Muscle Mutants and Sports Nutrition Supplements - Report Example

Anabolic Steroids The biological term “anabolic steroid” is not unfamiliar to most. Countless media reports have brought to the attention of the public, the illegal use of anabolic steroids by professional athletes. Due to this, anabolic steroids have been dubbed with negative stigma, and are often placed in the same category as narcotics such as heroine and cocaine. Certainly, the difference is that heroine and cocaine are only available on the black market and are not FDA approved, but because of the use of anabolic steroids as a performance enhancer, they too are often attainable through illegal means. The purpose of this paper is to accurately define anabolic steroids as well as to discuss not only the risks involved with steroid use but also the benefits which are often not discussed. The term anabolic means to build up. It originates from the Greek word anabole which simply means ’to build up’. It is the opposite to the term metabolic which means to break down. Our bodies are able to utilize energy and create heat (heat is energy) through the process of metabolism. Conversely, anabolism is the process of building up. Anabolic steroids are so named because they do just that, they build up or rather allow the body to generate muscle mass more efficiently. On a cellular level, anabolic steroids promote protein synthesis which generates new cellular tissue resulting in greater muscle mass. This is the reason that professional athletes sometimes turn to steroid use. Anabolic steroids are typically related to the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone promotes the development of male characteristics such as body hair, vocal chords (deeper voice) and other male specific features. Naturally, women have a proportionally lower overall muscle mass than men. Testosterone being present in higher volumes in men, promotes more lean muscle mass which is also a male characteristic. Because of the tissue building qualities of anabolic steroids, they are often used to treat diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Both cancer and AIDS can be referred to as diseases which cause wasting. This means that they work to break down or destroy the body’s healthy tissue over time. Anabolic steroids can be given to patients suffering with these diseases in order to work against the effects of wasting. Anabolic steroids are also excellent for stimulating the growth of healthy bone tissue, not just muscle tissue. In some cases, patients who are chronically or terminally ill may be given steroids to increase appetite. As with any medication, anabolic steroids also have side effects. Additionally, as with any medication, the benefits of the medication must outweigh the risks of taking it, in order for its administration to be justified. Certainly in the case of patients with cancer or AIDS, steroids are easily justified as their benefits can be life extending. Side effects of anabolic steroids include acne, increase in blood pressure, damage to the heart’s left ventricle, liver damage, a rise in low density lipoproteins and a decrease in high density lipoproteins. Certainly some of these side effects can be dangerous, but many of the side effects of anabolic steroids can be avoided with regular exercise and appropriate supplements. Steroids are also capable of suppressing the immune system. Naturally, the immune system is crucial to our health and survival, but in patients who have autoimmune disorders, this side affect can actually be life saving. Lupus is a disease which mostly affects women, but acts to cause the immune system to mistake healthy tissue and cells for foreign antigens. Because the immune system of the Lupus patient is affecting the patient in an adverse way instead of the manner in which it is supposed to operate, Lupus patients can often benefit a great deal from steroid treatments. When a Lupus patient has a ‘Lupus flare up’ and their immune system is acting destructively towards their own body, steroids may be taken to suppress immune activity therefore saving healthy tissue from being damaged. Inversely however, physicians are careful about administering steroids to patients who may be fighting off an infection. If a patient is suffering from an infection by an aggressive organism, suppressing the immune system with steroids can be catastrophic and even fatal. In the case of steroid use among bodybuilders, one can often note an androgyny among the competitors. For example, female bodybuilders who use steroids will often take on male characteristics such as large and defined muscles, facial hair and increased body hair, decrease in breast size, amenorrhea (loss of menstrual cycle), deeper voice and development of an ‘adam’s apple’. In men who take steroids in an abusive manner, female characteristics can result such as breast development and increased emotions. The reason for this is that when the male body begins to receive higher levels of testosterone, it compensates by producing more estrogen (hormone found in higher levels in women which promotes female characteristics). Other side effects of anabolic steroids can be loss of sexual appetite, increase in agitation or temper (often known as ‘roid rage’). It is important to remember though that these and all side effects are dose related. If being treated by a physician who chooses anabolic steroids as a constructive part of an overall treatment plan, one will be prescribed a dose appropriate to addressing their medical needs as well as with the consideration of avoiding harmful or inconvenient side effects. The media will often stigmatize anabolic steroids when it is discovered that famous professional athletes have begun to use them. In some cases, athletes have suffered fatal heart complications from steroid abuse which often results in a media frenzy of demonizing steroids. Once again, like any medication, steroids are extremely beneficial when used appropriately and in modest doses. It is impossible to discuss anabolic steroids without discussing the legality issues surrounding them. First of all, virtually all sports committees and organizations (the NBA, NFL, the Olympic committee etc.) have strictly forbidden the use of steroids among athletes, Had Ken Caminiti been a less famous ballplayer, or had he merely confessed his own sins, then it would have been a transient controversy. But it wasnt. Last May, Caminiti, in a cathartic sit-down with Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, became the first major league baseball player, current or retired, to admit to using anabolic steroids during his playing days”(Perry, 2003). In fact, regular and mandatory testing is performed on professional athletes of virtually all leagues and organizations. If an athlete tests positive for anabolic steroids, they are usually fined and suspended. In some cases, they are excluded permanently from their professional athletic career. Sadly, the media frenzy over steroid use has become so overly dramatized that many have lost their careers, their reputations and their good name because of media biased to the demonizing of steroids, “A more objective survey of steroids role in sports shows that their health risks, while real, have been grossly exaggerated; that the political response to steroids has been driven more by a moral panic over drug use than by the actual effects of the chemicals; and that the worst problems associated with steroids result from their black-market status rather than their inherent qualities”(Perry, 2003). Incidentally, steroids are not only used in humans athletes but are also used to increase the performance of race horses. This activity has also become illegal in horse racing because it gives the horse an unfair advantage over the other horses. Similarly, athletes who take steroids are afforded an unfair advantage over their opponents in the area of strength, endurance and performance which is the main platform for the regulations implemented by most sports organizations. In closing, the stigma placed on steroids by the media is not much different from that placed on opiate narcotics used to treat pain. Opiate narcotics are regulated just as anabolic steroids are due to the possibility of abuse. Opiates however, are the most effective method known to medicine, to treat pain. Sadly, due to the stigma attached to them, opiates are difficult to gain a prescription for, even by those in obvious pain. Similarly, steroids serve a great purpose when used correctly but are sometimes difficult to get because of DEA and FDA regulations on physicians and pharmacies. Ultimately, a person’s body is there own and they should be able to dewcide what they put into it. Additionally, if they feel that they medically require a certain medication, it should be readily and easily available to them. Works Cited: Berg, Kris E.; Cheatham, John P.; Felix, Gary L.; Hofschire, Philip J.; Sachtleben, Thomas R., (1997) “ Serum Lipoprotein Patterns in Long- Term Anabolic Steroid Use”, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, retrieved 30 July, 2008 from website at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-19418164.html Collins, Rick, J.D., (1999) “Steroids and Sports: A Provacative Interview with Norm Fost M.D.” steroidlaw.com, retrieved July 28, 2003 from website at: http://www.reason.com/news/show/28645.html Collins, Rick, J.D. (1999) “Muscle Mutants and Sports Nutrition Supplements”, steroidlaw.com, retrieved July 28, from website at: http://www.steroidlaw.com/steroid-law-48.html Collins, Rick, J.D. (1999) “State Confusion”, steroidlaw.com, retrieved July 28, 2008 from website at: http://www.steroidlaw.com/steroid-law-36.html Micromedex,(2008) “Anabolic Steroids (Oral Route, Parenteral Route)”, Mayoclinic.com, retrieved 30 July, 2008 from website at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR602077 Perry, Dayn, (2003) “Pumped-Up Hysteria: Forget the hype. Steroids arent wrecking professional baseball” Reason Magazine, January, 2003, retrieved July 28 from website at: http://www.reason.com/news/show/28645.html Woolston, Chris, (2008) “What are Anabolic Steroids?”, VHi Health, retrieved 30 July, 2008 from website at: http://www2.vhihealthe.com/topic/steroids Read More