Steroids are one of the most popular and well known drugs in the world. When most people think of steroids they think of professional bodybuilders, or other sports athletes like A Rod, but were did steroids come from and how do they work?
Steroids started in 1939 in Germany. A Germany scientist named Adolf Butenandt, who won a Nobel Prices for his research on testosterone. From then on Germany was the Mecca for steroids and steroid research. Over the years Germany had leaps and bounds in the steroid world. German scientist found through countless hours of research that when a man works out that testosterone levels drop dramatically. Along with testosterone levels dropping, gluco-corticoid builds up in the body. Gluco-corticoid has an catabolic effect on the body, meaning that it breaks down the muscle tissue. Steroid stop the bodies testosterone levels from falling and blocks the gluco-corticoid. That means the muscles get bigger, stronger harder, faster.
While popular and utilized in various parts of the world, steroids are ultimately destructive to the body and not worth its’ positive affects. The National Institute on Drug Abuse lays out the long term and short term affects of steroids. Some short term effects include paranoia and irritability, and long term effects could potentially be fatal with problems like kidney failure, liver damage, and an enlarged heart. In conclusion, taking steroids just to appear bigger is not worth it in the long run.