WP: Steroids Detected In Dietary Tablets (sold on Internet)

Steroids Detected In Dietary Tablets
Some Contents Similar To Those Used by East German Athletes
By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Page E01


A dietary supplement marketed to fitness and health enthusiasts on the Internet and in body-building shops contains anabolic steroids linked to two of the biggest doping scandals in sports history, including the renowned case involving East German Olympic athletes in the 1960s and '70s, according to a prominent researcher.

The supplement, which is sold under the name Halodrol-50, contains a steroid that closely resembles Oral-Turinabol, the principal steroid used to fuel East Germany's secret, systematic sports doping program, according to Don Catlin of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory.

Catlin said it also contains DMT, or madol, a steroid federal authorities say was developed for Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), the California nutritional supplement company at the center of a scheme to provide prominent professional athletes with undetectable performance-enhancing drugs.

Catlin analyzed the makeup of Halodrol-50 for The Washington Post, which purchased the product on the Internet and reimbursed the Los Angeles researcher for the cost of the testing.

The discovery provides further evidence that the country's multimillion-dollar dietary supplements industry also has become a clearinghouse for the distribution of anabolic steroids, which help build muscle and speed recovery from strenuous exercise but also can cause serious health problems when used in excess....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112901636.html

It's disapointing to see that people on the left can be frightened by sensationalist nonsense like "they want to ban vitamins" the same way those on the right can believe "they want to ban Christmas."

:sarcasm: