|
SIDE EFFECTS OF ANABOLIC STEROIDS
Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic male hormones that help athletes to grow larger muscles and become
stronger. A study from the University of Texas shows that anabolic steroids may not be as dangerous as
many physicians believe. (1).
Your liver is loaded with chemicals called enzymes. When your liver is damaged, it releases these
enzymes into your bloodstream, so doctors measure liver damage by measuring blood levels of enzymes.
However, many of these enzymes are also found in muscle cells and lifting heavy weights damages
muscles, causing these same enzymes to accumulate in the bloodstream. An enzyme called GGTP is
found in liver but not muscle cells, and many of the people who were reported to have liver damage did
not have elevated levels of GGTP, showing that there was muscle damage from lifting weights and no
liver damage. So many reports of liver damage with anabolic steroids are incorrect because the abnormal
liver testes were caused by lifting weights and not by a damaged liver.
Anabolic steroids are still not safe, because many athletes take massive overdoses which will damage the
liver. They can also damage heart muscle (2), enlarge the prostate (3) and cause infertility (4).
|
|