Ryan Braun's positive test for banned substances was caused by medication he's taking for a private medical issue -- NOT performance enhancing drugs ... this according to sources directly connected with Major League Baseball.

We're told the reigning National League MVP is adamant he has not taken drugs or steroids of any kind.

One source simply told us ... "The medication contained banned substances resulting in the positive test."  We're also told prior to taking the dirty test, Braun had always tested negative for banned substances.

The nature of Braun's medical ailment is unclear.

It's also unclear if the Milwaukee Brewers star knew the substances were in his medication before he took it -- though it seems highly unlikely.

Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun has been named the National League Player of the Month for April. 

Braun batted .367 (36-for-98) for the month and was tied for the National League lead in both home runs (10) and runs scored (24). His 36 hits and .724 slugging percentage ranked second in the N.L. while his 23 RBI were good for third.

Braun, 27, also had a .457 on-base percentage with three doubles, a triple and three stolen bases. The three-time N.L. All-Star has now reached base safely in 28 consecutive games to begin the season after eclipsing the franchise record previously held by Robin Yount (23 games in 1983).

This is his third monthly honor, having won previously for the months of July 2007 and July 2008.

The more Ryan Braun traveled to various cities during his time in the majors, the more he recognized just how much he loved Milwaukee.

Braun signed a $105 million, five-year contract extension on Thursday that adds to a seven-year deal he signed in May 2008, meaning the Brewers are now committed to pay the young slugger $145.5 million through 2020.

"From here on out the only thing that really matters is winning," Braun said. "I'm proud of saying that I've been a part of a group of guys here who have come in here and tried to kind of change the culture and get back to having the perception of being a winning organization, when guys like Robin Yount played here, Gorman Thomas, Paul Molitor, Jim Gantner, when all those guys were here, it was a special place to play."

Yount played all 20 of his seasons for the Brewers, winning two MVP awards. The 27-year-old Braun said he expects to spend his entire career in Milwaukee, too, after getting picked by the Brewers in the first round of the 2005 amateur draft.

"There really aren't many guys that've spent their entire careers with one team," he said.

Milwaukee Brewers' outfielder Ryan Braun wants to open a restaurant.

Braun and some other investors are in the process of converting the old Cactus Club in Lake Geneva into the "Ryan Braun's Tavern & Grill."

Tom Romano, part of the development group, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel it will open in early spring and seat as many as 240 people.

Romano said a booth promoting the restaurant will be set up on Sunday at the Midwest Airlines Center as part of the Brewers On Deck show.

Braun finished last season with 203 hits, and batted .320 with 32 home runs and 114 RBIs. He was a National League Silver Slugger award for the second year in a row.

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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com