Performance enhancing drugs-If you’re trying to get an edge in the gym or in sport , you might consider taking them. I’m sure you’ve heard about the risks – but are these drugs as bad as they seem? Lets have a look at some of the different kinds of performance enhancing drugs. 1. Anabolic steroids, are essentially a synthetic version of testosterone. The name basically means that the body will spend more energy on muscle-building than it is programmed for. You may have heard the referred to as clenbuterol, trenbolone or anavar. Some slang for it is “eating clen and trenning hard” a play on the phrase “eating clean and training hard” as well as “trenbolone sandwich.” Stay classy. The upside for using them is a reduce recovery time so you can quickly pick yourself up and get to work again. But before you get too excited, take a look at the downsides. Risks for men include a swollen prostate, impotence, infertility, baldness, and paradoxically enough, growth of breast. a common endocrine problem for men but may negate you whole “manly-man” thing if that’s what you’re going for. don’t think you ladies are off the hook: you can also go bald, deepen your voice and mess with your periods. Oh, fun fact: did you know that if you look at the anatomy of the clitoris, it looks almost shockingly like a penis? Well if you don’t see it now, go take AASs for a while and your clitoris will actually become enlarged enough for you to get a pretty good view. Isn’t science fun? 2. Androstenedione is a type of anabolic steroid, but it is produced in the body. Too much of it causes pretty similar side-effects to AAS: Acne, and baldness. Men will enjoy decreases their sperm production, shrunken testicles, and man boobs. Women can also get deep voices: 9/10 female baritones would recommend. The government finally outlawed its sale in 2004 after a on the heels of what is called “The Steroid Era” in the MLB: remember when everyone was talking about Barry Bond? Yeah, that was a huge part of it. 3.Gonadotropin, also known as the Human Growth Hormone is taken to improve endurance and muscle-mass – yet neither of those things have been scientifically proven to be caused by the Human Growth Hormone. People called it an anti-aging drug, it caught fire in the MLB and isn’t even banned from the NFL yet. HGH is not illegal but it can only be purchased by prescription – and a lot of the people taking it don’t have said prescription. It can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and an enlarged heart. Not to mention users eventually experience muscle weakness which defeats the whole purpose. So not only is this one dangerous, it’s completely counter-productive in the long-term. 4. Finally, we have erythropoietin (and this one is doozy. This one was very big with professional cyclists in the 90s and is thought to have cause at least 18 people to die through means of such as strokes, heart attacks and pulmonary embolism. Instead of directly affecting the muscles, it affects the oxidation of red blood cells, keeping the muscles in good shape for a long time but also increasing the risks of blood clots. The others can cause some serious problems, they really can, but this one is really scary because we know that it actually has killed: it doesn’t just present the possibility of danger, we know for a fact that it is dangerous. http://www.menshealth.co.uk/building-muscle/the-gym-lovers-new-drug-addiction http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/steroid-abuse-gym-junkies-flood-needle-exchanges/news-story/8a74d02f9ce0609c7629d2159609eb9a http://www.livestrong.com/article/88002-list-different-performance-enhancing-drugs/ http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/performance-enhancing-drugs/art-20046134 https://www.buzzfeed.com/erikmalinowski/what-steroids-hgh-and-other-popular-peds-do-to-your-body?utm_term=.pyLo7E6y6#.wbrRJmq9q Photo Credit: Barry Bond Eric Broder Van Dyke / Shutterstock.com Cyclist finchfocus / Shutterstock.com This video is presented by Jayde Lovell, at Youtube Space NY. Script by Stephanie Slepian. SCIQ ON THE YOUNG TURKS Produced by Jayde Lovell and Bec Susan Gill. ScIQ is a partner of the The Young Turks Network. Follow SciQ on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ScIQ_TYT Support ScIQ on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciQ Follow SciQ on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sciq.tyt?ref=hl Follow ScIQ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sciq_tyt/ Follow ScIQ on Tumblr: http://sciqtyt.tumblr.com/ Follow Jayde on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaydelovell Follow Jayde on Instagram: www.instagram.com/jaydelovell Follow Bec on Twitter: https://twitter.com/becsusangill Follow Bec on Instagram: https://instagram.com/becsusangill CONTACT For enquiries – please email [email protected] or [email protected]