Big Results Or Big Mistake?

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TweetBig Results Or Big Mistake?

In the early 1970s, Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (also known as AAS or ‘roids’) started becoming a popular supplement/drug for athletes in many sports---with the majority of users being male. Although doctors didn’t have too much knowledge about this substance in the 1970s, they knew one thing for sure, which was that AAS gave massive results in strength, size, libido and stamina [5].

For science and medicine, this was a big breakthrough. If this substance could do what it claimed to do, it could perhaps release the maximum human potential/performance which would result in stronger, faster, more aggressive military forces and cure many medical diseases.

Over the years, researchers conducted many experiments involving Anabolic steroids and found that it was indeed a powerful drug that promoted protein synthesis, fast muscular gains, and decreased body fat. It does so by manipulating the gene expression in the body’s cells. However, they also found that it had many negative side effects that were possibly caused by the drug—such as liver cancer, cardiovascular disease, increased cholesterol levels, baldness, aggression [3], impotence, and much more. Even having knowledge of these side effects over the years, many athletes still continued using and abusing AAS.

Then in the early 1990s, the United States Congress stepped in and created the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990, placing anabolic steroids into Schedule III of the Controlled substance act (CSA), banning the production of pharmaceutical drugs that promote muscular gains and sizes through the hormone testosterone. What prompted this decision were the dangers and unnatural ways steroids affected the body. But even with this law in place, with today’s technology, many companies secretly manufactured and sold counterfeit steroid drugs on the market called prohormones.

Then on January 20, 2004, the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 took effect, amending the Controlled Substance Act to place both anabolic steroids and prohormones on a list of controlled substances, making possession of the banned substances without a prescription a federal crime. Unfortunately, many professional athletes, bodybuilder and teenagers still abuse anabolic steroids and prohormones today.

Many of you might wonder, “When were Anabolic Androgenic Steroids first developed?” and “Why would anyone invent such a powerful/harmful drugs?” Honestly, no one knows exactly where or when AAS were first developed. But we have an idea of why people would come up with such a substance. If we look back into traditional medicines from the Western world, the Asians had a wide variety of substance that promoted masculine traits and virility.

These substances did not really intend to increase muscular strength and stamina, they were more intended towards improving sexual performance and pleasure. The Asians made traditional medicines with substances such as deer antlers, tiger bones, bear gall bladder, ginseng, ginko and many other roots. Even though these medicines cannot be compared to Anabolic Androgenic Steroids—not by a long shot—they are known as a supplemental derivative to this potent anabolic (muscle building) substance [2].

Now if we warp to early ancient Greece, many records in athletic competitions show that Greek athletes may have used a wide variety of natural steroidal substances that were used to promote androgenic and anabolic growth, extracted from plant material (this substance is now known as Tribulus.) As we can see, substances that promote strength, size and stamina were used even before AAS existed [2]. Throughout history, humans have been trying to find more improved and efficient ways to increase natural human performance and growth. It seems as if it is almost instinctive--- as humans we can never get enough of something we enjoy, and even if we have all the goods we need, we always want more---in this case more power.

In today’s headlines, steroids are a big hit in the sports community and even with teenagers—ranging from late middle school all the way to high school. Young athletes these days face fierce pressure to be stronger and faster, and strive to make it to college and professional leagues, as sports are getting more and more competitive. Since the year 2000, the NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse) surveyed random middle schools and high schools on steroids usage. In 2005, they found an average of 1.25% of 8th graders, 2.25% of 10th graders and 3.25% of high school seniors abusing steroids [4].

Luckily, these results have decreased compared to the data collected from previous years. As Health & Body classes continue to grow in middle schools and high schools, students are becoming more aware of drug and abusive substances. Also, many newspapers and books are informing parents of steroids abuse in teenagers and explain the dangers of doping.

Results Of Steroid Abuse In Middle Schools To High Schools From 2000-2005

As you may all know by now, steroids are an anabolic substance that increases protein synthesis, muscle size and strength. Increasing muscle size also allows the body to generate more ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), which is used to make muscle move. But, do you know how AAS can be taken? Many people think of needles and syringes when they hear the word “roids” or “juicing it”, but this is not the case. Surveys show that roughly 90% of people who take steroids either inject or take them orally—evenly splitting those to approximately 45% each. The other 10% of users use gels and creams that may be applied to the skin in certain areas.

Steroids are often abused in patterns called "cycling," which involves taking multiple doses of anabolic steroids over a specific period of time (usually 12 weeks), stopping for a period, and starting again [4].

Users also frequently combine several different types of steroids in a process known as "stacking." Abusers typically "stack" the drugs, meaning that they take two or more different anabolic steroids, mixing oral and/or injectable types, and sometimes even including compounds that are designed for veterinary use [2], such as Clomiphene, Letrozole, Finasteride, etc. Abusers think that the different steroids interact to produce an effect on muscle size that is greater than the effects of each drug individually, a theory that has not been proven scientifically.

When the users are on their “resting stage” (for 12 weeks following their cycle) they stop taking steroids equal to the amount of weeks they were on it. But during this stage, steroid users go on a different cycle called “Post Cycle Therapy” or PCT. During this stage, users orally take anti-estrogens from 6-oxo (a suicide aromatase inhibitor) to Nolvadex (also known as Tamoxifen Citrate—which is documented to treat breast cancer). The reason they have to go on a PCT is because during the cycle, the athletes were adding too much testosterone from outside the body’s natural production that their hypothalamus (a region in the brain that regulates hormones) was forced to shut down. [6] Also, another effect resulting from a shutdown in the hypothalamus is a decreased size in the male testicles.

Since the body stopped producing its own testosterone, there is no need for the testicles, so the testicles slowly start to decrease in size---decreasing fertility and sex drive. Aside from this reason, depending on the Anabolic Steroid, it may convert to estrogen during and post cycle.

But in males, too much estrogen levels can cause gynecomastia, which is the abnormal enlargement of the breast in a male. But, even with the proper PCT cycle, prevention of gynecomastia and infertility is not guaranteed. Unfortunately, PCT cannot prevent possible liver cancer, cardiovascular disease, increased cholesterol levels, baldness, aggression, and impotence.

Another problem follow anabolic steroids these days is a substance called prohormones. Prohormones are substances that are a precursor to a hormone (a steroid hormone in our case). These supplements usually come in a pill or spray form. Prior to being ingested, these precursors have minimal effects by itself. But, when the body undergoes metabolism, the liver converts it to a male hormone such as testosterone and the substance functions just like anabolic androgenic steroids.

Although the companies that manufacture these products often intend the buyers to assume that these products will provide the putative benefits of taking an anabolic steroid without the legal or medical risks, they are merely lying. Prohormones are scientifically proven to have the same effects as anabolic steroids, but they just function in different ways when inserted into the body. Anabolic Androgenic steroids are steroid hormones that are ready to use as soon as they are injected into the body, opposed to prohormones that have to undergo a conversion through metabolism.

Since these prohormonal substances were very similar to anabolic steroids, prohormonal supplements were banned by the United States Congress known as the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 (due to the side effects). Although these substances have been banned, companies still manufacture them barely bypassing the law.

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