PEDS – Performance Enhancement Drugs
The history of performance enhancement follows a timeline as vastly embedded in our history as the sports themselves. These taboo substances are of the most absolutely misunderstood category in modern medicine, and will remain as such until the cloudy illusion filled veil enveloping them is torn down.
The use of performance enhancing “substances/drugs ” for sporting spurs back as far the ancient Greek competitions of old, where contestants often chewed cocoa leaves or a utterly vast array of other “potions/concoctions”. Although the understanding of the full effect of what we now know as Testosterone was yet to be developed, the knowledge base of the substance can even be traced back to the original ancient Olympic Games was of the first proving grounds for the trials of Performance enhancement through testosterone. Athletes often chose to ingest animal testicles, often copious amounts over time, before heading to compete. The modern revolution, or renaissance, on could say truly began in the heat of the deadliest war to date. These experiments and clinical experiments began to reveal a hormone located within the testes was the true catalyst that fueled these experiments. The 1930’s synthesizing of these hormones, namely testosterone marked the turning point into the true world of performance enhancement. A true revolution came Early on in 1931 a German chemist, Adolf Butenandt, found a way to pin-point and purify the powerful hormone Androstenone. This was a catalyst for another German Shortly chemist Leopold Ruzicka, Who was expanding on Butenandt’s accomplishments/works, to develop a breakthrough means of synthesizing the hormone to make it safe for human usage. Shortly after his earlier...
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...seases, and many more. These benefits they boast can be used to treat a diverse range of diseases/disorders such as muscle wasting diseases, Hiv, sports injuries, and is even applicable for many cancer patients.
In conclusion it is clear to see that once the shroud of myth and lore that has smeared all of performance enhancement drugs we get a true understanding of their real basis. With all fallacies aside it is plain to comprehend that, of the substances abused without our chemical dependency book, Steroids and most performance enhancement drugs, are the least likely to cause derogatory effects. In fact, these “drugs” are often the miracle needed to save a life or to simply better ones sense of physical well being. Clearly it is time to shed all of these mythos and actually unveil the realm of steroids and performance enhancing drugs for the marvel they truly are.
Professional athletes, throughout history, have been exalted for their outstanding abilities and achievements in sports. Unfortunately, many athletes have turned to anabolic steroids in order to give them an edge, a boost their athletic performance. Starting with the 1954 World Weightlifting Championships, where the Soviets unexpectedly dominated their lifting classes with the use of steroids, it has become increasingly popular among athletes to cheat with the help of this drug. Although the appeal to steroid use is evident when observing how it increases someone’s athletic abilities, many users fail to consider the detrimental side effects of the drug. Also, in my opinion, athletes should be expected to perform based upon their natural abilities, opposed to abilities enhanced by anabolic steroids. Ultimately, anabolic steroids should continue to be illegal in professional sports due to their major health risks and the unfair advantage they serve players.
According to the reference text anabolic steroids in sport and exercise 2000, Experimentation with synthetic steroids on animals and castrate men began as early as 1911, and by 1935, the hormone testosterone had been isolated, chemically characterized, and the basic nature of its anabolic effects had become clear. It was shortly here after that oral and injectable preparations were made available ...
The problems with performance enhancing drugs are that they give the user unfair advantages over other athletes and come with many health risks such as baldness. Steroid use can result in very substantial legal consequences and can ruin the user’s reputation. There are many alternatives to steroids but not all of them are safe. Different organizations have different rules on steroids, but in most cases, the user can get suspended, fined, or even both. Various types of steroids can have various short-term or long-term side effects. There are several types of steroids, the most popular ones being anabolic steroids. Historically, steroids have been around for many years, but the debate surrounding them started recently, more specifically a few decades ago. An important term to know is anabolic steroids which are made to work with the user’s muscle mass. Another term to know is clarified by Ida Walker, author of the book, Steroids: Pumped Up and Dangerous, published by Mason Crest Publishers in 2008, defines, peliosis hepatis is a rare condition in which cysts filled with blood form in the liver, if the cysts were to pop then internal bleeding would occur. A positive argument about steroids is stated by Adrianne Blue, author of the essay, “Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Legal,” published in the book Athletes and Drug Use, published in 2009, disputes, “Blue concludes that legalizing performance- enhancing drugs can protect athletes from dangerously abusing them.” The utilization of performance enhancing drugs has left a giant scar on sports and has compromised the achievements of many athletes; therefore, they are transforming the sports world into a drug filled world.
In our days, most people have set the goal and dream to have the perfect body. They believe by having this image, they will be popular and/or attractive. People want to achieve the body that they desire, like a super star, a hero in a Hollywood movie, a strong soldier, and an Olympic athlete. However, what are the extent people will go to get the perfect body? The biggest problem for those who dream to have a beautiful body today, as many people know, is the consumption of steroids. It is amazing what people and athletes will do to enhance their performance, strength and muscle size by taking steroids. Whether right or wrong people who use steroids to become the fastest and strongest will prevail, so who would turn down a substance that could turn them into a super athlete and a muscle man? The purpose of this essay is to inform the reader on the popular anabolic steroids that most people use and the positive and negative side effects of steroid use on its users and finally my personal point of view.
For those who've never heard of the term PED's, Performance enhancing drugs are any supplements that are considered to allow one perform better in their respective sports ,such as anabolic steroids and HGH( Human Growth hormones). The effects of these supplements can range from expediting muscle to increasing one's stamina. PEDs began to become the center of controversy when the I.O.C set up a medical commission to oversee the fight against doping, which ultimately lead to the ban of PED's in professional sports. Stemming off from the I.O.C...
You’ve all seen them, the enormously large muscle-heads at the gym, the participates of the World’s Strongest Man Competition, the amazing offensive tackles, and the lightning fast runners. They were all unnaturally strong, and looked like gods. You tend to obsess over how beautiful their bodies are, how strong they are, or how fast they can run. All you can think about is reaching that level of athletic excellence, and nothing will hold you back. At times like these some people tend to take the quick fit to get closer to their idols, in the form of steroids. But what individuals tend not see is the horrible side effects that accompany the use of these anabolic steroids. These powerful drugs have both positive and negative results from their use. Along with increased strength and size, users of steroids suffer from a wide range of sicknesses such as cancer, shrinkage of testicles, bad acne, hair loss, damage organs, intense mood swings, and impotence.
The use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs is a common trend that is currently fascinating athletes all over the world. Athletes who are using these drugs are damaging the sport and harming their bodies at the same time. Seeking a greater athletic physique and ability, athletes turned to the use of steroids. Once the dangers and possible health risks arose, athletes then turned to performance enhancers. Two specific supplements have taken the sports world by storm and now are being used by athletes of all ages. They are androstenedione and creatine. It took years until people began to understand how dangerous steroids really were. These performance enhancers, like androstenedione and creatine are going to produce the same results.
Over the last few years, the use of anabolic steroids has gained the utmost prominence and has been appearing in the media much more frequently as compared to the last few years. However, the main cause for concern in today’s society is that there is a huge increase in the usage of such harmful medicines and has become utterly common in today's society. With an increase in the hormone testosterone, any individual would certainly be more aggressive and his/her personality would change by obtaining the particular medicine. Although the use of steroids can certainly improve an individual’s endurance, muscle mass, stamina and strength but they can’t improve the natural ability of an individual and can increase his skill-set (Hartgens & Kuipers, 2004).
Athletes are always searching for ways to enhance their performance. Recently, beginning in the 1950s, that search has included the use of illegal substances like steroids and growth hormones. Illegal substances have been used widely by athletes in hop es of achieving the desired Olympic gold medal or multi-million dollar contract. Some nations, for example the late East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s, have mandated the use of steroids by their athletes. The downside of using those illegal substances is that because they are illegal, getting caught using them can lead to losing that coveted gold medal, a lifetime ban from sports, and a total loss of honor and dignity. This is why the search is now on to find some legal means of enhancing athletic per formance.
“Performance Enhancing Drugs: Know the Risks.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 June 2013
Many Athletes are willing to do whatever it takes to become a professional. One of the easiest ways to enhance natural ability is through performance-enhancing drugs or, PEDs. PEDs are substances used by athletes to increase their performance. The use of PEDs in athletic competition can date back to ancient Greece. Athletes use PEDs to run faster, jump higher and recover at an increased pace. Many athletes are pressured into using PEDs by coaches or managers and are not thoroughly educated the harmful health issues that can come along with taking performance-enhancing drugs. A rising issue is if performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed in professional sports. I believe that in any professional sport, the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes should continue to be banned because this rule will help to keep athletes from abusing these harmful drugs.
Steroids are more than just muscle enhancers. It goes into more depth than that. Athletes use them to get the advantage on their opponent but that’s all one really knows. What really happens with the users body besides going weak to strong? It’s the science that goes in to it that gives the user its physical results. Steroids have many effects on the body both good and bad, whether it’s becoming bigger or becoming less of a man or woman, literally. When someone makes the choice to use steroids, they are getting into more than they can imagine. Steroids change your body completely and can be more bad than good. Steroids have more effects than one may think and are definitely overlooked when it comes to being a medicine and a science rather than a performance enhancer.
Steroids became an option to athletes in the Olympics and other major sporting events during the 1950’s. But this use of steroids among athletes only became widely apparent when Canadian sprint runner Ben Johnson tested positive for steroid use after winning the gold medal for the one hundred-meter dash during the 1988 Olympics (Francis, 45). Now a skinny fifteen-year-old can just walk down to the local gym and find people who either sell or know how to get in contact with those who sell the drug that will make him envious of his friends. Steroids are an attractive drug. While steroids seem harmless to the unaware user, they can have a risky effect. Most of the time whether the users are new or experienced, they do not know the dangerous consequences steroids can have on their bodies and their minds. Though steroids cause a relatively insignificant number of deaths in our society, the banning of steroids is justified because steroids have a lot of side effects not known to the uninformed user.
06 Jan. 2014. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470510544.ch70/summary>. Haugen, Kjetil K. "Why We Shouldn’t Allow Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport." Academia.edu. Academia.edu, 1 Apr. 2011.
Overall it is clear that the need to use performance enhancing drugs is outweighed by the consequences and issues caused by performance enhancing drugs. Sporting events such as the world cup, the Olympics or the World Series make young children feel inspired and encouraged about what they could achieve through dedication and hard work. I feel it is important for the sporting industry as well as the athletes to return respectability to the sport. By