Well here's a topic that has been beaten to death over the last decade, but that won't stop me from voicing my opinion: If you take specialized bodybuilding supplements, do you still consider yourself natural? Or not natural, but drug-free? (the latter, IMO)

Creatine supplementation is a good example. While it appears naturally in certain foods (some meats/fish -- not all) and is also produced naturally in your body from other amino acids, supplementation with it by bodybuilders is almost always in super-dietary amounts. What do I mean by that? Well, if you take 5 grams before your workout, that's equivalent to the amount found in 2-3 lbs. of beef/pork/salmon. Can you imagine eating that much without ruining your physique (and your digestion) and possibly your health? I'm not saying that creatine itself isn't safe -- all studies seem to indicate that it is safe. Weight gain of a few to several pounds of muscle in a short time and the associated strength increases are quite impressive. But if you can't do it with a clean diet, maybe you shouldn't consider it "natural." For when you stop taking it, you'll lose. I've seen that happen to friends.

For many "natural" athletes it would seem that the word "natural" is synonymous with "legal". But then again,, how would you define "natural"?

Creatine is a good example of a highly concentrated naturally occurring substance,,, but then again so are multivitamins, BCAA's, vitamin E or any other host of nutritional supplements available at any health store. In consideration of this it would seem that word natural is used loosely by both bodybuilding and natural health communities.

Lift for Life wrote:
Excellent point. In fact, many "natural" bodybuilders were using prohormones before the various federations started banning them.

Right, I suppose I'm trying to define the term "natural" as it *should* apply to bodybuilding. Just because one is using something that occurs in nature, doesn't make him/her a natural. Stallone is using testosterone injections. I would not call him natural, even though testosterone is clearly present in nature (in all our bodies). I'm definitely a purist, but IMO, one loses their "natural" status when they use something that makes them more muscular than they could become with their good diet and hard training. That's not to say that I disrespect those that choose to use creatine or other such supplements that are safe. (I *do* disrespect those that continue to ruin bodybuilding's image by using enormous amounts of anabolic steroids, HGH, insulin, etc. -- i.e. almost all IFBB pros.)

Those are some excellent points. I wish I had some intelligent input, but intelligence is not a friend of mine. I did however want to say that the above information has some excellent points and I wanted to express a great "amen".

I just feel that some doctors push medications while neglecting to stress healthy lifestyle changes. There are lots of highly effective, much safer, proven alternatives to drugs that the drug companies do not want you to know about because it hurts their bottom line.