What is nandrolone and is it found in pork?
AMERICAN track star, Shelby Houlihan, was handed a four-year suspension after she tested positive for nandrolone back in January. Houlihan's suspension will cause her to miss the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. 4 nandrolone is a synthetic, anabolic steroid analog of testosterone. As defined by the National Library of Medicine, nandrolone is a synthetic, anabolic steroid analog of testosterone. The NIH states nandrolone can be used for testosterone replacement therapy to increase nitrogen retention and fat-free muscle mass. In bodybuilders, the use of androgenic-anabolic steroids to increase muscle mass is common. Nandrolone decanoate is one of the most popular misused androgenic-anabolic steroids, although the effects on body composition are equivocal. A study by the National Library of Medicine revealed that the consumption of pork can cause irregularly high levels of nandrolone. Then NLM conducted a study using the urine of three male volunteers who consumed 310 grams of pork, which could be the meat, liver, heart and kidney. According to the study, the three individuals delivered urine samples before and during 24 hours after meal intake. Nearly 10 hours after the participants ate pork, the report showed high levels of nandrolone. 4 The consumption of pork can cause a high level of nandrolone within a 24-hour period of consumption Credit: Getty  "19-NA and 19-NE concentrations in urine reached 3.1 to 7.5 microg/L nearby 10 hours after boar tissue consumption," the NLM reported in their study. The study confirmed that eating pork might induce some false accusations of the abuse of nandrolone in anti-doping. In an Instagram post announcing her suspension, Houlihan claimed she had never even heard of nandrolone and blamed a contaminated pork burrito she ate 10 hours before the positive test in January. Houlihan insisted that ingesting the anabolic steroid must have inadvertently come from eating a burrito from an authentic Mexican food truck that serves pig offal near my house in Beaverton, Oregon 10 hours before a 6am drugs test last December. "On January 14th, 2021, I received an email from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), informing me a drug testing sample that I provided on December 15th, 2020 has returned as an Adverse Analytical Finding for an anabolic steroid called Nandrolone and that I am therefore subject to an immediate Provisional Suspension," the track star said in her Instagram post. 4 American track star, Shelby Houlihan, was handed a four-year suspension after testing positive for high levels of nandrolone Credit: Sportsfile  "When I got that email, I had to read it over about ten times and google what it was that I had just tested positive for. I had never even heard of nandrolone. "I have since learned that it has long been understood by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) that eating pork can lead to a false positive for nandrolone, since certain types of pigs produce it naturally in high amounts. Most read in News Live Blog TRAGIC LOSS Porn star's George Floyd mural pic resurfaces after she was 'found dead at 27' Live Blog NEWSMAN TRAGEDY Trolls spread Clinton nonsense conspiracy after anchor found dead Breaking FLIGHTMARE Major airline hit with tech issues AGAIN & flights grounded for 2nd day in row Exclusive UF-JOE Biden to grill Putin over UFOs & tell Russia to stop if he thinks Vlad is to blame 'EMBARRASSING US ON WORLD STAGE' Biden mumbles Im gonna get in trouble in confused rant Latest WORKPLACE RAMPAGE Plant worker kills himself after 'shooting 4 colleagues  killing 2  "Pig organ meat (offal) has the highest levels of nandrolone. In the following 5 days after being notified, I put together a food log of everything that I consumed the week of that December 15th test." Houlihan continued: "We concluded that the most likely explanation was a burrito purchased and consumed approximately 10 hours before that drug test from an authentic Mexican food truck that serves pig offal near my house in Beaverton, Oregon." Houlihan said she received the news that the Court of Arbitration rejected her explanation and that the four-year ban will stand.