When something will make you stronger, give you more lean muscle and give you the endurance to train longer and harder, those are all such phenomenal benefits, it’s understandable that so many men are drawn to taking anabolic steroids. But you simply cannot ignore the very serious risks of taking them. If you’ve ever had even a fleeting thought of how great it’d be to just try them once, read on:
Increased risk of cancer and heart and liver disease
Many of us exercise and keep active so we can live long and healthy lives and reduce our risks of disease. When you take anabolic steroids, you increase the risk of these deadly diseases. Taken over a long period of time in high doses, for example, steroids increase your risk of developing liver cancer.
Baldness
Although this isn’t life threatening, losing your hair and going bald is typically something most men hope to avoid or at least delay as long as possible. When you take steroids, however, one side effect is premature hair loss. Why risk losing your hair and aging yourself considerably? Consider, too, this study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science: bald men are perceived as more masculine and dominant, however, they are also considered less attractive than men with full heads of hair.
Reduced sperm count and infertility
Hope to have children one day? Well, your quest to bulk up your physique now by taking steroids could seriously hurt your chances of having kids one day. When you take steroids, it can cause your testicles to shrink and decrease your sperm production—they interfere with the hormone signals that are required for sperm to be produced.
Breasts
When you wanted to bulk up by taking steroids, surely what you were hoping for wasn’t in the form of a pair of boobs, but that can happen when you take these dangerous drugs. Steroids suppres your natural testosterone levels, which means your estrogen levels are higher than normal and these can lead to developing breasts.
Aggression
Taken in high doses and over a long period of time, steroids can make you irritable, violent and stressed out. Steroids can impact how the brain functions and controls your impulses, and thus can result in violent reactions (you’ve likely heard the term “roid rage.”). Some people are more affected by this side effect than others, however there is no definitive research as to why it affects people differently.
