Bigger stonger faster

The use of steroids is both frowned upon and at the same time encouraged in our media. For example the same year that President George Bush senior signed the steroids control act, he appointed Arnold Schwarzenegger (an open steroid user) the chairman of the presidents counsel for physical fitness. Steve Rogers who is depicted as the ultimate American hero who embodies good and honesty is given a steroid and transformed the great Captain America. In the world of sports and athletics, everyone is always looking for a new trick or tool to gain a leg up on the competition. Many times this leads athletes to the use of steroids. Now when you hear the term steroid, one can easily imagine all the negative stigmas that have been widely broadcaster through the news, media and even government. Heart attack, stroke, roid rage ect these are just a few of the negative affects that we are told comes with the use of steroids. However, in the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster it is documented that these accusations have never truly been studied.

Before we decide if steroids are in fact as horrible as we are told they are. I would like to define just exactly what a steroid really is, steroids are in fact synthetic versions of hormones that a body produces naturally. Many steroids are widely used and accepted in the world of medicine such as insulin, cortisone and even birth control pills. However when we hear the word steroid what often comes to mind is anabolic steroids, these steroids are made from the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone tells the body to increase muscle growth along with recover from hard work outs. Steroids, like any drug have side effects and if abused will obviously increase these side effects. Side effects in men include hair growth, acne, raised cholesterol and lowered sperm count. However, all these side effects can be reversed once steroid use has stopped. Contrary to popular belief, there is no proof that steroids can cause cancer, kidney failure and only high doses of oral steroids have been shown to cause liver complications.

While I am not a supporter of steroids in professional and competitive sports and any level, the use of steroids for the average joe is no worse than the use of alcohol for the desired affect that it brings. Anabolic steroids are used by most for personal reasons, to gain a certain muscle definition that was unobtainable without the usage. However, this does not mean that the end result does not come without an extreme amount of hard work. Like any medication/drug there is a risk to benefit scale, but if used responsibly and properly I do not see a reason why steroids cannot be used in a recreational setting.

            In today’s world, we are open and accepting to many different types of steroid usage. Steroids are used for countless medical benefits and is even accepted to mass produce the food that we eat. I believe it is a fair question to ask, why the use of anabolic steroids is considered any more dangerous than any drug/medication that is used for the benefit of the body.