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Anabolic Steroids Essay

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Anabolic Steroids

In today’s society, athletes are revered as heroes. There is immense pressure to be the best. Athletes are willing to do whatever it takes to gain an edge, even if it means compromising their health. For almost three decades, athletes have been supplementing their strength program with anabolic steroids to enhance their performance. To be sure, anabolic steroids are effective supplements to strength training programs, but there is no doubt that the consequences can be deleterious.

What are Anabolic Steroids and how do they work?

Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone. Most healthy males produce 2-10 milligrams per day of testosterone. Testosterone is responsible for …show more content…

Users often utilize a dangerous practice known as stacking, the combination several different types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness (http://www.nashville.net/~acarney/8html).

Protein Synthesis

Anabolic steroids cause enzymes, such as RNA polymerase, to promote two important biochemical reactions, creatine phosphate synthesis and protein synthesis. Creatine phosphate is a molecule that can be metabolized in the absence of sufficient oxygen as a short term energy source. Increased creatine phosphate synthesis enables athletes to train harder and for longer periods of time. Protein synthesis is increased as the newly formed receptor-steroid complex migrates to the nucleus and initiates transcription. The production of RNA is elevated, causing an increased rate of protein synthesis (http://www.bigsport.com/steroids/steroids/roidb11a.txt).

Nitrogen Retention

Anabolic steroids increase the body’s ability to retain nitrogen. By allowing for better utilization of the nitrogen in ingested protein, anabolic steroids help athletes to build body mass (http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsr/hsr/winter97/steroid.html). In order for an athlete to accumulate extra muscle mass, his or her body must temporarily be in a state of positive nitrogen balance; more nitrogen must come into the body than is lost. During strenuous exercise, the release of glucocorticosteroids creates a negative nitrogen balance in the body. Anabolic steroids can reverse this

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