Steroids

When we pump a weight at the gym our muscles experience damage, but the body recovers by forming new muscle protein strands to repair the muscle fibers. Over time these strands increase in thickness and number and ultimately if muscle protein synthesis is greater than muscle protein breakdown our muscles will grow. The degree of growth is largely regulated by testosterone, which increases protein synthesis. That's why, generally men have larger muscle mass than women as they have higher levels of testosterone.

Steroids are compounds with a specific 4-carbon ring structure, so the term steroid actually includes some chemicals that can be used to treat fever and headaches and even sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone. But the type of steroid we'll be looking at actually mimic natural testosterone with the intention to enhance performance and are used by more than 15% of gym-goers.

Within a single day of taking steroids the expression of our genes begins to change. Steroids easily enter our cells and bind to the androgen receptor. At this point they can move into the nucleus and attach to our DNA, which activates hundreds of genes to increase protein synthesis, while slowing protein breakdown. In the end, people who take steroids can have three to five times more nuclei in some muscle cells. Steroids can also stop the differentiation of fat stem cells and decrease a person's body fat.

By continuous taking of steroids our behavior changes because steroid receptors are found in parts of our central nervous system like the fore-brain, hypothalamus and pituitary gland. A study of athletes taking steroids showed 20% developed higher manic and depressive scores than non-users. Masculinization can occur as well with female users gaining deeper voices and starting to grow more body and facial hair. Male users may experience sperm cell abnormalities and decreased sperm count. Steroids also decreases natural production of hormones that are necessary for maintaining testicular size. And since most steroid users follow a cycle of on and off dosing periods natural levels of testosterone can be quite low at times causing erectile dysfunction and decreased libido in males. 40% of male users also developed enlarged breast tissue, as steroids break down into estradiol, which stimulates the growth of mammary tissue. Finally steroids can cause a high level of acne in almost half of users and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

So yes, steroids will make us bulk up faster and improve our athletic ability, but as with most things, comes with a set of risks and side effects that we'll likely experience as well.