Sarm Ostarine PED Found In College Football Drug Screen

Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich was informed of the failed tests last Thursday. Swinney said that none of the players intentionally consumed ostarine, and the players thought it was initially a joke when told their results returned positive for the substance.

Lawrence, named a first-team All-ACC performer this year, would be a key absence leading up to Saturday’s game. The Tigers boast the nation’s third-best scoring defense (14.2 points allowed per game) and fourth-best total defense (286.2 total yards allowed per game). 

A “B sample” of the tests results will be returned later in the week will provide further clarity and could reportedly clear the players by Wednesday. Kickoff between Clemson and Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.

Are SARMs Safe?

Nonsteroidal SARMs have only been around for a couple of decades and, unfortunately, are lacking in human research.

Unfortunately, we just don’t know enough about how they work and their potential long-term side effects, which is a very legitimate cause for concern.

Here’s what we do know, though…

SARMs suppress your natural testosterone production.

One of the key selling points for many of these drugs is the claim that they don’t blunt your body’s production of testosterone.

This is a lie. They absolutely do.

For example, in one study, male subjects taking 3 milligrams of the SARM ostarine per day for 86 days experienced a 23% drop in free testosterone and 43% drop in total testosterone levels. 

Similar effects were seen in this study, as well, with the drug ligandrol.

In fact, SARMs are being investigated as a male contraceptive because they lower your levels of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, which reduces your sperm count and testosterone levels.

All this isn’t surprising when you consider the basic physiology in play:

When you introduce androgens into the body, it recognizes the spike and responds by reducing its own production.

The more SARMs you take, the more side-effects you’ll experience.

SARMs aren’t completely free from side effects–they just tend to be minimal at small doses.

Bodybuilders don’t generally take small doses, though, and that’s why they often experience many of the side effects associated with steroid use, including acne and hair loss.

SARMs are probably easier to recover from than regular steroids.

We recall that they don’t convert into DHT or estrogen in the same way as steroids, which means they also don’t impact your system as negatively.

SARMs also aren’t as anabolic as pure testosterone, which means they probably don’t suppress natural testosterone as much, as well (although there isn’t enough research available to know for sure).

SARMs may raise your risk of cancer.

Several large trials on the SARM cardarine had to be cancelled because it was causing cancerous growths in the intestines of mice.

You may have heard of this, and that the doses used were much higher than us fitness folk would ever ingest, but that’s not true.

Rodents eliminate drugs from their bodies much faster than we do, so they have to receive higher doses to see the same effects.

In the case cited above, the mice were given 10 mg per kilogram of cardarine per day, which, when adjusted for a human metabolism, comes out to about 75 mg per day for a 200-pound man.

Poke around on bodybuilding forums and you’ll quickly learn that many bodybuilders take considerably more than that.

Granted, you can’t extrapolate rodent research to humans (despite sharing ~98% of their DNA, we aren’t big mice), so it’s not clear if that drug or other SARMs actually do increase our risk of developing cancer.

There’s also evidence that SARMs may actually inhibit certain kinds of cancer, so we just don’t know yet.

Are SARMs Legal?

Do Sarms increase lean Muscle mass

Are SARMs Safe?

Nonsteroidal SARMs have only been around for a couple of decades and, unfortunately, are lacking in human research.

Unfortunately, we just don’t know enough about how they work and their potential long-term side effects, which is a very legitimate cause for concern.

Here’s what we do know, though…

SARMs suppress your natural testosterone production.

One of the key selling points for many of these drugs is the claim that they don’t blunt your body’s production of testosterone.

This is a lie. They absolutely do.

For example, in one study, male subjects taking 3 milligrams of the SARM ostarine per day for 86 days experienced a 23% drop in free testosterone and 43% drop in total testosterone levels. 

Similar effects were seen in this study, as well, with the drug ligandrol.

In fact, SARMs are being investigated as a male contraceptive because they lower your levels of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, which reduces your sperm count and testosterone levels.

All this isn’t surprising when you consider the basic physiology in play:

When you introduce androgens into the body, it recognizes the spike and responds by reducing its own production.

The more SARMs you take, the more side-effects you’ll experience.

SARMs aren’t completely free from side effects–they just tend to be minimal at small doses.

Bodybuilders don’t generally take small doses, though, and that’s why they often experience many of the side effects associated with steroid use, including acne and hair loss.

SARMs are probably easier to recover from than regular steroids.

We recall that they don’t convert into DHT or estrogen in the same way as steroids, which means they also don’t impact your system as negatively.

SARMs also aren’t as anabolic as pure testosterone, which means they probably don’t suppress natural testosterone as much, as well (although there isn’t enough research available to know for sure).

SARMs may raise your risk of cancer.

Several large trials on the SARM cardarine had to be cancelled because it was causing cancerous growths in the intestines of mice.

You may have heard of this, and that the doses used were much higher than us fitness folk would ever ingest, but that’s not true.

Rodents eliminate drugs from their bodies much faster than we do, so they have to receive higher doses to see the same effects.

In the case cited above, the mice were given 10 mg per kilogram of cardarine per day, which, when adjusted for a human metabolism, comes out to about 75 mg per day for a 200-pound man.

Poke around on bodybuilding forums and you’ll quickly learn that many bodybuilders take considerably more than that.

Granted, you can’t extrapolate rodent research to humans (despite sharing ~98% of their DNA, we aren’t big mice), so it’s not clear if that drug or other SARMs actually do increase our risk of developing cancer.

There’s also evidence that SARMs may actually inhibit certain kinds of cancer, so we just don’t know yet.

Are SARMs Legal?

The Bottom Line on SARMs

SARMs are drugs that deliver some of the benefits of anabolic steroids with fewer of the short-term side-effects.

They aren’t as effective as steroids, but they definitely do boost muscle growth more than any natural supplement on the market. They appear to be safer, too, but don’t think that means they’re safe to take.

Research clearly shows that they suppress natural testosterone production and negatively impact the endocrine system, and there’s evidence that they can increase the risk of cancer, too.

Furthermore, we have no idea if there are long-term health effects of SARM use, but given the nature of the drugs, there likely are.

So, if you want a cut-and-dried recommendation from me, it’s this:

Stay away from SARMs.

In my opinion, the risks far outweigh the benefits, and they’re just not necessary to build a muscular, strong, and lean body that you can be proud of.