Many people who play sports, athletes and especially bodybuilders administer anabolic steroids to help them develop stronger and bigger muscles or to enhance their sporting performances. It is true and is a fact that using steroids is very effective in muscle development as it helps you workout at intensities as well as for longer periods. Anabolic steroid also speed up your muscle recovery time and so it is not surprising that people who want to get bigger muscles and better athletic perfomances resort to steroid use.
So what are anabolic steroids? How safe is steroid usage? How dangerous is it? How bad are side effects?
Anabolic steroids are actually synthetic substances related to the male sex hormones such as testosterone. They are used to promote the growth of muscles giving users the anabolic effect and the development of male sexual characteristics or the androgenic effect.
This class of artifical steroids were first developed in the late 1930s to treat hypogonadism, a medical condition in which the testicals do not produce enough testosterone for normal development, growth and sexual functioning ability. Today, they are also used to treat delayed puberty in boys, certain types of impotency and wasting away of the body caused by HIV and many other diseases.
When scientists discovered that anabolic steroids could facilitate the growth of new and bigger muscles in laboratory animals, there was a mad scramble for the substances which led to abuse by bodybuilders, weightlifters and athletes in other sports, sometimes resulting in tragic circumstances arising from the side effects of steroid abuse.
Anabolic steroids can be taken by injection, orally, topical gels, patches and nasal sprays. Oral steroids have more negative side effects than injections because they are associated with the liver damages as well as cancer tumors.
There are numerous serious side effects on the body when using anabolic steroids and this is why they are banned in many countries unless with your doctor's supervision.
Since the hormonal endocrine system can get altered, men can become infertile, appearances of male breasts (gynaecomastia) and get shrunken testicles. Women may develop enlarged clitoris and excessive hair growth on their faces and bodies. Both sexes can also develop male pattern baldness and their voices may even be deepened and sounding gruff. Since the musculoskeletal system may get affected, teenagers may even experienced stunted growth.
Those are not all as there are worse side effects that include heart attacks, enlargement of the heart's left ventricle and caused people younger than 30 years old to develop heart diseases.
Furthermore, steroids can cause blood clots in the blood vessels and potentially disrupting the blood flow and damaging the heart muscle so that blood circulation is dangerously affected. The liver of the steroid users are also effected as steroids have been know to cause liver cancers.
On the psychological frontline, anabolic steroid abuse can cause irritability and aggression and have been known to have caused people to commit robbery and physical violence which would normally not happen to a naturally calm person. Anabolic steroids have also been known to cause behavioral alteration such as euphoria, increased energy, sexual arousal, mood swings distractibility, forgetfulness and confusion. These are just some of the many side effects of anabolic steroid abuses.
So since steroid usage is all about getting more growth hormones and testosterone to gain muscles and better athletic performances, then the safest and most effective way is to get your body to produce more of these hormones naturally instead of introducing dangerous artificial hormones such as anabolic steroids into your body.
This can be achieved by consuming testosterone and human growth hormone supplements made from natural herbs to encourage your body to produce more of your own growth hormones. Intensive exercise is also know to encourage your growth hormone production. Thinking of using anabolic steroids for muscle development? Think again.
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