Anabolic Steroids :: essays research papers

If someone guaranteed you amazing results in the weight room with minimal effort by just taking a pill would you take it? You probably would! But, if you knew that these pills could potentially knock 20 years off your life. Would you take it then? You would be suprised to find out how many people would answer yes to that question. In the past three decades, steroids have become a serious problem, more than ever in the athletic field. It is reported that over 3 million athletes and bodybuilders alone have used anabolic steroids . Steroids are a drug that include the male sex hormones, principally, testosterone and estrogen, the female sex hormone. To begin quite simply, it is apparent to most people that men tend to be larger than women. Indeed, a clear cut example of a difference between the sexes is the relative muscle mass. In men the most important growth builder is testosterone, which is made from the cells of the testes. Approximately 8 mg of testosterone is created daily, most of which is metabolized by the liver and excreted through the body in urine form. Testosterone is also present in the blood plasma of women, being derived from the ovaries and adrenal glands, in amounts roughly 30 times less than that found in men. Among the many effects of these androgens is the general growth on the body tissues and an increase in muscle strength. One of the main effects of anabolic steroids is to increase the number of red blood cells and muscle tissue without producing much of the androgenic effects of testosterone. Steroids have been around since the 1950`s and have been used by athletes as a means of improving appearance, muscle mass and strength. The first people to use anabolic steroids for athletic enhancement were the Russians who discovered the drug and had great success. Soon after scientists discovered how to make artificial testosterone and eliminate some of the dangerous side effects. This is when anabolic steroids were first born. Since then they have become very available in almost every country and local gym. Steroids were first developed for medical purposes. They're used in controlling inflammation, strengthening weakened hearts, preventing conception, and alleviating symptoms of arthritis and asthma. There are only three legal uses for steroids, treatment for certain forms of cancer, pituitary dwarfism, and serious hormone disturbances. Unfortunately research has shown that steroids have been abused in almost every kind of sport including professional football, power lifting and bodybuilding.