Testosterone and steroids: myths, realities and dangers

Starting to make the gym a habit and way of life is a complicated step. However, once enrolled, there is another issue that generally tends to demotivate people: not seeing results quickly. It is then that the possibility of resorting to external remedies, such as testosterone or steroids, comes into play. But what are the myths, realities, and dangers of consuming this type of hormone? To clarify all our doubts, we interviewed Dr. Arturo Ochoa, a fourth-year resident of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, so that he could guide us on the matter and so you could think very carefully about your decisions, if that you want to resort to these methods, before doing so.What is testosterone? It is the male sexual hormone in charge, in humans, of giving the male characteristics to the males of the species: body hair, deep voice, greater muscle mass, greater height, and the development of the sexual organs. Steroid Myths.What are the benefits of having good testosterone levels when doing physical activity? Greater strength, greater recovery, increased muscle mass, and better performance during sports activity.How can we maintain good levels of testosterone in the body naturally? With a healthy life and good habits such as: Sleep 7 to 9 hours a day. A healthy diet with adequate protein intake. Perform aerobic exercise of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity per week and at least 3 sessions of strength or weight lifting of 45 minutes per week. Of these, the best exercise is the free barbell squat. Multivitamins help and, among all, the ideal is to ingest 1 g of vitamin C daily. Having a sexually active and healthy life. Myths and realities of steroids. Antonotenko/Getty Images.Testosterone is generally associated withincreased muscle mass, myth or reality? Reality. In adolescence, which is when secondary sexual characteristics are expressed in the body, such as muscle development, the main responsible for this growth is testosterone.True or false that after 30 testosterone begins to decline?read more information about Testosterone Cypionate for sale on ACNM Online Pharmacy website Certain. But not only testosterone, but all hormones and functions of the body have the beginning of their decline. It is what we know, although we do not like it, as aging. But don't worry, nothing happens, it's a normal and healthy process in the human body.Is it advisable to resort to injectable testosterone? No, let's just leave that for syndromes or diseases that have to be diagnosed and treated by a specialist, such as an endocrinologist or one in sports medicine.Pills or supplements that are testosterone precursors, do they really work? No. Scientific studies have shown that it has no effect on the synthesis of more testosterone or the effects it has on the body. They just don't do anything.What are the differences between testosterone and steroids? Testosterone is an anabolic androgenic steroid. There are also different types of anabolic steroids, but most of these are testosterone derivatives.If someone wants to do an anabolic cycle, what should they take into account before doing it? It is very difficult to summarize that in an answer. The first thing is that you would have to consult a specialist in sports medicine or an endocrinologist to talk about endless consequences and other situations that have to be taken into account.What are the repercussions of resorting to steroids in the long term? Most will be long-term, due to the abuse of this substance and in inadequate doses, such as kidney , liver , heart , blood , endocrinological and dermatological diseases . In the short term there can also be quite a few, such as intoxications , allergies, anaphylactic shock (decrease in blood pressure that puts life at risk) and various syndromes , since the substances are obtained, 80-90% of the time, in the market black (I obtained these data for my thesis Prevalence of steroid use in the metropolitan area of Monterrey), which implies that the substances are fake and may be contaminated. After presenting you with all this information about testosterone and steroids, as well as their myths, realities and dangers, it is vital that before deciding to resort to them artificially, you weigh the pros and cons, in addition to, obviously, consulting your a specialist.