'roid RAGE!

This entry is a follow-up to my prior entry entitled, "Frank's Soapbox", and I would encourage you to read that entry first. In that blog, I wrote about steroids, hormones and other drugs used in the livestock industries and their effects on consumers, especially children.

At the gym, I was talking to my good friend who is a pastor of a local church. He has been very involved with children over many years and he brought up a topic that I had not considered before. His observation is that today's youth are much more emotionally unstable than in the past. Without presenting supporting data, I think we can all agree that there has been a dramatic rise in teen suicide in recent years, among other psychological problems. Complex situations such as these are always impossible to blame on a single cause. And counter to my friend's and my proposed cause was an explanation put forth by Malcolm Gladwell, author of "Blink", "Outliers", The Tipping Point" and other books. Mr. Gladwell was the keynote speaker at the IHRSA fitness trade show yesterday, of which Precor was the sole sponsor, and I listened as Mr. Gladwell explained the principle cause of increasingly troubled young people as being isolation brought on by today's technology. He postulates that texting, chatting, and other social media have replaced time spent in the company of adults. He proposes that teen angst has always been present, but now is managed without an adult perspective. This is an interesting and likely contributor.

However, my friend and I suggest that, once again, our youth's neurochemistry is being bombarded with hormones and steroids derived from the meat that they consume. Hey, I've spent countless hours in gyms around the world and I've seen many examples of 'roid rage, which is a fairly common behavioral condition exhibited by anabolic steroid users. It is accepted dogma that increased testosterone (steroids) in one's system increases aggression, risk-taking, anger, discontent and many other deleterious emotions. And these erratic behaviors are manifested in ADULTS who are emotionally and mentally better equipped to handle these dangerous emotions. Just think about what would happen if a teenager took steroids. Furthermore, when an adult knowingly takes steroids, they can explain mood changes, etc., as being a result of their drug intake. When a child experiences steroid-induced mood changes, they think it is an internal problem because they aren't aware that they are on steroids because of the beef, chicken and pork they eat.

Once again, I suggest that our Government is aware of these problems, but are in the hip pockets of livestock lobbyists. I heard a story on the news yesterday, that a state is proposing legislation to outlaw table salt to advance the health crusade. If our Government wants to help Americans live longer and healthier lives, may I implore them to open their eyes and look at the HUGE list of approved livestock growth-enhancing drugs rather than lowly table salt.