Surprise! No Evidence

Movie Review:
Today’s movie review is for the documentary:  “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” (2008).  This documentary is about three brothers who want to be famous, bigger and stronger.  Two of them, the bookends, are willing to use anabolic steroids to get what they want.  The third (the middle son) thinks using is “wrong” and doesn’t want to use them (steroids).  The story is an examination of the use of steroids.
The movie is interesting because although the speaker (the middle brother) is against the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), he’s willing to take a “honest” look at them.  What he finds is surprising:  there is no proven scientific link between steroids and “roid-rage” and there are virtually no data supporting the harmfulness of their use.  The documentary states there are perhaps three deaths per year which can be attributed to steroid use in the United States.  This is interesting because there is almost no supervised use outside of formal medical prescription and yet there are estimates that the majority of athletes at all levels are using them.  This means untrained medical application (pills and shots) result in virtually no deaths even though steroids are thought to be “dangerous”.
I, personally, have never used steroids as a PED and I have frequently (well, several times) been asked if I would take them.  I would say, “No”, but obviously, my opinion has been based on biased data (at least as reported in this documentary).  Given the reportage in this film and assuming it is honest and accurate, my response would now be a qualified, “Yes”.  I don’t take this statement lightly, but I now feel we (the American public) have been led down another primrose path that drugs are bad (except when they’re not) and only cheaters use them.  Well, the later part of that may be true, but if there really is little or no scientific proof of their danger, it is only a matter of time until they become “legal” for performance enhancement – if not for everyday use.
Final recommendation:  Highly recommended!  This is not a movie which I would think has a large audience.  That’s a shame.  I believe it is one of those rare movies (or books) which offers up information contrary to popular opinion and, as such, needs to be viewed by the masses and fact checked by the competent (and I am not claiming to be one of these).  Watch it and think…
.
On This Day In:
2014	Real Ideals
2013	A Happiness Weapon
2012	An Eagle Has Departed
	Ummm
	And In My Prayers
2011	Welcome Doubt
2010	Talk, Talk, Talk…
	Every Day At Least
	Democratic Suicide
	Pleasurable Reading
	Loose Joy
	Do, Er, Write – Whatever
	This Glorious Company
	Relax With A Good Book
	Neither Vice Nor Weakness
	That’s Rich!
	Man Will Prevail!!!
	Frankly Speaking to Arizona
	Brother By Another Mother

Read Full Post »