Anabolics Mall
What are anabolics? What are androgenic anabolic steriods?
The term "anabolic" describes any substance that promotes the
building of muscle tissue or the accumulation of nitrogen in muscle
protein.
The normal body is constantly breaking down and removing old
cells and tissues and replacing them with new ones. The process of
break down and removal is medically known as catabolism. Anabolism
is the process that builds up new cells and tissues to replace the
old ones. A normal body has these two processes in balance.
Muscle and bone tissue are thus constantly being replaced, but
there is no net gain or loss of mass in either.
Rigorous exercise is an anabolic activity because it results
in a net increase in muscle mass over time. A high protein diet is
thought by some to be anabolic, although this has not been
conclusively proven.(1,2)
"Anabolic Steroids" cause the build up of muscle tissue under
certain conditions. Testosterone is the body's natural anabolic
steroid. Higher levels of testosterone in men are responsible for
their larger muscle mass compared to women.
At one time, researchers thought that anabolic and androgenic
steroids were different. It was thought that chemists could create
new versions of steroids to build up muscle tissue without causing
masculine side effects.(3) For this reason, drugs in this
sub-class are called both anabolic and androgenic steroids.
However, they discovered that anabolic and androgenic effects were
both caused by the same drug action on different tissue
types.(3,4) Thus, any steroid that builds up muscle
tissue also causes masculinizing side effects.(3-6)
REFERENCES
1. Kleiner SM. Performance-enhancing aids in sport - health
consequences and nutritional alternatives. J Amer Coll Nutr
1991 Apr;10(2):163-76.
2. Smith DA, Perry PJ. The efficacy of ergogenic agents in
athletic competition. part 1: androgenic-anabolic steroids.
Annals Pharmacother 1992 Apr;26:520-8.
3. Kopera H. The history of anabolic steroids and a review of
clinical experience with anabolic steroids. Acta Endocrin
1985;271:11-8.
4. Johnson MD. Steroids. Adolescent Med 1991 Feb;2(1):79-93.
5. Wilson JD. Androgen abuse by athletes. Endocrine Reviews
1988;9(2):181-99.
6. Kashkin KB, Kleber HD. Hooked on hormones - an anabolic
steroid addiction hypothesis. J Am Med Assoc 1989 Dec
8;262(22):3166-70.
by Trent Tschirgi, R. Ph.
(c) 1992 University of Maryland Office of Substance Abuse Studies.
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: Steroid use is illegal in a vast number of countries around the world. This is not without reason. Steroids should only be used when prescribed by your doctor and under close supervision. Steroid use is not to be taken lightly and we do not in any way endorse or approve of illegal drug use. The information is provided on the same basis as all the other information on this site, as informational/entertainment value.
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