health

Steroids
Paul Radder, Clarence Patterson, Claudette Pelonia, Humberto Garcia
Gen/200
July 23, 2013
Tom Snook

Steroids When it comes to steroids, most people have misconceptions about them. As there are many different types and uses for them, some are good and some are bad. Most people think about sports and weightlifting and the bad effects that it may cost to their body and career. However, this is only a small portion on what uses people have with steroids. There are some types of steroids in most products we use and eat today. In fact, according to the FDA, (2013), “Since the 1950s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep, including natural estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and their synthetic versions. These drugs increase the animals’ growth rate, the efficiency by which they convert the feed they eat into meat” (para. 1). Meaning that these number of steroids are approved by the FDA and according to them all approved implant products have a zero day withdrawal. This means that the meat from the animal is safe for humans to eat. Furthermore, there are two main types of steroids, anabolic and corticosteroids. Anabolic steroids are the type that most people hear about the most and give steroids a bad reputation, these are the type that athletes and bodybuilders will use as a shortcut to getting bigger and stronger faster, and are more often abused if used improperly (Pierce, J. S. (2004). In contrast, corticosteroids are the most commonly used steroid; these are used in some medical treatments such as; asthma and arthritis. In addition, steroids have many good reasons for use especially in the medical field. Many men and women have issues that can only be properly treated with both types of steroids. Both of these steroids do good and bad to the body if misused especially by adolescents. The side effects could include high blood pressure, liver damage, nausea, vomiting, blood clots, severe acne, sleep problems, rage, increased facial hair on body, and the list goes on. That may sound bad but steroids are intended for a short use and those side effects are usually caused by abuse and or long term usage. Therefore, is important to discuss the good, the bad, and ugly of proper and improper steroid use throughout the body in athletes, medical use, and children. In addition, is safe to say that people need to be educated on the subject and possibly be amazed on how often, common steroid use actually is, and what it does to the body. So lets start discussing the positive effect of steroid use as well as the negative effects.
Positive Effects of Steroid Use
Steroids are hormones and hormones are how the brain communicates with the cells of the body. Steroids are perceived negatively due to the harmful effects of the body and allowing athletes to cheat. Although, they have a bad reputation due to the misuse of athletes, there are some benefits of taking steroids that have a positive outcome to the body. The positive effects of steroids use is they can increase the weight and muscle mass, help people lose weight, and used to treat medical issues. Steroid users must evaluate the pros and cons before going into use. Here are few of the following advantages of using steroids.
The first positive effect is an increase of weight and muscle form. Steroids raise nitrogen level, which gives proteins that help the production of muscles. These muscles will eventually start to increase even if you don’t exercise them. They will grow more if you train regularly. Steroids rush the body and it develops to be more active, which completes higher levels of action. The growth in the adrenaline and testosterone levels causes the bodies at an increased regular ability while it is not affected. When steroids are taken in the right quantities, the body capability is raised and this helps a person with their goal of better results. (Positives and Negatives of Taking Steroids, 2009)
Steroid users find that they experience quicker results from physical performance. They increase fierceness and competitiveness, which can be desirable trains in sports. It changes strength and the muscle mass by two steps. First, the steroids run to an increased production of proteins, which are the building blocks of the muscle. The steroids also hinder the result of the hormone cortisol on a muscle tissue, so that the muscle is down at a slower rate. (Anabolic Steroids: Performance Enhancing Drugs, 2013).
Another positive effect is they expedite the metabolism of the body. This helps in lowering the fat that was built up. According to Steroids Side Effects, (2012), “Yes its true, steroids will increase your ability to lose body fat. There are several reasons for this. The simplest perhaps being due to an increase in muscle tissue (the body will support muscle with calories before it will store them as fat), as well as calories expended in the process of building/repairing muscle. Also steroids allow the body to more efficiently utilize carbohydrates as an energy source.” Meaning, that steroids also play a mental part to the body. Users experience euphoria. It is when a person takes steroids feels a blissful feeling and is often ecstatic. It also increases a user’s sex drive. People who consume steroids experience an increase in their sex drive. According to Health Effects of Steroids, (2011), “Steroids are use to treat hormonal replacement therapy after menopause. It helps to treat sexual dysfunctions. Anabolic steroids may block the effects of hormones such as Cortisol involved in tissue breakdown during and after exercise.” People who have a lower sex drive may turn to steroids to help their sexual desire and performance.
Lastly, Steroids help treat diseases. Doctors prescribe steroids to increase the production of red blood cells in the body, which treats blood disorders like anemia. They are also helpful in treating certain types of cancers, arthritis, asthma, and injuries. One example is arthritis and steroid use. It can help relieve pain and stiffness. Inflammation causes damage to body organs and steroids can be very helpful. It can prevent the development of kidney inflammation, which can lead to kidney failure. Steroids also help patients who have AIDS. It helps a person gain weight for constant nutritional deficiencies or aids wasting syndrome.
Steroids can also be very helpful in the healing process. It produces Cortisol and this helps the body deal with the stress and also increases the recovery time. Cortisol is a form of steroid that your body produces naturally and helps the body handle stress. It can be used to help recover from injuries and allows the body to return back to exercise. This allows the athlete to train harder and see more improvements faster. There are several types of natural steroid cortisol but they help the body in several ways. Some examples are decreasing nausea that is linked with radiation and chemotherapy, kill cancer cells and reduce tumor size, lessen allergic reactions, decline swelling, and reduce headaches that may be caused by brain tumors. Some doctors may even recommend steroids just to sleep, eat, and feel better.
Negative Effects of Steroid Use People that are trying to gain a lot of muscle and want to benefit from it use bad steroids. Steroids synthetically produced substances, which are related to male sex hormones. These produce muscle growth and the development of male sexual characteristics. The anabolic steroids can refer to muscle building and androgenic steroids to increase masculine characteristics. Some steroids are legal with prescription and more than 100 different types are available. The people these days taking steroids for medical reasons like low amounts of testosterones that delays puberty and impotence. However, in the world today it has been known for treating people with AIDS and other disease that can promote cell growth and division. People are taken off medication to avoid the side effects. Steroids today for men are to help with their natural hormones. Anabolic steroids today are used and abused by the athletes that are wanting the extra muscle and the physical appearance. These steroids are used orally or by injection. The following are side effects that can affect men: experience shrinkage of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breast, and increase risk of prostate cancer. On the other hand women may experience growth of facial hair, baldness, change in menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, and have a deep male voice. Adolescents abusing steroids will permanently halt their skeletal development, and accelerate puberty. According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, (2004),”In 2004: 1.3 percent of eighth graders, 2.3 percent of tenth graders and 3.3 of twelfth graders are anabolic steroid users” (para. ). The Partnership For A Drug Free America believes, the non - medical use of anabolic steroids among adolescents, and young adults, is a serious concern. Steroids can be addictive, including those claiming to take steroids, for a season or during a school year. Those taking anabolic steroids by injection, increase the risk contracting or transmitting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis, which can cause serious damage to the liver. The psychological effects include mood swings or violent tempers. When addicts discontinue the use of anabolic steroids, often depression, irritability, impaired judgment, suicidal thoughts or paranoid jealousy proceed. The length of time steroids remain the body, after discontinuation, depends if the substance was injected or taken orally. Injected steroids are detected in the body, following three to four months, and oral steroids, remain in the body one to four weeks. Many illegal steroids are being imported or smuggled into the United States, and distributed or sold in gyms, competitions, and through mail order operations. These illegal steroids are bogus, counterfeit products or manufactured in clandestine laboratories, were poor quality control stands exist. Also, steroidal supplements or dietary supplements, including dehydroepian-drosterone (DHEA), and androstenedione can be purchased at health food stores, without a prescription. Taking this supplements, has never been proven, to increase the sufficient quantities of testosterone, which to promote muscle growth, but can cause the same side effects as anabolic steroids. (http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/supplementationbasics/a/steroiddangers_2.htm) Steroids used in the United States are the anabolic steroids and cortisone, most commonly taken as Prednisone. The anabolic steroids are illegal and American
Companies no longer produce it. However, they are made in underground labs in the
United States, Canada, and Mexico. They are also made legally in Easter Europe and then smuggled into the United States. The anabolic steroids made in Eastern Europe are often of veterinary grade and come into the country legally but then are diverted.
Thus many people unknowingly take veterinary grade anabolic steroids.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances related to male sex hormones (androgens).
Anabolic steroids have many side effects. They cause feminization among women and masculinization among men. Men develop breasts, fatty deposits, and soft muscles.
They may also become impotent and produce abnormal sperm. Women body hair, deepening of voice, enlarged clitoris, menstrual problems, increased acne, and male pattern baldness. Anabolic steroids also cause behavioral and mood changes including depression, anxiety, confusion, paranoia, and hallucinations. Most familiar to most people is the development of extremely aggressive behavior known as "roid rage." This latter is often valued by athletes who believe this gives them a fierce, competitive edge.
In conclusion, while most people relate steroids as bad and as an edge to athletes in competitions. Not all steroids are bad. Corticosteroids is the most common steroid, it is used in the medical field as a treatment to help heal diseases such as; asthma and arthritis. All steroids are bad if they are abused and used in other ways other than the prescribed by a doctor. The so call bad steroids are mainly used by athletes who are trying to gain muscle. Synthetic steroids are related to testosterone the male sex hormone that is naturally produced by the body. In the long run the synthetic hormones have bad side effects in males, such as experience shrinkage of the testicle, reduce sperm count, infertility, baldness and development of breast to name but a few examples. In woman it disturbs their menstrual cycle and it can cause their clitoris to become enlarge. In adolescents it will permanently halt their skeletal development and accelerate puberty. There are also psychological effects that include mood swings or violent tempers. After users discontinue taking the steroids, they often fall into depression, are easily irritated and their judgment becomes clouded. Some users even develop suicidal tendencies. Injected steroids stay in the body anywhere from three to four months. Oral steroids remain in the body from one to four weeks. Many of the steroids are imported or smuggled in to the United States and are distributed or sold at gyms, competitions and through mail orders. Anabolic steroids are illegal and are no longer produced by American companies. However, they are produced in the underground market. It is amazing what athletes will go through to get, what they believe is a competitive edge. Then again, the positive effect is an increase of weight and muscle form. Steroids raise nitrogen level, which gives proteins that help the production of muscles. As a result, these muscles will eventually start to increase even if you don’t exercise them. They will grow more if you train regularly. Steroids rush the body and it develops to be more active, which completes higher levels of action. Another positive effect is they expedite the metabolism of the body, which helps in lowering the fat that was built up. Also, another positive effect is they expedite the metabolism of the body, which helps in lowering the fat that was built up. There are many good and bad side effects to steroids, but in the long run individuals must consider if it is going to be worth it. Every situation is different and all individuals must decide if it is the right thing to do based on their circumstances.

References Food and Drug Adminsitration. (2011). U.S Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved fromhttp://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation ucm055436.htm
The Myths and Dangers of Anabolic Steroid Usage. (http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/supplementationbasics/a/steroiddangers_2.htm). Retrieved from http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/supplementationbasics/a/steroiddangers_2.htm

Health Effects of Steroids. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.fitnessforworld.com/article/article3.htm#a
Positives and Negatives of taking Steroids. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.gproids.com/Positives-Negatives-Taking-Steroids-Sports Mayo Clinic Staff. (2013). Performance Enhancing Drugs: Know the risk. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105

References: Food and Drug Adminsitration. (2011). U.S Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved fromhttp://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation ucm055436.htm The Myths and Dangers of Anabolic Steroid Usage. (http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/supplementationbasics/a/steroiddangers_2.htm). Retrieved from http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/supplementationbasics/a/steroiddangers_2.htm Health Effects of Steroids. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.fitnessforworld.com/article/article3.htm#a Positives and Negatives of taking Steroids. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.gproids.com/Positives-Negatives-Taking-Steroids-Sports  Mayo Clinic Staff. (2013). Performance Enhancing Drugs: Know the risk. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105