The Tragedy of Steroids

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Recommended: What are the effects on the human body of anabolic steroids

Steroids that are used by athletes are the artificial form of testosterone, a human hormone released by the body to stimulate and maintain the male sexual organs. Testosterone is called a male hormone since it is produced in men in large quantities compared to the quantity produced in women (Mishra, 1-2). Hormones that are produced by the testes and the adrenal gland in men and ovaries and adrenal gland in women contains certain kind of fat called steroids, natural ones, which means "solid" in Greek. The body produces about 600 different kinds of steroids called androgens these kinds include testosterone. The amount of testosterone produced in males is about 10 to 15 times more than in women. For this reason we notice that women who uses steroids have masculine characteristics (Yesalis, 23-24). A male human body produce an average of 2.5 to 11 mg of testosterone daily, while the average user of steroids take about 100 mg daily (Mishra, 2). When we talk about steroids we are referring to the anabolic-androgenic steroids, but athletes are more concerned with the anabolic property. Anabolic in Greek means, "to build" while androgenic means "masculinizing." Androgenic effect plays a role in the maturation of the male reproduction system and is responsible for hair growth and the deepening of the voice while anabolic effect helps in the growth of the muscles by providing them by retained protein (Anabolic steroids, 1). Anabolic steroids are the result from tests that are were made to produce a drug that has tissue-building ability that of the testosterone and at the same time separating it from testosterone's masculinizing properties. Since the separation did not fully worked out, the proper name of this drug...

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...merican University Library, Beirut. 18 Apr 2001. Sports and Drugs.

? "Racing Demons: Use of performance-enhancing drugs may grab sporting headlines, but the real tragedy is what happens later." Time International. 157.10. p 50+. Mar 12 2001. Infotrac. Galegroup. Lebanese American University Library, Beirut. 18 Apr 2001. Sports and Drugs.

? Reuters. "Drugs as old as Olypmpia, as new as the Internet" ESPN.com. Sep. 19 2000. 19 Apr 2001.

? Ringhofer, Kevin R., & Martha E. Harding. Coaches Guide to Drugs and Sports. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1996.

? "The Psycological Effects of Using Steroids." PlanetPapers. 20 Apr 2001. <http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/432.html>

? Yesalis, Charles E., & Virginia S. Cowart. The Steroids Game: an expert's inside look at anabolic steroid use in sports. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1998.

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