The use of growth hormones has long been controversial, especially with well-known sports figures and celebrities being revealed as users of these drugs. Even today, people continue to use search engines to look for stories about steroid and HGH effects, searching for terms such as Nate Marquardt steroids to check the story behind the UFC fighter being dropped from the card for using performance enhancement drugs, and Charlie Sheen steroids to read up on Charlie Sheen’s confession of using steroids for his role in the film Major League. This article looks at steroid and HGH effects, both the good and the bad.
HGH Supplements vs Anabolic steroids
What is HGH?
Before looking at HGH effects, it is important to look at what HGH is.
HGH stands for Human Growth Hormone, a substance that is produced naturally by the pituitary gland in the brain. It is mainly responsible for increasing the height of people, although it also plays a role in increasing the size of cells, tissues, and organs as people grow older.
People produce less and less HGH as they grow older. This is the reason why people stop growing at around the age of 21, but this is only one of the HGH effects related to aging. The signs of aging, such as wrinkled and saggy skin and poor sight, and lower immunity are also HGH effects that occur when people produce less amounts of the hormone.
Researchers have since devised a way to introduce HGH to the body to prevent these negative effects from happening. Interestingly enough, these HGH benefits are experienced not because the drug introduces HGH into the body. Instead, what it actually does is that it actually triggers the body into producing more HGH. Originally, the drug was introduced to the body either intravenously or sublingually, however, HGH supplements in capsule form have also been introduced in the market. The latter has become the most popular option for HGH supplements, since this allows people to control just how much HGH they will be taking in.
HGH Effects: The Good
There are several positive HGH effects attributed to the supplement, the biggest one being the increase of muscle mass and improvement of sports performance by boosting energy and endurance. As such, this has become a popular tool used by athletes prior to the banning of performance enhancement drugs. Other HGH effects include:
- Reducing the fat in your system;
- Metabolism boosting;
- Strengthening of bones and aiding in calcium retention;
- Better control of blood sugar levels;
- Better regulation of cholesterol levels;
- Boosting the immune system;
- Reversing the signs of aging;
- Increasing of skin elasticity;
- Improving cardiac function;
- Improving mood and sleep patterns; and
- Improving sexual function.
HGH Effects: the Bad
What makes the drug so controversial is because of the purported HGH side effects. It’s important to note that the primary reason why there are several bad HGH effects attributed to the drug is because of the fact that a lot of manufacturers actually come up with products that they claim to contain HGH but actually don’t. These drugs in turn cause a host of health problems to pop up, and because the labels claim to contain the hormone, a lot of people make the false assumption that these problems are HGH effects. However, the fact remains that there truly are bad HGH effects that can put your health at risk. Some of the negative HGH effects include increase in blood pressure, arthritis, tissue swelling, hypertension, muscle weakness, fluid retention, joint pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome. There are also some people who may be allergic to HGH supplements, causing their bodies to negatively react to the drug.
Given the numerous negative HGH effects attributed to the drug, it is essential that you consult with your doctor first before using this to make sure that this is safe for you to use. This is particularly important if you have a medical condition that can worsen should you take the drug.
What are Anabolic Steroids?
Unlike HGH, anabolic steroids are not naturally-occurring substances. Instead these are man-made drugs that mimic testosterone in order to enhance performance. As such, these are commonly used as a performance enhancement drug, given that these have similar HGH effects, which include making muscle cells larger, higher strength, resistance, and endurance, and helping the body recover more quickly from physical activity.
Effects of Steroids
Aside from performance enhancement properties of steroids that are similar to HGH effects, steroids can also:
- Increase protein synthesis;
- Remodeling and growth of bones;
- Increase in appetite;
- Increase in the production of red blood cells;
- Causes more growth of body and facial hair;
- Deepening of voice;
- Increase in libido and sex drive;
- Increased aggressiveness; and
- Improved mood.
Steroids Side Effects
Unfortunately, there are more known side effects of steroids compared to HGH. While some are mild, others are more serious and can even be fatal. While these side effects are primarily caused by the abuse of steroids, it’s actually possible to experience these even if a person carefully regulates how much of the supplement he or she takes. Steroids side effects include:
- Acne;
- Bad breath;
- Muscle cramping;
- Increased possibility of having sports-related injuries;
- Water retention;
- Breast growth and shrinking of testicles in men;
- Deepening of voice, larger clitoris, decrease in breast size, and growth of chest hair in women;
- Nose bleeds;
- Insomnia;
- Appearance of tumors, which can be benign or malignant;
- Increased risk of having osteoporosis for women;
- Cardiovascular problems;
- Possibility of experiencing psychosis;
- Higher cholesterol levels;
- Increased possibility of having heart attacks;
- Kidney disease;
- Liver disease; and
- Increased possibility of having cancer, especially liver cancer, prostate (for men), cervical, or endometrial (for women) cancer.
There are more side effects attributed to steroids compared to HGH side effects. However, this does not necessarily mean that steroids are worse than HGH. As some people have postulated, this could possibly be due to the fact that there has been more research about steroid effects than HGH effects.
Related posts:
You must log in to post a comment.