The Use Of Anabolic Steroids

Steroids have become a go to for athletes all around the world. From high school all the way to the professionals, but mostly in professional sports. Professional athletes are tested a few times each year, but it does not stop them from using steroids as candy (Balcavage). Knowing the history of the controversial issue of steroids and how they are used will help determine whether they should be used or not used. You have to go back as far as Ancient Greece to see where pure testosterone originated from. Steroids did not have a big support system until about the 20th century, but the use of them can be traced back to the original Olympic Games. The athletes would eat animals testicles for which all anabolic steroids owe their foundation. (Quinn).
The unregulated steroids have a huge number of side effects and long term issues can pop up throughout the body. Anabolic steroids attack the parts of your brain that influence your moods and learning and memory part of it called the limbic system. It also causes roid rage which is exceptionally aggressive behavior. Anabolic steroids also messes up the body's testosterone production because it attacks the hypothalamus which is the controller of appetite, blood pressure, moods. Anabolic steroids change the messages that the hypothalamus sends to the body, disrupting normal hormone function. In boys if they take steroids at a young age it interferes with the normal production of testosterone. They also act directly on the testes and cause them to shrink, and this can result in a lower sperm count and affect a person’s ability to father their children. Young people can suffer one the gravest effects of steroid abuse. Steroids can trick the body into thinking that it is producing enough testosterone. When it senses that it has enough, it shuts down any functions involving this hormone. For example, the body begins to fuse the long bones of the body and make them stop growing during that adolescence. Steroids can artificially speed up this process: in the end, a child's growth can stop prematurely. For this reason, a young adult who takes steroids to get bigger may actually end up not reaching his or her potential height. The liver, one of the body's most important organs, is also severely affected by steroid use. The liver removes impurities from the body, acting like a filter in a pool that keeps the water safe for swimming. One of the worst effects of steroid abuse is heart disorders. The heart keeps us alive by pumping oxygen-rich bloods throughout our body via about 60,000 miles of blood vessels. The user can develop hypertension (high blood