Doper's choice: Temporary high vs eternal low!

There are always champions and also-rans at the end of each game, but the thin line of distinction becomes bleak when the illicit practice of using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) comes into play. In today’s era, the outstanding performance of a sportsperson not only gathers appraisals for talent, hard work and perseverance, but also raises sceptical remarks and concerns about the possibility of the performance being tainted by the use of drugs.

Health is quite a subjective term and can be understood in a variety of ways. For some it is a fleeting issue whereas the rest want fitness for life.

This rings a bell about the World Championships that took place in Moscow. Athletics was under a turbulent cloud after it was revealed that two of the most accomplished athletes, Asafa Powell and US sprinter Tyson Gay, had to stay home after being banned for doping. Doping also became a deterrent to two other sprinters of the Jamaican sprint team: Veronica Campbell-Brown and Sherone Simpson.

Athletes think that the intake of drugs or other such substances can improve their performance, but this turns the table against them. The banned drug consumed by both Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay was oxilofrine which is used to boost the body’s ability and burn fat.

Oxilofrine is an agent that stimulates part of the nervous system and was previously used to treat low blood pressure. More recently, it has started to appear in combination with caffeine in dietary supplements marketed as weight loss products.

Several sportsmen these days get lured by the usage of steroids and drugs, but health and fitness is not only about this. More than physical strength, one also requires to be mentally strong and sound at the same time. It is easy to take substances and enhance your performance but at the same time it brings a disgrace to the athlete once he is caught and tests positive. Once an athlete experiences a downfall in his/her career it becomes very difficult to make a comeback.

Thus, it is always advisable for a sportsman to have proper fitness through a healthy diet instead of these artificial substances which may prove fruitful for a while but not for long.