Bodybuilding.com - Author Rea

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Did you know?
Androstenedione is a pivotal adrenal steroid that's actually one step closer to being converted to testosterone than DHEA.

The endless debates and ongoing jilted outpour of information on steroids seem to never end...

By: Author Rea

The value of education is priceless...the value of an educator without knowledge is that of tuition fees minus meals?

Ah, the days of empty-minded pursuit of knowledge and women in short dresses! You just have to love the times when each of us aspired to exceed that of our teachers and professors during collegiate years due to the simple lust for a more profound understanding of a subject. Did I mention women in short dresses?

Once again I find myself in awe of the media and political driven education standards that are accepted as lofty by the uneducated, and idiocy by those of us with too many pieces of academia lettered toilet paper.

Enter The Research Journalist…

A recent editorial by Brendan Murphy on 9/9/04 shared the combined knowledge of Florida State University (FSU) educators and health care professionals as well as the research talents of so-called media experts in relation to steroid use. (One can only assume that the credentialed et. al. was referring to Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids rather than hormonal birth control, corticoid glucocorticoid or mineralcorticoid steroids, but after reviewing the piece I doubt they would know either).

Brendan (hopefully wearing a short dress?…I can only hope this is a woman as I am almost certain no male would be so anti-masculine) opened her piece in the FSU Student Newspaper sharing her findings gathered through several non-focused seconds of in depth research with:

Steroids- also known as gym candy, pumpers, stackers, A's, anabolics, roids, balls, bulls and juice -- have many known side effects, including cancer, liver damage, limb loss, heart disease/heart attack, baldness, HIV/AIDS, pain/difficulty urinating, and stunted growth in adolescents.

Gym candy, pumpers and balls? I am still working on the limb-loss and HIV/AIDS from androgens!

In all fairness, we have to remember that women have been attempting to destroy anything that makes a man, a man, for centuries. This is why wives ask their husbands to hold their purses in public. (Okay, think I am just having fun at women's expense? Then explain why they use the word "penis" and any man would never consider referring to his phallus in such emasculating terms) Let's see what a health care professional and educator or our future can add.

Return Of The Educator

The guidance of a professional and educator shapes each life he or she may touch. As such the factual content of the knowledge provided should be better suited for academia than for Comedy Central.

"I think it's a problem across the board, not just at FSU. They're being taken much more than we could ever imagine, but there are not many stats to back this up. People who do steroids will never admit to it. Steroids are hush-hush, undercover, like a secret society."

- Dan Moore (health educator at Thagard Student Health Center)

(Then he quotes stats to back this up that include androstenedione as an anabolic steroid…post baseball player Mark Maguire stating that he used it to aid his then league home run record)

"Since 1991, steroid use has risen 50 percent among eighth and 10th grade students...(Steroid) use has also risen 38 percent among 12th graders. This is scary; that's young." "Steroids are related to the sex hormone...For guys, they de-masculinize, for women, they de-feminize."

- Dan Moore (health educator at Thagard Student Health Center)

Ban On Andro Products: What's It All About?
This article is intended to provide an overview of the issues surrounding the events leading up to the ban on dietary supplement products containing anabolic steroids, and related compounds...
[ Click here to learn more. ]

This would explain the increase in transvestites in clubs and large breasted pro-bodybuilders in the mags.

Side effects particular to women include the development of male attributes - deep voice and facial hair - as well as infertility, smaller breasts, a stopped menstrual cycle, and clitoral enlargement.

For men, side effects include shrunken testes, reduced sperm count, an enlarged prostate, impotence, and irreversible breast enlargements, also known as "man boobs." The medical term for man boobs is gynecomastia.

As males age they commonly realize a decrease in testosterone. This allows for an increase in favor of estrogens in the testosterone-to-estrogen ration. As a result feminizing can occur that includes additional adipose tissue storage around hips, glutes and pectoral areas. This is sometimes referred to as "man boobs" by Seinfeld watchers.

Gynecomastia

an embarrassing condition that is said to occur in as many as thirty per cent of young males now. In it, there is development of breast tissues, often to the extent that they resemble female breasts, hence the name of the condition, Gynecomastia or 'woman-like breasts'. Or of course "man boobs".

Gynecomastia can appear in two forms, genuine and similar or 'pseudo.' In genuine Gynecomastia there is actual breast tissue present. In pseudo Gynecomastia there is no such breast tissue and the appearance is due to an accumulation of fat, part of a general overweight tendency. In this condition weight control and exercise reduce the problem. In real Gynecomastia such efforts are fruitless.

Causes of Gynecomastia (Bitch Tits…No short dresses allowed)

Hormone changes during puberty. These are common and often disappear after a few years.
Hormone changes due to middle age years. These are often treated with testosterone and other HRT meds.
Medication. Several prescription-only drugs can, in some way, simulate the effects of female hormones and cause real Gynecomastia. These include heart medication such as Digoxin and some blood pressure and anti-ulcer drugs like Zantac and Tagamet. Another offender is the anti-AIDS drugs known as Retroviral Therapies. Yet another is the familiar Proscar used for non-malignant enlargement of the prostate gland, a very common problem in older men.
Diseases. Other conditions like tumors of the testicle and pituitary glands can produce Gynecomastia. It is also a known complication of serious liver disease especially when this is due to alcohol intake. Less common congenital syndromes can also be associated.
Aromatization of susceptible androgens (like testosterone) to estrogens. This is a concern as a rule only when an individual is near obese of if administered dosages are at a level in which the physiology attempts to decrease testosterone levels by conversion.

"I would think that 'man boobs' would make some people think twice about steroids...this is not the case. For others, steroids simply make you look good. They make you lose weight, look strong and give you that desired six-pack. In today's society these things have become real important. But steroids also provide a rush, which becomes addictive. You crave the rush, physically and psychologically. This is why most people take steroids intravenously, because it hits them quicker, right before they go to the gym."

- Dan Moore (health educator at Thagard Student Health Center)

Lean muscle from an arm-chair and intravenous AAS use? Okay, way too stupid to even discuss…but I will include a photo and note from a reader.

Photo Credit: Hypertrophiac
Click here to see full photo.

Caption reads as follows:
"I couldn't help it. I just 'craved the rush' too much. Boy did it 'hit me quick'!! Don't inject steroids I.V. before the gym guys, or you'll end up an amputee like me!!! Oh yeah, and now I have AIDS too, but I can't help it because 'the rush' is just so physically and psychologically addictive!!!"

My apology to Brendan. As a researcher and scientist I normally take such subjects very seriously. But when someone writes a joke or a Saturday Matinee as an editorial, please do not be offended when I share it with readers in the light it should be endured.

AUTHORLREA@aol.com