Vijay Singh admits to using banned substance in Sports Illustrated ...

[lifeforce]

Oh! Deer Mr Singh,
where are you going to swing,
put that horny spray away,
And play the fairway.

[walk18]

This whole thing is so stupid. It's freaking deer antler spray! Stupid of him for using it and stupid that its illegal. WTF?!

[Chunky]

Misty your are right on, most people with knowledge in this area will tell you they would bet against the IGF stuff even being stable enough to survive in the spray. Bottom line the only thing they could suspend VJ for is being stupid enough to believe it worked.

[CraiginKSA]

Vijay hasn't won anything since 2008.  Really no need to suspend him.  Whatever he's taking, it's not helping.

[mailman]

Maybe it is working though...in that its keeping him in the PGA at his age (what, nearly 50?).

Mailman

[boogielicious]

It's against the rules whether it works or not.  The PGA needs to discipline him, whatever that may be.

[Pablo68]

I guess Tiger was using it as well. Maybe that's why he was so horny.

[Chas]

Insulin-like growth factor-1 does indeed have anabolic or growth-promoting activity - I've often used it as a component of tissue culture media to stimulate the growth of various cell types.  But I find it very hard to believe that a spray containing this protein would have significant biological activity because systemic exposure would likely be vanishingly small - the protein isn't going to make it through the stratum corneum unless this permeability barrier is greatly compromised (e.g. at a wound site).  If I'm wrong please send me a publication which shows otherwise and I might be convinced.

Just another pseudoscientific scam.

Vijay trains harder than most and this would explain his staying power.  He certainly looked fit at Torrey last week.

[boogielicious]

Originally Posted by Chas

Insulin-like growth factor-1 does indeed have anabolic or growth-promoting activity - I've often used it as a component of tissue culture media to stimulate the growth of various cell types.  But I find it very hard to believe that a spray containing this protein would have significant biological activity because systemic exposure would likely be vanishingly small - the protein isn't going to make it through the stratum corneum unless this permeability barrier is greatly compromised (e.g. at a wound site).  If I'm wrong please send me a publication which shows otherwise and I might be convinced.

Just another pseudoscientific scam.

Vijay trains harder than most and this would explain his staying power.  He certainly looked fit at Torrey last week.

Agreed.  It most likely is a placebo affect as are a lot of these types of products.  Remember "Andro" the cream that Mark McGuire was using?  These products don't really contain levels that would be therapeutic.  But they still contain banned substances that would show up in testing.  So they are banned.

I am curious if Insulin-like growth factor-1 occurs naturally in some foods.  Would you know Chas?

[mailman]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

It's against the rules whether it works or not.  The PGA needs to discipline him, whatever that may be.

OR the PGA needs to drop a pointless rule for the spray?

Mailman

[Clambake]

Originally Posted by Chas

Just another pseudoscientific scam.

Vijay trains harder than most and this would explain his staying power.  He certainly looked fit at Torrey last week.

I'd agree, especially when he indicates he uses it  “every couple of hours … every day" and also then says that it's very hard to tell the difference after a couple months.    Here's a clue Vijay....if you use it every couple hours every single day and still can't tell a difference in a couple months, it is snake oil, pure and simple.

Vijay also says he “sleeps with the beam ray on and has put chips on his ankles, waist and shoulders.”      I know world class athletes will seek out almost anything to give the tiniest of advantages, but falling for this whole scheme hook, line, and sinker makes one really question his intelligence.     I wonder if he also has a little hat made of tin foil to help keep the aliens from reading his thoughts.

[newtogolf]

Professional sports ruling bodies need to stop their knee jerk reaction to ban anything that someone claims provides athletes an advantage.

Pro golfers who smoke are gaining some advantage from the nicotine and other chemicals contained in cigarettes.   Aspirin, caffeine, cough medicine, beta-alanine, essential amino acids and many other available OTC supplements will provide some biological or placebo effect on performance.

At some point the banned list will be so large it will be impossible for athletes to eat or drink anything without breaking the rules.

[dave67az]

Originally Posted by Chas

Insulin-like growth factor-1 does indeed have anabolic or growth-promoting activity - I've often used it as a component of tissue culture media to stimulate the growth of various cell types.  But I find it very hard to believe that a spray containing this protein would have significant biological activity because systemic exposure would likely be vanishingly small - the protein isn't going to make it through the stratum corneum unless this permeability barrier is greatly compromised (e.g. at a wound site).  If I'm wrong please send me a publication which shows otherwise and I might be convinced.

Just another pseudoscientific scam.

Vijay trains harder than most and this would explain his staying power.  He certainly looked fit at Torrey last week.

Right on the money. I've read several reports from endocrinologists that explain that IGF-1 only has an effect when injected. There was one study I read from several years back, however, that showed a slight increase for weightlifters, but it was a horrible study (in scientific terms...sample size too small, conditions not well-controlled, etc). Those results have not been duplicated in other studies, which means a lot to the scientific community.

If you spray it on, you may see a change but it's more of a placebo effect than anything else. Anything can work if we believe it will work.

As for Vijay learning his lesson and not speaking to any more reporters, are you serious? If he was that wise would he have been using the spray to begin with?

[Valleygolfer]

Really, the maximum benefit from deer antlers is obtained by administering rectally. Let me know how that works out for you....

[Valleygolfer]

The reason these "snake oil" sprays are banned are because guys use actual GH and then say the only thing they are taking is antler spray thus clouding the ability of testing for GH. They are eliminating a variable that is probably a joke and the minute amounts of GH that are in the substance make it unallowable. Growth hormone actually works and pretty much all the other bs they sell in GNC is a waste of money, "Creatine, DHEA and HMB are some that have fallen by the wayside. Most weight loss drugs are similar and I venture to say the wang enhancers probably fit this category as well.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

It's against the rules whether it works or not.  The PGA needs to discipline him, whatever that may be.

Tim: Vijay, I'm sorry - but you are going to be suspended from the PGA this season... Not because of Deer Antler Spray - but because we want you to help boost the Champions Tour ratings.

Vijay: You mean I'm suspended from the PGA - and being asked to go to the Champions Tour?

Tim: Yes Vijay.  We need you to help sell more blue pills - not this snake oil spray.  And you can only do that by playing on the Champions Tour where Viagra is our premier sponsor.

Vijay: Ok, but what about my magnets?  Can I bring those with me?

Tim: Just get your ass on a plane to Boca.

[newtogolf]

The body releases  GH during deep sleep periods, therefore any professional golfer using sleep aides is unnaturally boosting the GH levels as well.  When does the madness stop?

[boogielicious]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

Tim: Vijay, I'm sorry - but you are going to be suspended from the PGA this season... Not because of Deer Antler Spray - but because we want you to help boost the Champions Tour ratings.

Vijay: You mean I'm suspended from the PGA - and being asked to go to the Champions Tour?

Tim: Yes Vijay.  We need you to help sell more blue pills - not this snake oil spray.  And you can only do that by playing on the Champions Tour where Viagra is our premier sponsor.

Vijay: Ok, but what about my magnets?  Can I bring those with me?

Tim: Just get your ass on a plane to Boca.

No magnets for you!!!!  You will affect the other Champions Tour player pacemakers!