Anabolic Steroids and Their Effects on Lean Muscle Mass
Anabolic Steroids and Their Effects on Lean Muscle Mass
Anabolic steroids, or more precisely, anabolic/androgenic steroids, are synthetic derivatives of the natural occurring male hormone testosterone; “anabolic” meaning growing or building and “androgenic” meaning masculinizing or generating male sexual characteristics. Most healthy males produce between 2 and 10 milligrams of testosterone per day. The hormone’s anabolic effects help the body retain dietary protein, thus aiding in the growth of muscle, bones, and skin. The androgenic characteristics of testosterone are associated with masculinity. They aid in the maturing of the male reproductive system through puberty, the growth of body hair and the deepening of the voice. Androgenic characteristics also affect aggressiveness and sex drive.
The use of anabolic steroids to increase muscle mass and aggressive behavior is a fairly old concept. Testosterone was first synthesized in 1935 and used to increase aggressiveness of German soldiers in the Second World War. But it was not until 1953 that the first “true” anabolic steroid was discovered. Nandrolone, 19-nortestosterone, was found to have three to five times the anabolic or muscle building effect of testosterone. While many of the testosterone derivatives are more anabolic than androgenic, there are no anabolic steroids that are purely anabolic or androgenic. Whether anabolic or androgenic effects occur will depend on the dosage and type of anabolic steroid used.
As different anabolic steroids became available to the medical community their use became more widespread, especially anabolic steroids that had minimal androgenic properties; the minimal androgenic activity allowed them to be used by females to treat various conditions. Anabolic steroids have proven to be very beneficial in treating several conditions from anemia to sexual dysfunction.
For the past twenty-five years anabolic steroids have been given somewhat of a bad reputation. As early as 1950 athletes were already abusing them and by the 1980’s steroid use by athletes was in full swing. The most famous anabolic steroid of all time, Dianabol, was often quoted as being the “breakfast of champions.” Horror stories were trickling out of Eastern European countries on how women athletes were transformed into men after years of anabolic steroid use. And how both male and female athletes were suffering from anyone of a number of different side effects. With such bad publicity and strong media attention the US government labeled anabolic steroids as a schedule III compound. This new classification made...