canklecat

Most articles I've read indicate oral ingested nandrolone and other substances classified as PEDs from organ meats and similar substances lasts about a day or two. It's not as efficient as injection, doesn't reach the same concentration and is eliminated quicker. Some articles say it can still be detected up to a couple of weeks after ingestion.

Offhand, every incident I can think of in which an athlete was accused of doping and claimed it was due to something they ate, they specified having eaten the liver or organ meats from pork, beef or boar. That includes boxers Tyson Fury, Saul Alvarez, and a senior/masters category runner or cyclist, I forget which, who said he'd eaten liver the day before the event.

As I said in my early post on this thread, I'm betting that choice of food was intentional in every case. Hardly anyone would choose to eat liver or organ meats, in preference to muscle meats, a day or so before a competition unless they were looking for an edge that would also offer plausible deniability.

Lore about the benefits of organ meats, blood, etc., dates back millennia. Without scientific evidence they believed they could benefit from the "spirit" of the consumed animal (or human, in some cases). Only fairly recently did we get some evidence of some benefits in terms of anabolic agents, heme iron, etc.

But there's no evidence that consuming organ meats, blood or even muscle meats from animals supposedly treated with hormones offers anywhere near the efficacy of injected steroids, HGH, etc. It's a pretty small boost. But in a field where, ideally, nobody is cheating, I suppose even a tiny boost via dietary choices could be considered an unfair advantage.

But it's relatively safe, which is why I eat that stuff. Due to a non-functional thyroid and parathyroid, age and medical history I'm at risk for osteoporosis. My endocrinologists are very cautious and wouldn't authorize a testosterone patch even when my system was in the dumpster a few years ago. They're even extremely cautious about increasing my dosage of levothyroxine, and only recently did my endo doc agree to a small 12.5 mcg increase from the 112.5 mcg dosage I've been taking for a year.

For that matter, apparently some athletes have tried to gain that tiny advantage through thyroid supplements that were medically unnecessary. But as long as their levels are within the fairly generous range of normal limits, they can't be sanctioned if they deny taking the stuff. Personally I'd be very wary of that because the side effects are very unpleasant with excessive thyroid activity, and potentially dangerous over the long run.

Also, I was concerned about the inhalers I use routinely for allergies and asthma, but my doctors said I can't possibly ingest enough to affect my athletic performance within the normal dosages for inhalers. I was more concerned about the other side effects associated with glucocorticoids. I had cut way back on using the inhalers, to the point that they were ineffective, but my docs told me to resume using them and use them as often as necessary. I've also developed nasal polyps which swell to the point that I can barely breathe through my nose some days, and surgery is the only alternative to using Flonase several times a day. But even using my albuterol inhaler twice as often as recommended won't put me over the limit if I was tested.

That doesn't necessarily prove that athletes who were accused of misusing albuterol, etc., did indeed deliberately ingest excessive amounts to gain an advantage in building lean muscle, etc. The Froome incident a couple of years ago indicated the tests are flawed and may be skewed by dehydration, etc. But it also seems unlikely they'd fail the same tests that were passed by thousands of other athletes who use the same asthma and allergy meds appropriately, as prescribed.