Steroids the Silent Killer essays

Steroids the Silent Killer essays It is no secret that anabolic steroids have been used by athletes for decades, or that athletes will do anything to gain an edge in competition. Many athletes feel that they are pushed too far to reach the next level, that they must turn to an outside influence for help. Some think that anabolic steroids will give them an advantage. Unfortunately, these people are correct. Steroids make the user stronger and faster in less time than training naturally. However, anabolic steroids should be banned by all professional sports because they have terrible physiological and psychological side effects, they give an unfair advantage to those who use them, and steroid users set a bad example for todays junior athletes. The word anabolic means the ability to promote body growth and repair body tissue. Steroid refers to a number of compounds of a certain chemical nature. Anabolic steroids are defined as any of a group of synthetic derivatives of testosterone that promotes muscle and bone growth. Steroids occur naturally in the human body in many forms. Steroids that are synthetically created for illegal purposes contain some form of the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone stimulates the development of secondary sexual characteristics after puberty. When testosterone is released in the body, it is carried in the bloodstream. Since it is carried in the blood, it travels to every organ in the body. Cells absorb the testosterone where it is processed by the nucleus. The nucleus produces new proteins which create new tissue or muscle. This is why steroid users become larger and stronger in less time. The high levels of testosterone in the body make it possible for cells to create more mu scles in less time. The idea that sex hormones might improve physical or athletic performance was first developed in 1939. Studies were conducted as early as 1944 to confirm this theory. At the same time it was...