested in the 2010 off-season. This translates into 138 tested players which is very minimal when compared to the total number of players in the league.

The Weakness of the Program

The league conducts the drug testing all though out the year particularly during the in-season, spring training and off-season. According to anti-doping experts players are more likely to use anabolic steroids when not on the field. This is the time when players try to recover from injuries and build muscles for the next season. The off-season test of the league is only 3 percent of the total number of tests conducted each year. This is a weakness of the program because it can not detect all doping players.

WADA director general David Howman sees this set-up as ineffective. “We see in most parts of the world that the most effective programs have 50 percent of their tests in competition and 50 percent out of competition,” Howman told the NY Times. “The numbers speak for themselves. That’s a pretty small number compared to others, and it’s an area where they can be more effective. But I know they are making efforts to be better,” said Howman.

In the Olympics, testing of athletes during out of competition is more frequent as compared to in-competition tests. The USADA for example conducted at least 65 percent of its total tests when players are out of competition.

Officials Defends Drug Testing Program

The MLB and the players union defended their off-season testing. According to Michael Weiner of the MLB players union, critics should see the program on a year-round basis. “Do we have the right mix of in-season, spring training and off-season testing based on our season industry? I think we do,” said Weiner.

They also consider the length of the off-season which is approximately 3 months and the whereabouts of the players. “It’s natural to make sure we have the right balance when we look at the length of the regular season, the short postseason, combined with the fact that everybody faces a test upon reporting to spring training,” Weiner told NY Times.

Blood Testing Next Agenda in Labor Negotiation

League officials and the labor union are in discussion of the possible inclusion of blood tests in the drug testing program. The MLB is pushing for this and already started in the minor league. While the labor union is still skeptical about the reliability of the test, they are still open for its inclusion in the next labor deal. In fact, they already consulted officials from the World Anti-Doping Agency to learn more about blood testing. The purpose of blood testing is to detect the use of HGH or human growth hormone.