Steroids can be described as a group of compounds that are either obtained from testosterone or made artificially to promote repair of tissues as well as stimulate the growth of our body. Commercially, steroids are available in various different forms such as tablets, powders and injections. Steroids are essentially prescription drugs that are used for treating assorted diseases such as breast cancer, anemia, and muscle wasting conditions that accompany diseases such as AIDS and cancer or even because of undergoing surgery.
These days, steroids are very popular, especially among those who do not use them for therapeutic reasons. Many people use steroids to improve their appearance and enhance strength. Just about all sections of the society, including men and women; youths and adults; and also athletes and non-athletes use steroids these days.
Often young people use steroids to speed up the commencement of their maturation. People belonging to this section of the society use steroids to achieve well-developed bodies quickly. Use of steroids has become a fashion in several countries in the West.
Use of steroids in sports is considered to be illegal. If any athlete is found using steroids or is tested positive for these compounds, he or she may face life ban from their sport discipline. Notwithstanding such sanctions, a section of athletes continue to use steroids with the aim of augmenting their performance. Athletes generally use steroids because these prescription drugs make them feel bigger and stronger as well as perform better. Hence, now steroids are popular drugs among sportspersons who are into track and field events, bodybuilding, swimming, cycling and weightlifting. It is worth mentioning here that power, speed and endurance are necessary for success in these sports events.
All said and done, use of steroids has a dark side. For instance, skin creams containing steroids may result in the thinning as well as debility of the skin. At the same time, use of steroids may also cause calcium leakage from the bones, making them brittle and prone to fractures easily. In addition, steroid use may also increase food cravings, thereby resulting in the blood sugar level to rise abruptly. It has been found that people using steroids usually gain weight and they generally develop the archetypal "moon face", in addition to developing diabetes.
This is one main reason why it is advisable to use Elma products, as they do not contain steroids.
It is essential to have a robust immune system, capable enough to combat various infections and even cancers. Unfortunately, use of steroids weakens our immune system. Moreover, people who take elevated doses of steroids for medical purposes face the risk of death due to chest infections as well as various forms of cancers. Generally, these patterns are seen in people who receive organ transplants. It is essential for such people to take large doses of steroids in order to prevent the normal mechanism of the body to refuse as well as destroy the implanted organ or tissue.
Often people develop cancers, which reveal the importance of white cells (leukocytes) in protecting us from cancers. It also shows how often people develop cancers. In fact, nearly all of us have two to three minuscule cancers inside our body at any given time. When we take steroids in elevated doses we become more susceptible to developing cancers. One of these minute cancers may eventually start developing rapidly when we take high doses of steroids.
What is worse is that the immune system of people taking elevated doses of steroids is deficient in many ways. As a result, several organisms that usually do not cause any problem within our body, start growing very fast. This, in turn, disturbs the typical balance of different micro organisms in our body. For instance, the yeast Candida starts growing very quickly inside the mouth resulting in an excruciating condition called thrush.
Do you think any healthy individual, who is aware of the downsides of taking steroid, would still like to use these compounds? Yes, they still would want to take them, because a particular variety of steroids, called anabolic steroids, have another impact on our body - they help to encourage muscle growth. Unfortunately, this effect of anabolic steroids only works provided the body's overall steroid level is reasonably high. Moreover, sports enthusiasts would be dejected to know that using this steroid also results in negative side effects.
If an individual simply takes steroids and doesn't exercise regularly, it would not help in building bulk muscles. However, when an individual using steroids also undertakes exercise on a regular basis, they help to increase the muscle bulk. It is often found that some basic psychological issues are responsible for individuals abusing steroids to build muscles. Findings of a number of scientific studies involving steroids have hinted that as much as 25 percent people taking steroids regularly have been victims of physical or sexual abuse or have been attacked during their childhood days. Later in life, such people are extremely provoked to make them strong and also be able to resist any attack on them in future.
There are other people who have some kind of problem with their body image, something akin to anorexia nervosa. As a result, when they see themselves in the mirror, they visualize themselves as having a fragile and feeble body. In medical terms, this condition is called muscle dysmorphia. Often, people suffering from this condition also take steroids with a view to enhance their body image. On the other hand, some people take steroids just for the fun of taking it. It is actually wider manifestation of risk-taking.
