Bio-Gro “Banned” by USADA / WADA… As Predicted by PricePlow

Today’s talk of the town is about the recent update on the US Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) “High Risk List” over at Supplement411.org^[1], which placed iSatori’s Bio-Gro supplement on their “high-risk” / “quasi-banned” list.

Since a few of our Facebook fans asked what we thought, it’s time we chimed in:

We predicted this over a year ago

In our original Bio-Gro review video, we mentioned this at 6:43 mark, knowing what is on banned substances list and this having been a banned substance.

Now let’s get down to business.

Supplement411.org states the following:

Other website advertising on www.iSatori.com/product/Bio-Gro claims the product is “Tested Free of banned substances; approved for athletic organizations”. The growth factors listed on the Supplement Facts Panel are prohibited in sport. Therefore, iSatori is simultaneously advertising that Bio-Gro does, and does not, contain substances prohibited in sport. Based on the ingredients listed on the supplement facts panel, this product is considered High Risk to athletes. –Supplement411.org High-Risk List^[2]

You can also click to see a full screenshot below:

We care about drug tests – not naturalness

As mentioned in the YouTube video, we’ve seen the MLB’s banned substances list, and there it was – colostrum, loud and clear.

Colostrum is about as natural as it gets, but guess what:

Get busted using it while trying to play pro ball and your ass is grass. End of story.

And now, WADA / USADA doesn’t care for it either.

So when we saw colostrum on that same label that says it’s free of banned substances, we knew eventually something stupid would come of this. iSatori asked for it by making overly broad statements, and they got what they asked for.

Ain’t no such thing as bad press, I suppose. Bio-Gro sales will likely skyrocket this week…

What if I have taken it?

First off, I wouldn’t be too concerned. If you took it and are done, don’t worry. You’re no less of an athlete. If you’re on it now and have drug testing, obviously get off of it immediately.

However, unless you’re taking some ridiculously sensitive tests (like the aforementioned MLB guys), there’s a good chance that Bio-Gro won’t pop you for a positive test anyway. It’s simply “high-risk”.

This puts iSatori in a weird position: By stating that Bio-Gro won’t test of banned substances, are they also saying that it’s not that orally bioavailable?

After all, if it was highly bioavailable, wouldn’t it trigger all sorts of out-of-whack GH levels, thus giving you positive tests — which nobody has reported??

So to us, it’s either there and not bioavailable, or it isn’t there and the label is false.

Regardless, if you’re working so hard for something that it requires a performance-based drug test, it’s just not worth the risk.

What about Employment Drug Tests?

Of course, you’ll need to ask your employer / prospective employer here if they’re testing for IGF-1 / high GH levels. But remember, Bio-Gro is completely legal, as is the colostrum where it comes from.

So in all reality, those drug tests are testing for illegal drugs… most notably the green stuff.

Again, double check with your employer, but you’re going to be fine. It’s not illegal and it doesn’t alter your performance at work. That’s what they care about.

Remember, there are NO absolutes!

Our point is that there are no absolutes. There’s no such thing as “the best workout”, there’s no such thing as the best protein, and there’s basically no such thing as 100% banned substance free.

Because somewhere out there, you can find a group that’s banned it, or you can find a chicken breast that someone injected something crazy into. Who knows.

The lesson learned? Do your damned research!

So if you’re a drug tested athlete, trust nobody.

It is your job to cross-reference every ingredient with your banned substances list, and ask your governing body or don’t use it if you’re not sure. It’s not worth the risk.

Remember, 99% of us are not drug-tested. This isn’t really a problem for most consumers. Our playing days are done, or we just don’t care or never did.

As a drug-tested athlete, you are amongst the ‘elite’ group, and you need to hold yourself to a higher standard. iSatori’s main customer base is not you. If you want to be amongst elite athletes, you need to start acting like it – and with that comes 100x more scrutiny of what you put in your body.

It doesn’t matter if it’s natural. If it’s banned, it’s banned.

Natural vs. Non-Natural

Meanwhile, everyone is arguing about who’s natural and not natural now. We’ll stay out of that one – it’s stupid, because there’s no good definition of the word natural, and quite honestly, we just don’t care. We negative-care.

Today I ate maltodextrin in my new Myofusion Advanced protein review. There’s no maltodextrin tree out there, and the stuff is about as far from natural as it gets. So by that definition, it’s not natural and neither am I.

Meanwhile, a fair portion of the list of Schedule I illicit drugs can be considered “natural”, yet are illegal and will get you popped for drug tests.^[2]

It’s a dumb argument. If you want to say you’re steroid-free / prohormone-free, that’s one thing. But 100% natural? Nobody is these days, except possibly that vegan hippie who lives around the corner and would end up failing every drug test you threw at him. Ironic, isn’t it?

So why is colostrum banned?

Make no mistake, we’re huge fans of colostrum. You can read about its benefits for the immune system boosting (better than the flu shot!), allergies, and muscle growth.^[3] The stuff rocks.

But since it contains growth factors and functions as a natural growth hormone booster, we postulate that it’s banned because it can be used to “mask” injectable growth hormone (or similar strong GH/HGH boosters).

Don’t quote us on that above — we’re just guessing — but please leave a comment if you know more.

Is Bio-Gro Still Legal?

Yes, Bio-Gro is completely legal. All of this has nothing to do with legality. It has to do with drug testing for pro and semi-pro athletes.

Concluding thoughts

End of the day, don’t trust anyone or anything, especially a label that’s trying to sell you itself.

Do your due diligence, and if you’re still not sure, ask us and two other trusted groups, along with the supplement manufacturer. If everyone says it’s clean, then you should be good to go.

Otherwise, don’t use it, and stick with NSF Certified for Sport supplements (or Informed-Choice Informed Sport), or organic/pastured chicken breast, grass-fed/finished beef, and green veggies.