By definition, anabolic steroids are the synthetic versions of the naturally occurring male sex hormone testosterone. Recent statistics report that over 3 million athletes and bodybuilders in this country alone have used anabolic steroids. A recent Sports Illustrated article has stated that 90% of professional athletes have at one time taken some form of illegal performance enhancing drugs. Without a doubt, they are illegal; but there is some controversy over whether or not they are safe. Most athletes have heard the horror stories about using steroids. However, there are perfectly safe uses for steroids. Yet, the horror stories are true.
Although steroids were first used by Hitler to increase aggression in his soldiers, they were soon adapted for medicinal use. For instance, the effect of rapid weight gain can be used to save lives. People with diseases that cause them to rapidly lose weight are often prescri
bed steroids. One example of this is AIDS wasting syndrome. Steroids may also be prescribed to increase muscle growth in seriously under-developed individuals. Another example is severe anemia. Those who have severe difficulty absorbing the nutrients that they need can be prescribed anabolic steroids. Perhaps one of the most common disorders for which steroids are prescribed is hormone deficiency in males. As stated above, steroids are synthetic male growth hormones. Those who are unable to produce testosterone must be given synthetic testosterones in the form of steroids. Another legal usage of steroids is as follows. Steroids are often prescribed to patients recovering from surgery, especially young boys. A few other disorders for which steroids are used are bone pain accompanying osteoporosis, hereditary angioedema, and metastatic breast cancer in women. For all these reasons, many argue that steroids are purely beneficial. However, some people have use
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