When people talk about steroids in sports, they are usually talking about a subset of steroids that resemble testosterone. However, the majority of steroid users today are not competitive athletes, but rather people who want to look a certain way.
Androgenic, or masculinizing, and anabolic, or growth-promoting, are the two main effects of these steroids. These effects are similar to those of naturally occurring testosterone, which means that synthetic steroids based on it boost body and facial hair growth, vocal cord enlargement and deepening, muscular mass and strength, and stature and bone mass.
Anabolic and growth-promoting properties are sought by recreational steroid users. Steroids stimulate protein synthesis, which is required for muscle growth. Proteins are the basic building blocks of all cells, tissues, and organs, including muscles. Steroids also inhibit cortisol, a signaling chemical that promotes the breakdown of proteins and other molecules. Finally, they may encourage the growth of muscle rather than fat, as well as increase our metabolism, reducing fat deposits.
Steroids are useful for treating a variety of ailments and injuries because of these qualities. They can help persons with wasting diseases like AIDS and some malignancies maintain muscle mass, as well as burn sufferers regenerate muscle tissue that has been lost. Although steroids are used in medicine, this does not imply that they are safe for recreational use.
Recreational steroid users must typically take doses of magnitude larger than those prescribed for a medical condition to achieve the desired muscular gain. Long-term, high-dose steroid use can have both unwanted and detrimental effects, depending on a variety of characteristics such as age, sex, and underlying medical issues. We do not know all of the risk variables, but we do know that recreational steroid usage is especially dangerous for teenagers.
Steroid use throughout puberty may cause bones to form before they are ready, resulting in growth abnormalities. Adolescents are also the most vulnerable to the psychological side effects of steroid use, the most prevalent being increased impulsivity and violence, which is referred to as “roid anger.” These side effects affect up to 60% of people. Mania and even psychosis are less common, but more dangerous psychiatric side effects.
Steroid use can harm organs such as the liver and kidneys, as well as create heart problems such as high blood pressure. While some or all of these side effects may be temporary, steroid use, particularly in men, can lead to liver cancer.
Although recreational users take steroids for anabolic advantages, they also experience unwanted androgenic effects. In females, this can entail increased body hair, clitoris enlargement, and a permanent voice deepening. Excess testosterone-like steroids, on the other hand, can promote feminization in men because the body turns the excess into estrogen, resulting in the development of breasts and the shrinking of testicles. Excessive steroid use can affect male and female fertility by lowering sperm count in sperm or causing missed periods and disorders like polycystic ovary syndrome. All of these symptoms may or may not be reversible if steroid use is discontinued.
Finally, there is increasing evidence that users are prone to steroid addiction. They can build up a tolerance to the point where they require increasingly high doses over time, raising the potential of negative side effects, which are becoming more common when bigger doses are taken for longer periods of time.
