Are the Health Risks of Anabolic Steroids Exaggerated? by Jerry Brainum 11/23

 

In recent months, several prominent champion bodybuilders have died and since many of them were relatively young, the first thought that came to the minds of many people was that their deaths were likely related to high-dose anabolic steroid usage. Anabolic steroids are structurally altered versions of testosterone. They are altered because when testosterone is consumed orally, it's rapidly degraded in the liver. Bodybuilders and athletes use steroids to pack on added muscle and use other anabolic agents, such as growth hormone and insulin to offset possible catabolic or breakdown effects in muscle, which anabolic steroids also do. Although testosterone was isolated in 1935, and the first oral anabolic steroid, methyltestosterone, was developed in 1934, the widespread use of anabolic steroids in sports and bodybuilding didn't become prevalent until much later.

A few bodybuilders of the 40s and 50s, such as Reg Park and Steve Reeves, have often been accused of using anabolic steroids to attain their superlative degree of muscular development. However, both men vehemently denied ever using the drugs, and facts confirm that they didn't. The first suggested use of testosterone occurred in 1941, when it was thought to be helpful to treat mental depression in men. There was no discussion at the time of any pronounced anabolic or athletic use of the hormone. The first mention of that was in a book published in 1945 by Paul de Kruif called The Male Hormone, in which the suggestion was made that using testosterone would significantly increase athletic ability. But that suggestion was largely ignored. As such, testosterone was a relatively rare drug in the 40s and early 50s and certainly was not used by any athletes or bodybuilders.

Anabolic steroids entered the scene in the early 50s. A major problem with testosterone had to do with androgenic effects. Such effects included hair loss, acne, and possible prostate gland problems. Scientists sought to produce a drug that would emphasize the more desirable anabolic characteristics of testosterone, such as helping to build muscle and bone mass while minimizing side effects related to the androgenic effects of the hormone. That led to the development of anabolic steroids, synthetic, modified versions of testosterone that were considerably more anabolic than testosterone. Although the first oral anabolic steroid, methyltestosterone, was developed in 1934, it soon became apparent that its widespread use wasn't practical because of liver-toxic effects. So, the goal of steroid chemists was to produce oral and injected drugs that were far more anabolic compared to testosterone. The ultimate goal was to produce a drug that was 100% anabolic, but that goal was never achieved. While the newly developed oral anabolic steroid drugs were less toxic in the liver, they also produced the most common side effect of liver stress as exemplified by inflammation in the liver. 

Precisely when anabolic steroid use began in bodybuilding isn't clear, but it is thought to have occurred . . .