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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Steroids: For Better or Worse?



Many athletes these days refer to steroids in order to inhance their competetive edge. Little do people know there are two different kinds of steroids. There is cortisone which doctors give when a person has an inflamation in the body. Although, that is not the steroid in this case. This steroid is called "Andro." Athletes feel the need to be faster, stronger, and better than the person standing next to them. But athletes don't realize that when they think they are bettering their performance, they are also endangering their bodies. Steroids have harmful chemicals in them which can lead to a number of health problems that people don't think twice about when taking the drug.
So...one may ask how does this drug really work? we know that it builds muscle in the body to enhance performance, but thats not all it does. The drug resembles the natural sex hormone called testosterone, which is made naturally by the body. Dr. Steven Dowshen reports "it increases the level of testosterone in the blood, they stimulate muscle tissue in the body to grow larger and stronger." Yet, is buidling muscle more important than one's health of the body? Two major dangers of steroids are the negative affects of the reproductive system and they are illegal. If the drug is taken too much then the reproductive system starts to be disrupted and side effects such as liver tumors and heart disease start to occur. Athletes tend to not notice these side effects when taking the drug because they are only concerned with the future outcome, which could be a number of things depending on what it was used for. Knowing that steroids are illegal, people still take them for the benefit of being faster, stronger, ect. Although, different athletic organizations have found that if athletes are using these drugs they are banned from the sport. The only way to find out if someone is using the drug is a random drug test. Athletes don't know when or where, but they will come up every couple of months. So is taking a steroid worth enhancing one's performance or making sure that one's body is healthy to perform without the use of the drug?


2 comments:

  1. Steroids are harmful to the body. They endanger they reproductive system, which has a very important role to the body. Athletes use them in order to enhance their performance, but I personally don't see the point. If one is such an athlete then why take them to begin with? I see that the person should use better judgment and not take them but still enhance their performance. Yes, organizations have people who go around yearly and check so people don't get conisdered as "cheating" by using this harmful drug while others are just working hard. Taking a steriod is like risking your life. Once the body becomes amune to it there's no turning back. Athletes then realize after the bad side effects occur that they shouldn't have taken it, but it is too late. So why take it to begin with? There is no point if one is already well off without it. I personally feel disappointed to those who take them because then they in my book are considered cheating. Those that actually take the time to put in the hard work and get an outcome should be rewarded for it. It has been said that "winners never cheat and cheaters never win."
    http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/steroids-athletic-competition-1.htm

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  2. Steroids in all are bad for the body. Athletes only use them because they have no other way of bettering themselves but at a mental state. In reality the steroids are only harming the body and the reproductive system. In a statistical way they help improve, but in the long run one will get caught if taking them because athletes are tested these days in order to prevent the usage altogether. I, myself am an athlete and never has the thought of using a steroid to better my game cross my mind. I don't see the point and honestly, in a way it is cheating. If you can't put in the time and effort you weren't meant to play in the first place. A drug should not define an athlete's skill no matter the case. The fact that there are athletes out there that do use them and don't get caught is a shame. I am disappointed to know that, but at the same time better athletes who don't use them are showing people that natural talent is all it takes.
    http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/performanceenhancingdrugs/a/AnabolicSteroid.htm

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