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Thought a few of you might be interested in reading this, ending up getting a B on it, thought I did worse to be honest. Prof. said I did a really good job, and it was interesting read. Dont usual let anyone read my papers except the Prof, so be nice 
To the human eye there are many uplifting and positive characteristics that are captured when analyzing one’s body. Contrary to the positives, there are also a great deal of negative characteristics that are seen throughout this analysis of one’s self. In the long run it may tweak one’s opinion on how they feel about their individual physical shape and or well-being compared to their peers. However, many people believe there is a cure to this health traumatizing issue in which begins to alter such visual negativity into not only positive, but actual body changing results, and this type of cure is defined by the name of Anabolic Steroids. Anabolic Steroids are not only illegal, but are frowned upon in many ways and are commonly misused not only by the professional athletes, but they have found their way into the hands of teenagers, college students, and the common gym rat . With this growing issue there has been a tremendous amount of controversy on the true harm Anabolic Steroids can do to the human body, as well as the misconception given by the media about such substances. Throughout the years Anabolic Steroids have made their way into history within the media and has had drastic impact on the reputation they carry today. Taking a serious look into the often looked over competition between top athletes using illegal substances to gain an edge, and the scientist scrambling to keep up with the new drugs being created (Aschwanden 1). Top athletes have scientists of their own, scientists who have used their knowledge to not only fool their counterpart scientists attempting to prevent doping in sports, theses scientists additionally have fooled the athletes into believing the substances will not be detected. The negative outcome of this is the use of anabolic steroids by top athletes has deceived society into believe these illegal substance are safe, and used without legal punishment. This vision of pro athletes thinking they are using “Undetectable” drugs to improve performance, continue to use such substance throughout personal training, and even competition. With that comes Steroid education, which is lacking in the health- fitness communities such as local gyms and schools. Education on such a popular, but misused substance should not be thought of lightly and can make a difference in one’s perspective. For example, according the study “The Determination of the Physical Education and Sports Academy Students’ Information, opinions and Thoughts about using Doping who are Interested in Football, and Sports Division” 80% said “No” to the question “Do you have enough information about doping?” (Lok 115). Proper education about the compounds in which Doping consist of, can help one understand its harmful contents as well as why you should not inject your body with certain mixtures that can cause negative present and future side effects.
One of the Original investigators of the testosterone hormone was a French doctor Charles Edouard brown-Sequard; in July of 1889 he released an article in the Lancet titled “The Effects Produced on Man by Subcutaneous Injections of a Liquid Obtained from the Testicles of Animals.” The main idea of his article was “since young men were virile and older men less so, the only natural solution was to inject older specimens with semen.” Brown-Sequard volunteered himself to test his thesis, he injected himself with a mixture of:”Water mixed with the three following parts: first, blood of the testicular veins; secondly, semen; and thirdly, juice extracted from a testicle, crushed immediately after it has been taken from a dog or a guinea pig.” Though the scientific community at the time did not endorse Brown-Sequard’s idea of doping, unfortunately for them he was on the path to discovering a very important hormone in semen, testosterone (Davidson 3). Advancements over the years proved that synthetic testosterone could be used as a replacement to natural testosterone, because the human body cannot differentiate between the two. There are three forms of Steroid intake to ones body, Oral Pills/Liquid, Injection, and skin patches. Of those 3 the most abused are injection and oral forms of steroids. Skin Patches and cream are most common for HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) and rarely abused by athletes and gym rats. When abused, steroids are taken in cycles rather than continuously over long periods of time, a cycle usual consists of 12-14 weeks of use of steroids. Most commonly, the steroids used during a cycle are testosterone, boldenone, nadrolone, and trenbolone (Lippi 366). Each compound has its negative and positive effects on the human body; if properly studied and learned, the substances can be used with positives out weighing the negatives effects. Continuing, proper information on these substances is not easily obtained, nor is it properly taught to anyone at any age level. This causes the negative outlook on steroids we see today, furthermore why athletes, students, and gym rats continue to use wrong substances, or not use certain substances to counteract negative side effects of steroid use.
When using Anabolic Steroids there is no way to eliminate some sort of bodily harm, but proper usage may be one way to ensure safe participation. However, it is safe to say that most young individuals who choose to use these substances do so not only for personal satisfaction, but because of the influence athletes have on young Americans. “6.3%” of High school students acknowledged current or former use of anabolic steroids, “5% to 20%” college level football players admitted steroid use in a survey (Walker 1044). Yet as previously stated, 80% claim improper education on doping. Therein lies the problem, young adults are using substances they have no information on; all they have been informed about is that steroid use is harmful to the body in many ways. Minimal to no information has been provided on what serious damage can be done to young adults’ bodies if steroids are used before a certain age, depending on each individual’s hormonal release rate. “About three million people in the United States use Anabolic-androgenic steroids- 1 in 4 steroid users start as a teenager, and 1 in 10 is a teenager” (Liberatore 70) Those numbers are staggering, with the improper information given to these many teenage boys and girls, they may never know the damage they are doing to their body until it causes irreversible damage. Teenagers are still developing throughout puberty; the negative outcome can be considerably eminent in comparison to adults. “The influx of artificial testosterone in a teen’s body may trigger the end of the growth spurt that occurs during puberty and cause bones to stop growing prematurely—halting growth before teens reach their full adult height” (Liberatore 71). The negatives continue into adults and teenagers combined, improper injecting techniques, such as improper cleaning of the area prior to injection, can lead to health risks suck as “HIV, hepatitis B and C, and endocarditis, a bacterial infection that inflames the inner lining of the heart and is potentially fatal.” (Liberatore 71). Steroids used improperly and at a premature age have serious consequences, that can be easily solved with proper education.
Testing in professional sports is lackluster at best, though small steps are being made to rid these anabolic substances from pro sports. Rules in sports may be wrong, or challenge athletes too much, putting unneeded pressure on them, but that should not be an excuse to use any sort of substance not approved in competition. Laying the blame on the leagues is an exasperated excuse that takes away from the individual athlete from resultant accountability (Carlson 6). Awareness of steroid use in sports was obvious during the 1960’s, the time it took National and International sports federations was ridiculously slow. Anti doping laws in sports were implemented but barely enforced, not until 1999 was a world “anti-doping” code drawn into place, suspending athletes for 2-years if found to have used a banned substance (Jost 2). Turning the attention to the use of steroids in Major League Baseball, and the lack of testing in previous years. Many baseball fans must wonder which records were achieved through use of performance enhancing drugs, or through clean training and hard work. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are easily considered the best hitter (Bonds) and the best pitcher (Clemens) to play the game over the past 50 years, quite possibly best of all time at their respective positions. Both players have been alleged to have used steroids throughout their careers, but it was never brought to attention until both players had broken many records and retired from the game (Solberg 91). “By the 1990s the development of ‘designer’ steroids and other substances had created a situation in which athletes were not only reaping tremendous advantages through their use but also were able to dramatically decrease the probability of being caught through the then-existing testing methods.” (Solberg 92). This was all in front of the faces of National and International federations which looked the other way when they could have been making testing a lot more difficult to cheat. It’s an uphill battle federations have to climb, and they continue to be multiple steps behind.
Young athletes follow professional sports and look up to the players; they would give anything to be one of them, able to play the sport they love everyday for a living. These young adults, in some cases, will do anything they can to achieve such goals, even go as far as using steroids to gain the edge they believe is needed to make it to the next level. Yet, very little is taught in class about these substances and the serious risks they impose on young people, not yet fully developed physically and emotionally; in addition, media does very little to explain these substances either, all that is done is the bashing of the compounds, but never any studies or facts to prove such negatives. “Specifically, issues of illegality received the most coverage, followed by drug testing, health costs, suspensions for steroid use, fines for steroids usage, and the financial expenses of purchasing steroids.” (Quick 251). Steroid education does not appear on the list whatsoever, education of these substance and the effects they have on the human body must be taught beginning in middle school, without exception. Teens and pre teens have more pressure on them than ever before to look better, perform better, and all around do better in life; this pressure can lead these young people to make rash decisions. If they knew all the effects of such substances, they wouldn’t second-guess the use of them at such a young age. At least a three to four week steroid education program should be implemented into health class in middle school and high school each year, with proper education comes educated decisions; steroids are a drug, and they should be taught that way, just like all the other drugs pounded into the heads of young adults throughout adolescence.
Harsher testing and stronger penalties must be implemented worldwide in pro sports involving the use of banned substances such as steroids, or be allowed entirely, but with proper use and education at a proper age. “Lab chief Catlin says it took three months of chemical testing to crack the code of the new steroid and develop a test to detect it—a chastening reminder of the difficulties of policing performance-enhancing drugs. “There are always new drugs moving in and the old ones moving out,” he says” (Jost 4). It’s an uphill battle for scientists to keep up with steroid creating scientists, money and time are at a premium, unfortunately to rid these substances from pro sports entirely will cost mass amounts of both. “Testing is expensive—as much as $500 to $1,000 or more per test.” Testing is susceptible to error, cover-up or even sabotage. And testing can be circumvented.” (Jost 4). If it’s determined the total deletion of steroids from sports is the only solution, then testing must be taken more seriously immediately. It’s a battle that looks more and more like it cannot be won; if steroids were to ever become legal, and properly tested, the truth of these substances would be revealed. Anti-doping officials have stated that they don’t even know the possible negative effects steroids have, because no medical evidence is provided. Fost, one of the most popular steroid advocates said “There is a nearly uniform claim as to steroids that they’re very dangerous, they can cause death, cancer, heart attacks, none of that is supported by any medical evidence, or at least it’s widely exaggerated.” (Jost 4). Steroids should be properly studied and then a determination should be made on the use of them in pro sports and in society itself. The media needs to have the facts on steroids, or keep quiet on the subject, too little is known to be making assumptions. In the upcoming years, studies must be done on every steroid, and if it is determined to be to harmful for human use, testing has to be increased to it maximum capabilities.
To the human eye there are many uplifting and positive characteristics that are captured when analyzing one’s body. Contrary to the positives, there are also a great deal of negative characteristics that are seen throughout this analysis of one’s self. In the long run it may tweak one’s opinion on how they feel about their individual physical shape and or well-being compared to their peers. However, many people believe there is a cure to this health traumatizing issue in which begins to alter such visual negativity into not only positive, but actual body changing results, and this type of cure is defined by the name of Anabolic Steroids. Anabolic Steroids are not only illegal, but are frowned upon in many ways and are commonly misused not only by the professional athletes, but they have found their way into the hands of teenagers, college students, and the common gym rat . With this growing issue there has been a tremendous amount of controversy on the true harm Anabolic Steroids can do to the human body, as well as the misconception given by the media about such substances. Throughout the years Anabolic Steroids have made their way into history within the media and has had drastic impact on the reputation they carry today. Taking a serious look into the often looked over competition between top athletes using illegal substances to gain an edge, and the scientist scrambling to keep up with the new drugs being created (Aschwanden 1). Top athletes have scientists of their own, scientists who have used their knowledge to not only fool their counterpart scientists attempting to prevent doping in sports, theses scientists additionally have fooled the athletes into believing the substances will not be detected. The negative outcome of this is the use of anabolic steroids by top athletes has deceived society into believe these illegal substance are safe, and used without legal punishment. This vision of pro athletes thinking they are using “Undetectable” drugs to improve performance, continue to use such substance throughout personal training, and even competition. With that comes Steroid education, which is lacking in the health- fitness communities such as local gyms and schools. Education on such a popular, but misused substance should not be thought of lightly and can make a difference in one’s perspective. For example, according the study “The Determination of the Physical Education and Sports Academy Students’ Information, opinions and Thoughts about using Doping who are Interested in Football, and Sports Division” 80% said “No” to the question “Do you have enough information about doping?” (Lok 115). Proper education about the compounds in which Doping consist of, can help one understand its harmful contents as well as why you should not inject your body with certain mixtures that can cause negative present and future side effects.
One of the Original investigators of the testosterone hormone was a French doctor Charles Edouard brown-Sequard; in July of 1889 he released an article in the Lancet titled “The Effects Produced on Man by Subcutaneous Injections of a Liquid Obtained from the Testicles of Animals.” The main idea of his article was “since young men were virile and older men less so, the only natural solution was to inject older specimens with semen.” Brown-Sequard volunteered himself to test his thesis, he injected himself with a mixture of:”Water mixed with the three following parts: first, blood of the testicular veins; secondly, semen; and thirdly, juice extracted from a testicle, crushed immediately after it has been taken from a dog or a guinea pig.” Though the scientific community at the time did not endorse Brown-Sequard’s idea of doping, unfortunately for them he was on the path to discovering a very important hormone in semen, testosterone (Davidson 3). Advancements over the years proved that synthetic testosterone could be used as a replacement to natural testosterone, because the human body cannot differentiate between the two. There are three forms of Steroid intake to ones body, Oral Pills/Liquid, Injection, and skin patches. Of those 3 the most abused are injection and oral forms of steroids. Skin Patches and cream are most common for HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) and rarely abused by athletes and gym rats. When abused, steroids are taken in cycles rather than continuously over long periods of time, a cycle usual consists of 12-14 weeks of use of steroids. Most commonly, the steroids used during a cycle are testosterone, boldenone, nadrolone, and trenbolone (Lippi 366). Each compound has its negative and positive effects on the human body; if properly studied and learned, the substances can be used with positives out weighing the negatives effects. Continuing, proper information on these substances is not easily obtained, nor is it properly taught to anyone at any age level. This causes the negative outlook on steroids we see today, furthermore why athletes, students, and gym rats continue to use wrong substances, or not use certain substances to counteract negative side effects of steroid use.
When using Anabolic Steroids there is no way to eliminate some sort of bodily harm, but proper usage may be one way to ensure safe participation. However, it is safe to say that most young individuals who choose to use these substances do so not only for personal satisfaction, but because of the influence athletes have on young Americans. “6.3%” of High school students acknowledged current or former use of anabolic steroids, “5% to 20%” college level football players admitted steroid use in a survey (Walker 1044). Yet as previously stated, 80% claim improper education on doping. Therein lies the problem, young adults are using substances they have no information on; all they have been informed about is that steroid use is harmful to the body in many ways. Minimal to no information has been provided on what serious damage can be done to young adults’ bodies if steroids are used before a certain age, depending on each individual’s hormonal release rate. “About three million people in the United States use Anabolic-androgenic steroids- 1 in 4 steroid users start as a teenager, and 1 in 10 is a teenager” (Liberatore 70) Those numbers are staggering, with the improper information given to these many teenage boys and girls, they may never know the damage they are doing to their body until it causes irreversible damage. Teenagers are still developing throughout puberty; the negative outcome can be considerably eminent in comparison to adults. “The influx of artificial testosterone in a teen’s body may trigger the end of the growth spurt that occurs during puberty and cause bones to stop growing prematurely—halting growth before teens reach their full adult height” (Liberatore 71). The negatives continue into adults and teenagers combined, improper injecting techniques, such as improper cleaning of the area prior to injection, can lead to health risks suck as “HIV, hepatitis B and C, and endocarditis, a bacterial infection that inflames the inner lining of the heart and is potentially fatal.” (Liberatore 71). Steroids used improperly and at a premature age have serious consequences, that can be easily solved with proper education.
Testing in professional sports is lackluster at best, though small steps are being made to rid these anabolic substances from pro sports. Rules in sports may be wrong, or challenge athletes too much, putting unneeded pressure on them, but that should not be an excuse to use any sort of substance not approved in competition. Laying the blame on the leagues is an exasperated excuse that takes away from the individual athlete from resultant accountability (Carlson 6). Awareness of steroid use in sports was obvious during the 1960’s, the time it took National and International sports federations was ridiculously slow. Anti doping laws in sports were implemented but barely enforced, not until 1999 was a world “anti-doping” code drawn into place, suspending athletes for 2-years if found to have used a banned substance (Jost 2). Turning the attention to the use of steroids in Major League Baseball, and the lack of testing in previous years. Many baseball fans must wonder which records were achieved through use of performance enhancing drugs, or through clean training and hard work. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are easily considered the best hitter (Bonds) and the best pitcher (Clemens) to play the game over the past 50 years, quite possibly best of all time at their respective positions. Both players have been alleged to have used steroids throughout their careers, but it was never brought to attention until both players had broken many records and retired from the game (Solberg 91). “By the 1990s the development of ‘designer’ steroids and other substances had created a situation in which athletes were not only reaping tremendous advantages through their use but also were able to dramatically decrease the probability of being caught through the then-existing testing methods.” (Solberg 92). This was all in front of the faces of National and International federations which looked the other way when they could have been making testing a lot more difficult to cheat. It’s an uphill battle federations have to climb, and they continue to be multiple steps behind.
Young athletes follow professional sports and look up to the players; they would give anything to be one of them, able to play the sport they love everyday for a living. These young adults, in some cases, will do anything they can to achieve such goals, even go as far as using steroids to gain the edge they believe is needed to make it to the next level. Yet, very little is taught in class about these substances and the serious risks they impose on young people, not yet fully developed physically and emotionally; in addition, media does very little to explain these substances either, all that is done is the bashing of the compounds, but never any studies or facts to prove such negatives. “Specifically, issues of illegality received the most coverage, followed by drug testing, health costs, suspensions for steroid use, fines for steroids usage, and the financial expenses of purchasing steroids.” (Quick 251). Steroid education does not appear on the list whatsoever, education of these substance and the effects they have on the human body must be taught beginning in middle school, without exception. Teens and pre teens have more pressure on them than ever before to look better, perform better, and all around do better in life; this pressure can lead these young people to make rash decisions. If they knew all the effects of such substances, they wouldn’t second-guess the use of them at such a young age. At least a three to four week steroid education program should be implemented into health class in middle school and high school each year, with proper education comes educated decisions; steroids are a drug, and they should be taught that way, just like all the other drugs pounded into the heads of young adults throughout adolescence.
Harsher testing and stronger penalties must be implemented worldwide in pro sports involving the use of banned substances such as steroids, or be allowed entirely, but with proper use and education at a proper age. “Lab chief Catlin says it took three months of chemical testing to crack the code of the new steroid and develop a test to detect it—a chastening reminder of the difficulties of policing performance-enhancing drugs. “There are always new drugs moving in and the old ones moving out,” he says” (Jost 4). It’s an uphill battle for scientists to keep up with steroid creating scientists, money and time are at a premium, unfortunately to rid these substances from pro sports entirely will cost mass amounts of both. “Testing is expensive—as much as $500 to $1,000 or more per test.” Testing is susceptible to error, cover-up or even sabotage. And testing can be circumvented.” (Jost 4). If it’s determined the total deletion of steroids from sports is the only solution, then testing must be taken more seriously immediately. It’s a battle that looks more and more like it cannot be won; if steroids were to ever become legal, and properly tested, the truth of these substances would be revealed. Anti-doping officials have stated that they don’t even know the possible negative effects steroids have, because no medical evidence is provided. Fost, one of the most popular steroid advocates said “There is a nearly uniform claim as to steroids that they’re very dangerous, they can cause death, cancer, heart attacks, none of that is supported by any medical evidence, or at least it’s widely exaggerated.” (Jost 4). Steroids should be properly studied and then a determination should be made on the use of them in pro sports and in society itself. The media needs to have the facts on steroids, or keep quiet on the subject, too little is known to be making assumptions. In the upcoming years, studies must be done on every steroid, and if it is determined to be to harmful for human use, testing has to be increased to it maximum capabilities.
