Bolt's Speed Linked to Big Mac Diet

A recent revelation into Usain Bolt's diet has revealed that his extraordinary speed may be the result of food additives linked to anabolic steroids.


Usain Bolt, who recently became the most successful athlete in the world, has a weakness that he wouldn't ever like to admit. He has a fondness for the McDonald's 'Big Mac'. In fact, he is convinced that the flagship fast-food item is a lucky charm and he religiously has one before every race. But is it just luck or is there a more scientific explanation behind it?

Jorg Berhausen of the Swedish Culinary Research Facility in Stockholm told us that his department had been researching the additives of different meals served in fast food restaurants and that they had made some interesting observations. "After testing the products from various restaurants, we found that much of the meat that was processed contained a small, but not insignificant, amount of anabolic steroids." Although he explains that have not received conclusive results, "we are sure enough that we have found a link between the food you would receive from the drive-through and the potential to perform better in certain sports".

Anabolic steroids, banned from all recognised sporting authorities, are man-made drugs that can significantly enhance the human body physically due to their ability to increase the protein production within cells. Jorg speculated that the drugs were probably administered to the animals prior to killing to enhance the tenderness of the meat. "The traces are enough to suggest that they were digested by the animal, rather than used to enhance the flavour during the preparation."

As to why tests haven't shown traces of the drugs is still unclear however Jorg believes it could be due to the pre-digested nature of the drugs, "which can prove too weak to show up on tests that are designed to look for pure concentrations of the drugs". As the meat sits in the stomach, any drugs are absorbed into the system but are quickly burned off during the exercise. Jorg concluded "It's like eating a hash brownie which gets you high but leaves no evidence in the blood that you took it."

We reached out to Usain Bolt's representatives and the Worldwide Athletics Association for a comment on the subject but have so far received no reply.

Jorg is hoping to publish his research in the medical journal at some point later this year. Until then, this may your last chance to eat a McDonald's before taking part in that marathon.