What are steroids?
You shouldn’t confuse anabolic steroids with corticosteroids. They are a different kind of steroids entirely. Anabolic steroids are used to build up muscle. Corticosteroids are used to dampen overactive immune responses and reduce swelling.
The abused version of anabolic steroids by athletes are synthetic versions of testosterone, a predominantly male hormone. Testosterone is produced by male and female equally. But like all the hormones – which regulate the body’s most functions – harming one’s awesome testosterone balance can have significantly wide consequences.
Why You Should NEVER take steroids?
The most important reason not to think about steroids is the health threats it poses and the side effects. The input of steroids can have a negative effect on a variety of areas with the most alarming being the effect it has on the heart and it invariably leads to heart attacks. Steroids just don’t affect the heart; they go on to affect other places like the liver making it unpleasant and potentially fatal.
As for the damaging and body shaming part, steroids cause acne in the majority of cases reminding you of puberty. It also leads to shrunken testicles- that majorly is one of the effects that get to most guys.
More so, taking steroids can prevent your ability to secrete your natural hormones, this result to you eventually becoming dependent on the drug (steroids) and it will lose some of its potency. The main reason for this is that your body becomes aware of the extra harmful chemicals in your body and so believes it doesn’t necessarily need to produce as many itself. So you have more fake testosterone compared to the real testosterone. Bad it is.
Below are 6 MAJOR reasons you should stay away from Steroids
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AGGRESSION
When taken in high doses over a long duration, steroids can keep you hanging in the unbalances; make you irritable, stressed out and violent. Steroids impacts how the brain functions and controls your impulses, and this may result in violent reactions. Though there is no concrete research as to why it affects people differently, some people are affected by aggression than others.
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STEROIDS CAN CAUSE IMPOTENCE
If you are single and plan on getting married with two or more children in the coming years of your life, you’ll really want to think twice about the use of steroid. A study published in the Western Journal of Medicine illustrated that there was a relationship between the use of steroid and incidences of impotence, illustrating this connection.
The use of steroid is going to shut down your own natural production of testosterone, which is a gateway for sperm development and function. So it happens that many of the bodybuilding users taking steroids now don’t think about this negative until it’s too late. Don’t make the same mistake if you are really interested in having a family.
You may say, ‘I’m way past the baby making-period of your life or simply have no intentions of having kids’, how about keeping an active and healthy sex life? Steroids impact that as well. Users of steroid will experience decreased sexual performance including struggling to maintain an erection.
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HORMONAL CHANGES
Another reason to avoid the use of steroid is the hormonal changes this it will cause in your body. Using steroids means you have a very high level of testosterone flowing through your veins while still on them. So what else takes place?
First and foremost, your sperm production runs low and shrinking of the testicles will occur. Additionally, one of the life-changing changes that occur includes an appearance of female-like breast tissue referred to as gynecomastia.
Don’t think you can sidestep the hormonal changes by using a post cycle therapy support product. You are at risk regardless of what product you are using.
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BALDNESS
For most men, loss of hair is one phase they want to experience last in their life, though this isn’t life-threatening. When steroids are taken, however, one side effect is premature hair loss. A study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science: bald men are perceived as more masculine and dominant, however, they are also considered less attractive than men with full heads of hair. Why for the sake of limited enjoyment risk losing your hair and aging considerably?
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LIVER PROBLEMS
Since the liver is the primary detoxifying agent in the body, by putting steroids into your system, you’ll be overworking your liver.
Those who use steroids have been known to suffer from dangerous diseases like tumors and peliosis hepatis, which is a case where blood-filled cysts form in the liver and can eventually rupture, leading to serious and potentially fatal internal bleeding.
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RISK OF SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST DEATH
Steroids put more pressure on the heart, pumps additional blood throughout the body to the newly built muscle mass and cause the heart to enlarge. This can put an individual at risk for sudden cardiopulmonary arrests, as was noted by a study published in the Cardiology journal.
The researchers looked at a case of a sudden cardiac death case of a 20-year-old who was in excellent health standing apart from the fact he had a history of steroid use.
Additionally, more of the consequences of using steroids that you should know about include a decreased immune system, which could weaken your body and thereby cause a high level of infections and diseases, and a reduced level of joint flexibility.
As you can see, the risks and side effects are not worth the benefits, especially when there are safe alternatives out there. The choice is yours.
External sources in this article include the websites Bestworkoutsupplementsblog1https://www.bestworkoutsupplementsblog.com/why-you-should-not-use-steroids/, WebMD2https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20050316/why-steroids-are-bad-for-you, Healthguidance3http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/10836/1/Why-You-Shouldnt-Take-Steroids.html, Amongmen4http://www.amongmen.com/style-grooming/5-reasons-not-to-take-steroids/, as referenced below.
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