However, stimulants can cause side effects such as insomnia, increased heart rate, and addiction. One of the most important steps in combating the dangers of PEDs is promoting clean sports and advocating for drug-free competitions. Sports organizations, coaches, and athletes themselves have a responsibility to ensure that performance is achieved through natural means and that athletes’ health is protected.

Performance Enhancing Drugs: What are They and are They Safe?

Hoping to get an edge by taking performance-enhancing drugs? Learn how these drugs work and how they can have effects on your health. Stimulant drugs can cause abnormal heart rhythms and palpitations, tremors and insomnia. Certain drugs, like cocaine, are also addictive and can be deadly in high doses. Synthetic oxygen carriers can also raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. Diuretics can trigger electrolyte imbalances and lead to dehydration, which can cause low blood pressure and blood clots.

The Impact of PEDs on Long-Term Health: Chronic Conditions and Early Aging ⏳

This is because women typically don’t want to develop an extremely muscular physique or desire the masculinizing effects of steroids. Treatment for steroid use and other performance-enhancing drugs should address the underlying causes of drug use. Creatine monohydrate is a supplement popular among athletes. Androgenic effects contribute to male traits, including developing facial hair and a deeper voice. The FHE Health team is committed to providing accurate information that adheres to the highest standards of writing. If one of our articles is marked with a ‘reviewed for accuracy and expertise’ badge, it indicates that one or more members of our team of doctors and clinicians have reviewed the article further to ensure accuracy.

Erythropoietin (EPO)

• Rather, they’re used to fight the unwanted side effects of steroids, such as male breasts and testicular atrophy.
• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List is a document that identifies performance enhancing drugs that are prohibited in sports.
• This is particularly beneficial for endurance athletes such as cyclists and long-distance runners.
• In June 2012, outfielder Marlon Byrd faced a 50-game suspension after testing positive for tamoxifen, a substance banned from Major League Baseball and many other sports.

PEDs can lead to injuries and health problems that may shorten an athlete’s career. Caffeine, amphetamines, and ephedrine increase alertness, reduce fatigue, and improve focus. They’re commonly used in sports that require quick bursts of energy and concentration. HGH is naturally occurring in the body and stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and regeneration in humans. Let’s discuss the widespread use of PEDs, including the legal and ethical considerations and possible alternatives to these drugs. Educating young athletes about the dangers of PEDs is essential to preventing their use in the first place.

How do anabolic steroids work?

The use of HGH is banned in many sports organizations like the International Olympic Committee, NFL, NBA, and FIFA where athletes who test positive will face disqualification or suspension from competitions. Androstenedione was considered a dietary supplement and can be purchased from any sports pharmacy, but in 2004 these products were classified as controlled substances making it only legal for purchase with a prescription. Androstenedione, also called andro, is a hormone everyone’s body makes.

An “on” cycle will generally last between 6 and 12 weeks, depending on the person. The “off” cycle — when the person doesn’t take steroids at all — also varies and performance-enhancing drugs: know the risks is meant to reduce damage to internal organs. During an “off” cycle, it’s believed the body will continue manufacturing its own testosterone, though this isn’t necessarily true — and steroid abuse will still cause hormonal disruption.

• I knew most of my teammates were doping at the time, and I thought if I said no to it, then I wouldn’t be selected to ride in the Tour de France.
• They’re manufactured drugs that closely resemble cortisol, a hormone that your adrenal glands produce naturally.
• All search results underwent title and abstract review and potentially eligible studies advanced to a full-text review.
• People who take beta blockers have a slower heart rate and more relaxed blood vessels, conditions that help reduce blood pressure.

You may think first of amphetamines — prescription-only “speed” pills — when you hear of this class of drugs, but not all stimulants require a physician’s signature. For example, the masking agent probenecid stops the excretion of steroids for a few hours, decreasing the concentration of steroids in the urine. The exact masking mechanism of bromantane, however, remains unclear. That didn’t stop the IOC from disqualifying several Russian athletes, stripping medals from two and ultimately blacklisting bromantane based on its performance-enhancing effects. The 1996 Summer Olympic Games have been called the “hGH Games” because of the rampant use of the drug among competitors. In summer 2021, Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare was kicked out of the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for hGH.

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His passion in connecting metabolic health with human performance led him to pursue his Master’s degree in physiology and kinesiology with a concentration in human performance and athletic development. His expertise lies in functional training, metabolic health, sports nutrition, sports medicine, and sleep therapy. He utilizes science based medicine and literature to help maximize his clients training performance and daily lifestyle.

Andro can damage the heart and blood vessels in anyone who takes it. This raises the risk of a serious problem that can happen when the heart doesn’t get enough blood, called a heart attack. It also raises the risk of a condition that keeps the brain from getting enough oxygen, called a stroke.

When estrogen molecules fit into these receptors like a key fitting into a lock, the malignant cells become activated. In addition to propranolol, beta blockers include atenolol, acebutolol, alprenolol, bisoprolol and metoprolol, all of which are banned in pistol shooting and archery. They certainly demand a keen eye, a steady hand and rock-solid concentration but not Herculean strength. In fact, two North Korean pistol shooters competing in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, tested positive for propranolol. According to research published in the journal Sports Medicine, this performance-enhancing effect simply doesn’t exist. The authors found that, in 17 of 19 clinical trials involving non-asthmatic competitive athletes, the performance-enhancing effects of inhaled beta2-agonists could not be proved.