Anabolic Steroids

Subject  > Humanities Essays  > Health & Medicine  > Sports

Since ancient history, many athletes have resorted to performance enhancing aids to give them an edge on their opponents. Greek Olympians used strychnine and hallucinogenic mushrooms to psych up for an event. 'In 1886 a French cyclist was the first athlete to die from using a performance enhancer, called speedballs, a mixture of cocaine and heroin. In the 1920's, physicians inserted slices of monkey testicles into male athletes to help boost vitality. In the 1930's Aldof Hitler allegedly administered the hormone testosterone to himself and his troops to increase aggressiveness' (Schrof, 54). Athletes had already begun using the male hormone testosterone to boost performance by the 1940's. The first synthetic anabolic steroid was developed ...

... a marked increase in the level of cortisol, the body's major stress hormone (Schwarzenegger, 726). This can also lead to hypertension, stress and neurologic problems. Steroid users also experience higher levels of aggression, often called ' 'roid rages' (Schwarzenegger, 726). A recent study has definitively shown that anabolic steroids can cause temporary mental problems, including mood swings and violent impulses (Time, 16). These aggressions can grow to and become a major problem.         Although many of the long term side effects have not been determined, the short term side effects can be harmful, even fatal. Athletes who choose to use steroids or other hormones must take into consideration

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