Stories about athletes and steroids seem to pop up regularly in the news. To achieve that ideal body, people go over board and eventually get addicted to this harmful substance. Though steroids find some use in extreme medical conditions, it is best to avoid them as long as you do not particularly require them. Here’s why:
Cause Water Retention
Steroid use results in high levels of water retention, leading to the user becoming “round faced” with puffy cheeks. In addition they also cause acne, bad breath and affect the voice of the consumer.
Affect Your Vision
Long term use of steroids can actually damage the eyes, resulting in eye infections, cataract or glaucoma.
Permanent Baldness
Steroids are essentially made of testosterone that causes the hair follicles to shrink. Eventually, with continued steroid use, the hair follicles die leading to permanent baldness.
Affect Performance
Steroids affect your performance everywhere, be it at the gym, in bed or something like your immunity. This only pushes you to consume heavier steroids and thus traps you in a vicious cycle.
Reduces Longevity
Steroids can reduce your life span as they can cause major harm to your vital organs
• Brain: High dose users are affected with psychotic syndromes and a high level of anxiety. Other effects that appear are, sleep disturbances, feelings of euphoria, high levels of paranoia, various stages of depression
• Heart: Steroid use causes heart disease and increases cholesterol levels, causing a build up of cholesterol on the walls of the blood vessels which can also lead to strokes.
• Kidneys: Steroid users also normally resort to ultra high protein intake, sometime far in excess of normal intake involved with weight training which can lead to kidney stones.
• Liver: Steroid use is known to cause irreversible liver damage and cancers. Oral steroids are difficult for the liver to metabolise leading to a decrease in the ability of the liver to clear waste products.