Many serious athletes are pushing forward to secure a spot on the professional team or to win a medal for their country. So in these situations, several athletes are using performance-enhancing drugs. The thing is, there are risks associated to this process. In relation, it becomes important to know about the potential health risks, benefits and other unknowns in relation to using performance-enhancing drugs similar to the following:

·         Anabolic steroids

·         Androstenedione

·         Human growth hormone

·         Diuretics

·         Erythropoietin

·         Stimulants and;

·         Creatine

Anabolic steroids

There are some athletes who are taking legal steroid Canada as part of their regimen. Steroids or also called as anabolic-androgenic steroids are known to increase strength and muscle mass. The primary anabolic steroid hormone that the body produces is testosterone. And this hormone has 2 major impacts on the body which are:

1.       Androgenic effects which are responsible for several male traits like deeper voice and facial hair and;

2.       Anabolic effects that is promoting muscle building

There are even some athletes that are taking straight testosterone in an effort to boost their overall performance. Anabolic steroids that are used by athletes are typically the synthetic modification of testosterone.

Why Athletes are attracted to Steroids?

Aside from its capability of improving muscle size, this substance might help as well in reducing muscle damage that may take place while working out.

This also helps athletes to recover faster from their workout session and enable them to push their body to the limit more often.

Designer Steroids

One quite risky class of anabolic steroids that is out in the market is the so-called “designer drugs”. Simply put, these are drugs that have been created illicitly to become undetectable by several drug tests. They’re specifically made for athletes and don’t have any approval for medical use.

As a result, they have not been approved by the FDA or Food and Drug Administration and have not been properly tested. If used, especially for prolonged period, it can trigger serious health threat to the user.

What are the Risks?

There are numerous athletes who are taking anabolic steroids at higher doses than what is prescribed. If this practice is not regulated, there is a big chance to suffer from unwanted side effects like the following:

Men might develop:

·         Shrunken testicles

·         Prominent breasts

·         Enlargement of the prostate

·         Infertility

Women might develop:

·         Irreversible deeper voice

·         Irreversible enlarged clitoris

·         Increase in their body hair

·         Irreversible baldness

·         Absent or infrequent periods

This is why regulated consumption of the drug is important to avoid any side effects.