Leandro Barbosa Takes Brazilian Horse Medicine To Stay Healthy

YardBarker- Barbosa credits his longevity to a green liquid extract made from the leaves of a South American shrub called arnica do mato. What’s arnica do mato?

“It’s a medicine you give horses,” Barbosa said, via the New York Times' Scott Cacciola. “Whenever they get hurt, it helps them recover very quickly. Because they have to run.”

Barbosa says he gets his delivered direct from Brazil as an extract. He drinks it straight up, twice a day — once in the morning and once at night. It is not particularly delicious, he said. Then again, it was not originally intended for human consumption.

“It cleans out all the bad things that you have in your body,” Barbosa said. “All natural.”

Barbosa’s personal trainer recommended that he start drinking the arnica do mato extract in February 2013 as part of his rehabilitation from a torn ACL. He hasn’t sustained any serious injuries since he began taking the Amazonian elixir.

“It burns going down,” said Barbosa, who scored seven points in 13 minutes in the Warriors’ 110-99 win Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. “You kind of feel dizzy if you’re not used to it. I got used to it.”



All this story tells me is that NBA players are absolutely allowed to taking PED's, because "Brazilian horse medicine" that "isn't intended for human consumption" is just about about the most incriminating nickname for steroids that I have ever heard. A liquid extract that burns going down and immediately makes you dizzy? The NFL would expel a player for dribbling a little bit of that on his ribeye, never mind drinking two whole bottles a day. Someone tell Roger Goodell it's not the Mexican meat that's tainted, it's that goddamn chimichurri! 

A 33 year old NBA player that still runs like a fucking gazelle after tearing ACL? Yeah, nice try. Guess what Leandro, the acronym for horse growth hormones is still HGH. Apparently Adam Silver doesn't care, but you're not fooling me buddy. If it's all natural, green, and easily shippable everyone's overly health conscious friend would have already brought it up to them about 35 times in conversation. Leandro Barbosa is just openly promoting bottles of performance enhancing drugs while all of his fellow countryman that stuck to stickball are sitting out 80 games at a time for trying out a free sample. Fucking guy is flourishing as an aging bench player on the best team in basketball while he's sharing his dietary supplements with Lance Armstrong and Mr. Ed. As someone who did a juice cleanse one time I can confidently say that cleaning all the bad stuff out of your body doesn't leave you running 4.2 40's up and down the hardwood, but stealing American Pharoah's prescriptions just might.