A Peek Into the Underground World of Anabolic Steroids
Despite all that you might hear the fact of the matter is that the non-medical use of steroids is prohibited by law. Steroids are illegal. Despite all the efforts being put to restrict the trade in steroids there are still many bodybuilders and other types of athletes who persist in the use of these substances. The number is indeed on the rise since younger athletes are falling for the lure of steroids in the hope that they will help them in gaining muscle mass faster.
There is a need for concerted efforts to educate all steroid users about the possible side-effects that are associated with the continued use of steroids. These side-effects are either physical or physiological.
First up, it’s imperative that we know what steroids are. Steroids are fully referred to as anabolic-androgenic steroids. The words anabolic and androgenic both come from the Greek language. Androgenic is derived from the word that means ‘to make masculine’ while anabolic simply means ‘to build’. Steroids are the artificial derivatives of the natural male hormone testosterone. This hormone is produced in the male testes and is responsible for imparting both anabolic and androgenic properties.
Androgenic characteristics include a deepening of the voice and proliferation of body hair. On the other hand anabolic properties have to do with the body’s capacity to retain ingested protein the protein is thus used in the growth and development of muscles. It is this property that bodybuilders go for when they choose to use steroids.
Steroid users use either injectable or oral preparations. In recent times the use of injectable preparations has been on the increase. Injectable are of two types, those that have long lasting effects and those whose effects are short term. The trend nowadays is to use short-term effect preparations that are water soluble. This is after research revealed that oral preparations were having negative effects on people’s livers. Either way, the use of steroids is very detrimental to the body’s major organs i.e. the heart, kidneys and liver.
Steroids are used obliviously by the many persons who are after better looks, better performance at the workplace and better feelings in life. This cannot be further form the truth. The male body produces sub 10mg levels of testosterone daily. This is in healthy males. The steroid preparations that are in use today may provide as much as several hundred milligrams of steroids. This quantity far exceeds the daily body requirement. Surely the body must be overwhelmed particularly so the major organs.
No wonder the body becomes prone to a myriad of diversely serious side-effects. Scary stuff. Come to think of it, it is on record that steroids are not capable of increasing your agility, cardiovascular ability or even your skill levels.
Some of the physical side effects that steroids are known to impart to men include impotence, testicle shrinking, breast development, painful urination and a reduction in the Sperm Count level. For the ladies we can expect changes in the menstruation cycle, breast size reduction, growth of facial hair and a deep voice.
Dane Fletcher
http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/a-peek-into-the-underground-world-of-anabolic-steroids-732590.html
March 09 2010 03:24 am | Increase Sperm Count