Steroids

Negative Effects of Steroids

The intent of this essay is to show that steroids have many negative effects and that steroids, and other natural supplements, should be closely studied by the FDA. This essay will also support the claim that the professional sports industry needs to eliminate steroid use and set a good example for younger athletes. The use of steroids to gain muscle mass is quick and effective, but it has some serious negative effects as well. Steroid use is more common than most people think. Weight lifters and other athletes use them to gain strength very quickly, but after they stop using them and lose some strength, they become trapped in the steroid cycle.

Over one million American seek short cuts to larger muscles and greater endurance with anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Steroids are drugs that act like chemical in the body. Most steroids are transformed into testosterone when they enter the body. Testosterone is a male growth hormone. While user may gain short-term results, they are seriously shortchanging their health (Kalawalski 13-15). First, the benefits of steroids are very plain to see. The user gains mass, speed, and strength very quickly. Also, he has a more aggressive attitude, which is good for many athletes, especially football players. A weight lifter can gain the strength and mass he wants without having to work as hard as natural body builders do and he can get ready for competitions in a much shorter time. A lot of people do not see anything wrong with steroids because the body already produces testosterone; therefore steroids just increase the amount.

Next, steroids have serious and sometimes long-term effects that can be life threatening. Federal officials reported that one to three million people in the United States is now using anabolic steroids (Mader 410). Many users have acne problems and dramatic mood swings. Also, they have a more violent demeanor, which can, in some cases cause heart attacks. As stated in The Steroid Game, "roid rage is the descriptive term for spontaneous, highly aggressive, out-of-control behavior where the police were called or should have intervened. Infertility is another risk users take. It can destroy the chances of ever producing children. Some of the ill effects of the drugs are damage to the kidneys and liver. A person can also alter the balance of the natural hormones. This can cause detrimental affects to the body. The effects of you natural hormones being out of balance can last several years after being off the drugs. Some male user form breasts due to the use of steroids. Because of the increase in testosterone, steroids can cause serious acne problems. When used by teens it can cause stunted growth. Other side effects include genital changes, water retention, yellow eyes, coronary artery disease, ligament injuries, high blood pressure, and changes in cholesterol levels, sterility and liver disease. The list goes on and on. Women that use steroids run the risk of male pattern baldness. Some effects of steroids are even worse. Some people fall into comas after injecting the drugs, some may even die from the injections (Kalawalski 13-15).

Although steroids have many negative effects, they have many needed medical purposes. Androgens have many legitimate medical uses, such as the use for treatment of hypogonadal men to compensate for the lack of endogenous production. Anabolic steroids are also helpful for the treatment of certain adolescent diseases, some types of anemia, and for a relatively rare form of edema. Other clinical uses focus on the tissue building and anti-catabolic effects, such as in the treatment of burn victims, AIDS, or HIV positive patients, or patients malnourished from disease or old age (Bellino 1).

Probably one of the most well known ways for using steroids other than for the building of muscle for competition is for its quick healing results of inflamed or swollen joints after just a few days of use. Today, pharmaceutical companies make dozens of different corticosteroid drugs to treat allergies, asthma, skin inflammations, arthritis, and connective-tissue diseases such as lupus (Bellino 1).

The most well known reason for people using steroids is for the quick muscle growth. Anabolic steroids have been around for 40 years. At first they were hailed for their ability in improving strength and stamina but now they are condemned as unnatural and dangerous to the health of an athlete, particularly younger ones (Bellino 2).

Throughout the history of sports, athletes have looked for ways to gain an edge over the competition. If done the right way athletes enhance their performance through vigorous training and practice. As the years have progressed some athletes have decided that this isn't enough. They have tried to further their athletic skills though drug use (Denham 362).

Steroids are one of the main drugs used in sports to improve performance. Although, steroids can cut body fat and increase muscle tissue, they are terrible for the human body. They affect all parts of the body and over long periods of time the effects are almost always negative (Brink 1).

A basic description of how steroids work, without using a bunch of medical terms and different types of amino acids, is that they are supplements that the body transforms into testosterone in the body. Some of them can boost the levels as much as 1500%. Steroids will pump up your pecs and shrink you testes. It boosts the formation of red blood cells in men and enhances their ability to carry oxygen. Testosterone also makes facial hair coarser and skin thicker. Men who take steroids can also become very aggressive as the testosterone fuels aggression. In women it can also boost their testosterone and cause then to get male features such as facial hair, coarser skin, broad chin, and a deeper voice. (Brink 2).

Steroids are bad for all people but especially the young and old. In the younger people it can stop hormones from being released and you will not grow to your full height. In older people it can cause the enlargement of the prostate which can lead to prostate cancer (Brink 2).

Every year younger and younger kids want to improve their bodies through the use of steroids. Bellino says that he think it is true that kids are smarter earlier. Like an eight year old today knows more about society than an eight year old 25 years ago and just because they are smarter doesn't mean they have the common sense to distinguish between the things that will harm their bodies. He is not saying eight year olds use steroids but you get the point (Bellino 3).