Well, Super Guru's medical exports are at it again. The **tried** to perform a public service announcement about the dangers of substance abuse. I felt that their advice was extremely insufficient and took it upon myself to compose and send the rant below.
Dear Super Gurus,
Today I saw a segment on your show about the dangers of substance abuse.
I would like to object to the fact that your nutritionist and orthopedic doctor came off as extremely ill-informed with regards to substance abuse.
At one point one of the doctors said something to the effect of: Using steroids will make you big and muscular and you'll feel great but your performance will suffer.
I would like to ask where on earth did he get that gem of information from? This inaccurate information is extremely dangerous for the same children who you are trying to prevent from using these substances. While I do *not* advocate the use of steroids or any performance enhancing substances, this does not change the fact that the information to be provided should be correct.
I would like to request that you provide the following clarifications.
I shall tackle steroid use first. The facts are:
- Steroid use does not "make you feel great". There is no evidence of any physical addiction to steroids.
- Steroid use *will not* make you big and muscular. The fact is that steroids work by filling the cell receptors that tell the cells to make new proteins. While it’s normal for the body to create new proteins, the steroids just tell the cells to create the proteins at a faster rate. Without any proper training, this protein will not get converted to muscle, depending on the type of training you perform, your body will adapt accordingly. Fact is, sports such as distance running, sprinting, swimming, gymnastics all have been known to have substance abuse as a problem and their athletes are not "with huge muscles".
- Steroid abuse (sadly) does not ultimately result in reduced performance, as a matter of fact people are train harder, stronger, longer. Many athletes have no only extended their careers but in fact set world records late in their careers thanks to substance abuse. Think Mark Mcgwire or Barry Bonds from US baseball as just a few examples.
Everything that I have said so far would make it seems like a win win decision to take steroids, however there is a downside to steroid abuse which is:
- Your body stops producing testosterone. Meaning that when you stop using steroids, you go into depression. A lot of young people have been known to commit suicide because of the depression caused when they stopped using steroids.
- The lack of testosterone production also means shrinkage of testicles (that alone should be enough to scare most kids).
- Sensitivity and even lactation (production of milk) in the nipples (of men) has been known to occur.
- In extreme cases men have been known to grow "breasts"
- Aggression: Roid rage... in a recent case WWE wrestler Chris Benoit killed his entire family in roid rage and then took his own life!
And these are just the tip of the ice berg... check out http://www.steroidabuse.com/side-effects-of-steroids.html for a comprehensive list.
Perhaps we would be better off informing parents and kids for signs and symptoms to look for to ensure that their kids are not abusing steroids. These include but are not limited to:
- Bad breath.
- Back acne.
- Loss of hair on the head
- Increase in thickness of hair on the body.
- Aggression
more at http://www.steroidabuse.com/how-to-spot-a-steroid-user.html
Ultimately it's also worth pointing out that most people who abuse steroids do not live to be 60 and usually die of liver or prostate cancer.
Other substances:
There are far too many substances to cover in this email. However a blanket warning of getting banned from a sport and suffering ill-effects for life should be stressed. In some extreme cases of multiple drugs not working well together can cause sudden death. In less extreme cases cardiovascular problems, memory impairment, chronic bronchitis.
I hope you will take a moment out of your packed schedule and provide this clarification as a public service.
Regards,