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Anabolic Steroids and Bodybuilding
Steroids, although they are illegal steroid use is actually quite common. But who uses steroids and why?
Steroids are actually man made, similar to the male sex hormone testosterone. They are a drug and the only legal steroids are those that are obtained through prescription from a physician who is treating a medical condition.
Steroids are usually referred to as either androgenic or anabolic steroids. Both words come from the Greek language. Anabolic means “to build” and Androgenic means “masculinising.” Both men and women produce testosterone, which is a male sex hormone producing traits associated with males, such as facial hair growth, voice deepening, body hair, and the development of muscles.
How do steroids help develop muscles? Muscles are made up of protein and nitrogen is an element in protein. Testosterone activates the nitrogen in the body, which then produces protein, and then develops muscles. The synthetic testosterone in steroids does the same and causes the muscles to develop, commonly referred to as “steroid muscles.”
Young people who are healthy don’t need steroid supplements for their muscles to develop. They don’t need any testosterone supplements and their use is strongly discouraged. Anabolic steroids can be taken orally or injected. When injected it stays in the body longer, and for that reason it’s easy to detect on drug test.
Who uses steroids? Steroid use began with men who had low testosterone levels and therefore had sexual organs that were not developed properly. The condition is called hypogonadism and it is treated with steroids. Steroids were also used to treat diseases that were a result of HIV infections, impotence, and delayed puberty. By using steroids in animals it was discovered that they were responsible for the development of muscles.
Today the majority of steroid uses are athletes and bodybuilders, and both men and women use steroids. We all know that steroids build muscle mass, which is why bodybuilders use them. But they also enhance sports performance, which is why so many athletes turn to steroids.
Every sport has its challenges and every athlete has their own challenges to meet. Football players use steroids to help build strength and lean body mass so that they can run faster and tackle better. Field athletes use steroids to increase their physical skills. Bodybuilders use steroids to develop large, lean muscles.
Steroid use is also found in runners, swimmers, baseball players, soccer players, hockey players, and many other athletes. All benefit from the steroids in their increased muscles development, strength, endurance, and stamina. Steroids aren’t just used by men. Women athletes and bodybuilders also turn to steroids, but they generally use smaller doses than men because they are a smaller build.
Steroids have many useful properties. Doctors prescribe steroids for many diseases such as anaemia. They also use steroids in the treatment of breast cancer, and severe burns. They can be used to treat menopausal women for osteoporosis, to resolve impotence, and for HIV complications. Steroids are used in the treatment of MS, lupus, colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Crohn’s disease.
Cortisone is used to treat inflammation, and corticosteroids are the artificial version of those cortisones. They are used to treat conditions like asthma and arthritis. Taken for a limited time steroids are non addictive and have minimal side effects. There value medicinally is worth noting.
Used long term and in a non medicinal manner there are some harmful side effects, both physically and psychologically. Abusing steroids can result in aggressive behaviour, depression, and mental illness. Chris Benoit is an excellent example of this, killing his son, his wife, and then taking his own life.
There are also physical side effects which include jaundice, liver cancer, liver tumours, increased LDL, decreased HDL, and high blood pressure. Many are surprised to learn male steroid abusers can actually take on female characteristics. Testicles can shrink; there can be a reduced sperm count, and development of breasts. Increased risk of prostate cancer is also seen.
Female steroid abusers can suffer from facial hair growth, male pattern baldness, cessation in the menstrual cycle, deepened voice, and enlarged clitoris.
Even though steroids are illegal, that doesn’t stop their use, and that’s not likely to change in the near future. Steroids are found in all sports and many walks of life where you might not expect to find them.
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