Dalton Johnson
Christine Germain
Due. April 18
Does the use of Performance enhancing drugs, play a negative effect on an athlete’s
body? That is the question I am using in my paper. Most say that steroids are bad for the body
and should not be allowed. They say that they are bad for the body, and they should be banned at
all costs. There are many people out there that say the use of steroids, simply support science.
They say that it is nothing but smart, to do steroids. They reason that they say this because of one
of the main ingredients that go into steroids. There are many different people with many different
views on steroids. This paper explains the two main sides of the steroid argument.
Over the years steroids have became more and more popular. The use of steroids can do
many things to the body. The main thing many people look for while using steroids is the
competitive edge it gives them on the opponents. (mayoclinic) Steroids do many things to the
body to help improve one’s athletic ability. They help muscle growth, and speed up the process.
Steroids have a chemical within them that boosts testosterone. (mayoclinic) With a boost of
testosterone the proteins that one takes in go straight to the muscle system and begin working on
building the muscles up. Many professional sports athletes have used steroids. The use of
steroids can definitely make a noticeable difference. Barry Bonds, a former professional baseball
player was indicted for the use of steroids. (espn.go) The use of any Performance Enhancing
drug is illegal in professional sports. Testing positive for steroids results in suspension and
sometimes even worse. Barry Bonds was banned from baseball and will always be known as the
guy who cheated to break Hank Aaron’s homerun record. A common form of steroids used, is
HGH. HGH stands for “Human growth Hormones”. It was first developed in 1985, and made for
specific uses in growing children and young adults. (WebMD) Many of the professional athletes
will use this form of the drug because it has not always been banned. HGH has just become
illegal for athletes in the past ten years. The drug tests given to the professional athletes now test
for the HGH. The reason many athletes got by with it was because it was not anabolic. Anabolic,
simply means ‘To Grow”. (supplementreviews.) At first, all the steroid testing did was see if the
athletes had any anabolics in their system. Since it is now illegal, athletes cannot get away with
using HGH. The use of steroids is highly frowned upon and they league is cracking down on it.
It is really hard for an athlete of any sport to use steroids without getting caught. (espn.go)
As a lifelong athlete the use of steroids is something that is a big deal. This is why I am
against the use of steroids. I feel that it is not fair that some athletes get to have that competitive
edge just because they have steroids available to them. One of the main reasons that I am against
it is because of the negative effect that it plays on an athlete’s body. There are so many harsh
side effects that come from using steroids. Liver problems, cardiovascular effects, emotional
instability and severe dehydration are several well-known effects of some performanceenhancing drugs. (Tricia Mangan) When a user is taking steroids, they are usually put on a
vitamin for the liver. They take this vitamin because all of the harsh chemicals in the drug can
cause many liver problems. When the liver starts to not do its job, many things can come from
this. One thing that it can do is cause is cause jaundice. This is when the skin starts to get a
yellow tint to it, and cause the eyes to turn a pale white. Usually, jaundice is only among infants,
but many steroid users have reported this as a side effect. One thing that can cause jaundice is
Hepatitis. Many steroid users share a syringe with other users. This is one thing that can cause
Hepatitis. Another is just a large amount of use from the drugs itself. (Tricia Mangan) These
liver conditions can cause many things, including loss of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea and
vomiting. They can even cause liver failure if action is not taken. Many athletes that have came
down with some of these conditions, or side effects, and have became very unhealthy. Most of
the cases cause the consumer, to be malnourished. The reason for this is because they end up not
taking in the proper amount of food. The reason for this is because of how bad they feel. When a
person experiences the abdominal pain, they usually do not want to eat. They feel that not eating
will make the pains go away. In reality the abdominal pain is coming from high stages of
cramping. (Andrew Seibert). The cramping usually comes from the user being dehydrated. This
is why many people on steroids, will carry around big jugs of water. The water is vital to them
staying hydrated because the steroids take so much out of the body. The steroids have to do this
because most of the water is pumped to the muscles, leaving the organs without.(mayo clinic)
When a person is on steroids, water is one of the things that are needed most. A steroid user
needs to consume more water than the average person.
Steroids not only affect the liver and other vital organs, but they can also affect the brain.
The effects on the brain mainly affect ones mood. Steroids can cause a massive amount of anger.
Also known as “Roid Rage”. Steroids can cause high blood pressure which can lead to anger.
Many steroid users have really bad attitudes just because of the side effects of the drug. Though
rage can be harmful to the user and others, it is not the worst thing steroids can do to ones mood.
Steroids can also cause depression. Some users can go into high stages of depression. There have
actually been cases of steroid users committing suicide. A high school football player, Efrain
Marrero was using steroids. When his mother found out she took the steroids from him. Two
weeks later he was found in his room deceased. He had committed suicide. The doctors said that
since he had taken them for so long, that the withdrawal from the drug caused his hormones to
go out of balance causing a great stage of depression. Steroids can also become addictive.
Lifelong users of steroids feel like they have to have them. Majority of steroid users, lift and
workout many hours a day. They not only become addicted to the steroids, but the pump they get
from working out. The steroids also contain an ingredient that gives energy. Though the energy
comes, there is almost always a crash. Steroids can so many bad things to happen to the body. I
feel like I speak for everyone when I say that I would rather not take steroids, and live than to
take them and put not only my life in danger but the life of others as well.
Thought many people are against the use of steroids, there are some people out there that
actually support it. They simply say that “Steroids support science”. They say that from a
medical standpoint, steroids are naturally occurring in the body. (Divine Caroline) Steroids
boosts testosterone and this is what causes the muscles to grow so fast. Testosterone is in a
male’s body naturally. This is why some people believe that is just supporting science to let the
levels be boosted. The use of steroids date all the way back to the first Olympic Games. They say
that boosting testosterone has been a known way to enhance athletic ability for ages. This is
another reason they feel like steroids are not bad. They have the mindset that if they have been in
use for that long, that they should obviously be accepted. These experts do not however look at
the harmful side effects. They try to say that all of the bad things that have come from steroids
were from the cause of a pre-occurring condition.
There are many different ways to look at the usage of steroids. I feel that they pros are
highly outweighed by the cons. All of the side effects and bad things that can happen from being
on steroids are not worth the limited time of glory and fame. This is just my opinion however.
The use of steroids has been around since sports have been around. This is a problem and the
problem is growing in professional sports. This problem needs to be stopped, not only because it
is cheating but because of all of the lives being put in danger. It is up to every sports fan out there
to stop it. Without that, it is just going to keep going on forever.
Works cited:
Mangan, Tricia. "Effects of Performance Enhancing Drugs." www.livestrong.com. N.p., 4
Mar 2012. Web. 18 Apr 2013. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/88372-effects-performanceenhancing-drugs/>.
Caroline, Divine. "Steroids: What's wrong with supporting science?."
www.Divinecaroline.com. N.p.. Web. 18 Apr 2013.
<http://www.divinecaroline.com/entertainment/steroids-what’s-wrong-supporting-science>.
"Fitness." www.mayoclinic.com. N.p., 12 Dec 2012. Web. 30 Apr 2013.
<http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancingdrugs/HQ01105/NSECTIONGROUP=2>.
Airoso, Justin. "Steroids in profesional sports." www.personal.psu.edu. N.p.. Web. 30
Apr 2013. <http://www.personal.psu.edu/cjb5120/seventhassignment.html>.
Seibert, Andrew. "Abdominal Pain." www.wedmd.com. N.p., 23 Feb 2011. Web. 24 Apr
2013. <http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/abdominal-pain-causes-treatments>.
Staff, Mayo CLinic. "Dehydration Symptoms." www.mayoclinic.com. N.p., 07 Jan 2011.
Web. 26 Apr 2013.
<http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dehydration/DS00561/DSECTION=symptoms>.
Norwood, Varnada Karriem. "Fitness&Exercise." www.webmd.com. N.p., 11 Oct 2012.
Web. 26 Apr 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/human-growth-hormone-hgh>.
"Supplement forum." www.supplementreviews.com. Publishing machine, 16 Feburary
2011. Web. 29 Apr 2013. <http://supplementreviews.com/forum/index.php?topic=9679.0>.