Thanks for the reply. As I said I was raising thoughts I had on the subject of steroids that occurred to me after the movie and the questions I raise do not necessarily reflect my opinion on the matter. As I said I am against steroids. However, I will bring more thoughts to the thread for conversation.
Simply not true. From the ACSM: “Anabolic steroid use has been implicated in early heart disease, including sudden death, the increase of bad cholesterol profiles (increased LDL, lower HDL), an increase in tendon injuries, liver tumors, testicular atrophy, gynecomastia (abnormal enlargement of breasts in males), male pattern baldness, severe acne, premature closure of growth plates in adolescents, emotional disturbances and other significant health risks.” Note that MOST of those affects are irreversible. Also, note that MOST of the studies performed on AS use have been forced to use very small doses to get by IRB’s and the doses prescribed to subjects used in studies likely aren’t what are commonly used by elite athletes…especially in sports like powerlifting, OLing, bodybuilding, football and in some cases track.
Well poor diets and high sodium intake is also associated with heart disease, diabetes, and bad cholesterol among other things. I looked at a few articles on the site and from what I saw have no sources on their data and the closest they get is saying steroids are “associated” with aforementioned things. And it is true that some of those side effects are reversible.
The ‘natural’ argument is a ridiculous load of crap that we’ve been sold by pseudo-health practitioners for a long time but doesn’t mean a thing. Tobacco is natural. Arsenic is natural. They’re certainly not good for you.
Is it? Are they? I did a quick google and pubmed, but couldnt find much. Most of it are articles saying they are harmful with no resources or studies backing up their conclusions. Could you please post some links you have on this? As I said before vitamins in high doses are also bad for you, not to mention other things that are not banned including caffeine (I know in high doses it is).
[quote]How about cortizone shots? Those are steroids and they are legal.
That’s because they’re corticosteroids. That’s completely different. For our purposes they are really only related to anabolics by name alone.[/quote]
I dont have a problem with cortisone shots, but for the sake of argument: Anabolic steroids are for the most part hormones. Corticosteroids are hormones. Side affects ‘associated’ with cortisone shots:
# increased appetite and weight gain
# deposits of fat in chest, face, upper back, and stomach
# water and salt retention leading to swelling and edema
# high blood pressure
# diabetes
# osteoporosis
# cataracts
# acne
# muscle weakness
# thinning of the skin
# increased susceptibility to infection
# stomach ulcers
# psychological problems such as depression
# adrenal suppression and crisis
If we’re banning steroids because they are unhealthful then why arent cortisone shots banned? Or glucocorticoids or prednisone? I already know your response: Side effects are minimized when the doses are low. Well then why not allow low, susceptibly healthy, doses of anabolic steroids then? There are ‘top’ experts in the field of steroids that have said steroids just HAVE NOT been documented by themselves to have harmful side effects. I agree with your comment about low doses having no bad side effects. Do you have studies showing low doses of AS are harmful?
[quote]It was interesting, in the movie they revealed that around 1988 when Ben Johnson tested positive for steroids, the IOC or WADA or whatever committee it was had over 2000 athletes, INCLUDING Carl Lewis who tested positive for PED’s, but covered them up.
This has been made public for some time however it’s important to note that the drug Carl was taking was an OTC stimulant that could be found in many cough suppressants and has since been removed from the banned list. Kinda ridiculous to compare that to AS.[/quote]
Still, you know that those athletes are constantly bombarded with banned lists and are aware that they need to be VERY careful with what they take. I’m not sure that there is much of an excuse for that. The shocking thing is that these failed tests were covered up.
[quote]Why cant someone take EPO to boost t cells, but can sleep in an altitude chamber to do the same thing, or better yet train at the Olympic training center?
1) because EPO is a controlled and illegal substance and 2). because when unregulated it will turn your blood to sludge and cause heart failure. This has happened to several elite cyclists.[/quote]
LOL I did not know that, but how about low doses? I’m sure your heart wont turn to sludge 🙂