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Performance Enhancing Drugs in
Athletics
Information provided by the Conscious Evolution
Institute
Athletic competitors are always trying to get an
edge over the competition. Usually, they do this by training
hardputting their blood, sweat, and tears into their trade in
order to become the best that they can be. Other athletes, however,
take shortcuts. There are a number of ways that athletes can do this,
and, although effective, performance enhancing drugs and medical
techniques provide an unfair advantage to these players that has the
potential to put honest athletes out of work.
Lance Armstrongs appearance on Oprah recently
is the most relevant example today, but a decade ago it was the great
baseball homerun shootouts of the early 2000s. In the 1980s and
1990s, the primary stories involving performance enhancing drugs
involved Olympic Track and Field athletes. Although we at the
Conscious Evolution Institute are major proponents for Human Growth
Hormone and Testosterone Replacement Therapy, we understand that they
should not be used for athletic performance enhancing purposes
because of the unfair work environment that they provide to athletes
who do not turn to the substances.
We strongly support the use of drugs such as HGH
Shots and Testosterone Injections for their rejuvenative, Anti-Aging
purposes, however. Below, are a list of commonly used performance
enhancing drugs that are regularly banned in amateur, professional,
and Olympic sport.
Categories
of Banned Performance Enhancing Drugs
Stimulants and Performance
Enhancement
Although not the most talked about form of
performance enhancing drug, stimulants are commonly tested for by
athletic organizations such as Major League Baseball and the
International Olympic Committee. Stimulants are medicines and illicit
drugs which boost mental and athletic performance by increasing
physical and mental stimulation. They have a tendency to boost
competitive desire and allow players to attain higher levels of
alertness for longer periods of time.
Take baseball for exampleBaseball is a sport of
split second reaction times and decision making. The pitcher throws
the ball, and the batter has less than a second to judge the
trajectory of the ball and take a swing. Stimulants such as
yellowjackets, adderol, and amphetamines have the ability to provide
precious extra milliseconds for the batter to react accurately and
make clean contact with the ball. In addition to this, stimulants
have a tendency to increase levels of aggression that allow players
in high contact sports such as football the desire to drive their
opponent straight into the ground.
Stimulants also reduce tiredness and help athletes
enhance their energy level. Baseball is well-known for the use of
stimulants through the seventies and eighties. Baseball players are
on a gruelling schedule, playing through well over 100 games a year,
all over the country. They are expected to maintain peak performance
even under these conditions, and if they slip up, the risk of being
demoted back to the minor leagues is high for unestablished players.
Stimulants were often used in order to help players get amped up for
every game, every night.
Dangers of Stimulant Abuse
Although the performance benefits of stimulants
are well-documented, misuse of stimulants can lead to a number of
health and behavioural problems as well. Abuse of stimulants can
raise blood temperature to unhealthy levels as well as elevate blood
pressure to a dangerous rate. Stimulant abuse increases the chances
of heart attack and stroke in mid-adulthood because of the increased
strain on the cardiovascular system. Stimulant abuse can also disrupt
the normal function of the heart, leading to an irregular heartbeat.
Examples of Stimulants
Although cocaine and methamphetamine are well
known illegal stimulants, there are a number of other stimulants that
can be acquired either through prescription or over the counter.
There are other nutritional and herbal supplements that can be
purchased from diet and nutrition stores as well. Stimulants
prohibited from athletic performance include:
Terbutaline
Strychnine
Salmenterol
Salbutamol
Phentermine
Phenylpropanolamine
Pipradol
Pentylentrazol
Mesocarb
Fencamfamine
Ephedrines
Cocaine
Carphedron
Bromantan
Amphetamines
Amiphenazole
amineptine
Steroids and Performance
Enhancement
Steroids are another form of Performance Enhancing
Drugperhaps the form which receives the most attention from the
media. Anabolic Steroids enhance the bodys ability to withstand
and develop muscle through weightlifting and other forms of intense
exercise. These Steroids work by mimicking the function of the
testosterone that our bodies endogenously produce. The effects that
bodybuilders and professional athletes use Testosterone primarily for
is to strengthen their muscles and bones in order to hit harder on
the field, run faster on the track, and enhance their physique in a
culture which desire and appreciate aesthetically large and
impressive muscles.
Professionals who use anabolic steroids such as
Testosterone shots have the ability to train more frequently than
their peers, and for longer periods of time. They are also able to
put more strain on their muscles and still see results, because
Testosterone helps feed hungry muscles the protein that they need to
take on an enhanced workload. In the medical arena, steroids have
been used for decades as a means to decrease recovery time and
increase rehabilitative outcomes for patients who are suffering from
significant illness or are in the process of recovering from major
surgery.
Steroids like Testosterone creams have also been
shown to be especially effective in treating Age-related disorders
such as Low-T and Adult-onset hypogonadism as well. As men age, their
natural Testosterone levels start to dwindle, and the positive
effects of healthy Testosterone levels begin to diminish.
Testosterone helps these patients maintain healthy baseline levels of
Testosterone in order to maintain enhanced physical and mental
health. Testosterone Therapy has also been shown to be beneficial in
women for restoring sexual desire and alleviating depression as well
as maintaining muscle and bone health. The positive health benefits
provided for women with the use of Testosterone are with low doses
intended to replenish normal levels of female testosterone.
Symptoms of Steroid Abuse
Of course, since Testosterone is the primary male
androgen, Abuse of testosterone and other steroids in women can lead
to the development of unwanted male traits. These women develop
muscles which are similar to those in men. In addition to this body
hair begins to grow in traditionally male patterns as well. The
breasts often shrink in size as Testosterone crowds out the female
bodys own natural estrogen production. Personality traits normally
dominant in males such as aggression also have a tendency to develop.
In patients of both sexes, the abuse of
Testosterone can reduce fertility outcomesin males, because the
influx of outside steroids reduces the bodys ability to produce
its own sperm and testosterone after the patient has ceased
Testosterone Injection, and in women because the flood of
Testosterone inhibits the function of Estrogen in the female
reproductive cycle. Testosterone abuse can lead to male infertility
as well as acne.
Abuse of Steroids can also lead to kidney damage,
because the body is not optimized to function with an excess of
Testosterone or other androgens. Steroid abuse is also bad for the
heart, and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and hardened
arteries. Excess Steroid levels also increase the chance of
developing reproductive cancers such as prostate cancer. Oral steroid
consumption is tightly correlated with liver damage, because the
liver is only designed to handle a certain load of amino acids, and
damage begins to build up when the organ processes too much.
A few common anabolic steroids are stanozolol,
nandrolone, and androstenedione.
Diuretics and Performance
Enhancement
Diuretics are another group of substances
substance which are banned for use in many professional and amateur
sports. The legitimate medical use of Diuertics is to decrease fluid
levels in the body as a treatment of serious medical issues such as
liver disease, kidney disease, heart failure, and hypertension. These
drugs are also used to treat issues such as edema, commonly known as
fluid retention, and any medical issue that leads to high levels of
swelling. In the most direct of terms, diuretics cause patients to
urinate more often in order to release excess fluid within the body.
The reason that many diuretics are banned
substances in professional athletics is that they are commonly used
in order to hide the use and abuse of performance enhancing drugs
from drug testing. As time has passed and new techniques have been
developed, professional and Olympic drug testing has become more
sophisticated, and more and more drugs are testable. Diuretics reduce
concentrations of performance enhancing drugs in the urine in order
to increase the chances that a player will pass a drug test even when
currently using drugs which are banned from the sport.
In sports such as boxing or wrestling, diuretics
are often used in order to drop weight quickly in order to qualify
for lower weight classes. Although Diuretics are not performance
enhancing drugs in and of themselves, their unwarranted presence in
the urine or bloodstream of an athlete is an implicit admission that
the athlete has something to hide, therefore, in many sports, the use
of these drugs is bannable.
Symptoms of Diuretic Abuse
Diuretics can also have an adverse effect on the
body when used in excess. The over use of these drugs can lead to
significant and even life-threatening dehydration. Our bodies need a
significant amount of water in order to function properly, and
diuretic abuse deprives the body of proper hydration, which prevents
the kidneys from performing filtration properly, damaging them
severely over the long term. Heart damage can also result from long
term diuretic abuse, because the blood will be under-hydrated and
thickened as well. Over time this can lead to total heart failure.
Diuretics often banned in Professional, Amateur,
and Olympic Sports:
Triamterene
Spironalactone
Mersalyl
Hydrochlorothiazide
Mannitol
Furosemide
Ethacrynic acid
Chlorthalidone
Bumetanide
Acetazolamide
Human Growth Hormone
InjectionsHGH Truths
Aside from Testosterone and other Anabolic
Steroids, the Performance Enhancing Drug most discussed in the media
today is Human Growth Hormone. Like Testosterone and other androgens,
HGH is produced naturally by the human body. Human Growth Hormone
spurs the growth and development of the bones and the muscles and
promotes fat breakdown and the synthesis of proteins. For this
reason, it is possible to gain an athletic edge with HGH. Recently,
Lance Armstrong came out and admitted that he used Human Growth
Hormone Shots in order to boost performance, which allowed him to
become the most well-known cyclist in the world.
HGH Effects
Human Growth Hormone injections increase energy
and allow the body to create muscle mass and strength at an enhanced
rate. It also helps athletes stay in enhanced physical shape because
it efficiently converts unhealthy fat into energy the muscles use to
stay active. Since HGH bolsters the cell division and reproduction,
it also greatly reduces downtimes and soreness associated with
vigorous exercise, allowing individuals to train more effectively.
HGH Anti-Aging effects continue to be uncovered yearly.
Injectable HGH has been proven to be a highly
effective therapy in adult patients who suffer from HGH Deficiency,
but it is illegal for use in the United States without a diagnosed
deficiency. Although Human Growth Hormone is incredibly safe for the
treatment of HGH Deficiency, there are a number of side effects
associated with the abuse of the hormone. This is because HGH Hormone
Replacement Therapy is only intended to restore normal, healthy
levels of Human Growth Hormone, whereas Professional athletes who
abuse HGH flood their body with levels of HGH higher than the body
can actually produce.
Side Effects of HGH Abuse
Systematic abuse of Human Growth Hormone can lead
to arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and edema. In addition to this,
HGH Abuse can lead to a disorder known as acromegaly as well.
Acromegaly is a condition where the bones of the jaw, hands, and feet
begin to grow in size outward. The plates of the bones prevent them
from growing longer after puberty, so they grow outward instead,
creating aesthetic distortions which can lead to joint discomfort,
pain, and even eating and breathing difficulties when severe.
EPO for Performance Enhancement
Erythropoietin (also known as EPO) is a
performance enhancing drug that is most associated with endurance
sports such as cross-country skiing and long distance running. This
hormone is naturally secreted by the kidneys in order to increase the
number of red blood cells present in the blood stream. Red blood
cells are responsible for the circulation of oxygen through the
blood, and for professional and Olympic athletes that perform in
sports that feature a long period of extended exertion; this
increases the effectiveness of the blood supply, allowing these
athletes to push themselves harder and faster than ever before.
Although most popular among these endurance athletes, there are also
lesser advantages to having an increased red blood cell count which
also benefit athletes who perform anaerobically, such as
weightlifters and short distance sprinters.
Symptoms of EPO Abuse
Abuse of EPO can lead to a number of circulatory
issues, such as hypertension and clogged veins and arteries. EPO
abuse can lead to a cardiovascular system which is simply overloaded
with red blood cells. This overload can also lead to Brain edema
which can cause seizures, migraines, vision problems, and a number of
other disorders associated with increased intracranial pressure.
Beta-Blockers for Performance
Enhancement
Whereas most performance enhancing drugs are
associated with increases in alertness, muscle generation, and
muscular and cardiovascular amplification, Beta-Blockers are used for
a different purpose. The medical purpose of Beta-Blockers is to treat
heart disease, high blood pressure, and angina by slowing down the
heart rate and reducing the speed at which blood circulates through
the body.
For precision athletes such as archers, dart
throwers, and target shooters, Beta-Blockers have the ability to
increase accuracy by reducing trembling and allowing participants the
ability to make accurate throws between heartbeats. Abuse of
Beta-Blockers has been proven to lead to depression, exhaustion, and
heart failure. If blood pressure becomes too low, then the body does
not have the energy to perform adequately, and the body can simply
shut down.
Blood Doping for Performance
Enhancement
Although not a drug, blood doping is also a common
form of performance enhancement which provides unfair advantage to
unscrupulous athletes. Doping the blood is the act of using red
blood cells or products which proliferate red blood cells and
increase an athletes red blood cell count by reintroducing them
through injections. In the most common form of blood doping, athletes
have a portion of their red blood cells drawn from their blood stream
and preserved for a later date. Over time, the athletes body
replenishes their depleted blood cell count. At a time around one
month before they are expected to perform, they have the preserved
red blood cells re-injected, which provides an athletic boost which
can be compared to EPO.
Symptoms of Blood Doping Abuse
There are a number of complications and dangers
that can arise from the procedure. After the red blood cells have
been drawn, the body will often react negatively in the form of
chills and fatigue. When the red blood cells are injected back into
the body, fever and edema can result as well. Blood doping can also
result in major infections of the blood which can be life
threatening. Also, long term blood doping can result in eventual
liver and kidney breakdown. Brain damage can also result. The body is
designed for gradual changes in red blood cell count, and drastic
changes that occur through frequent and drastic changes through blood
doping can adversely affect the body in significant ways.
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We at the Conscious
Evolution Institute do not condone the use of performance enhancing
drugs for athletic performance enhancement, but we do recognize that
there are many useful and legal purposes for treatments such as Human
Growth Hormone and Testosterone Replacement Therapy. If you are
interested in the use of Hormone Replacement as a means to correct
hormonal deficiency, our clinic provides all of the tools you need to
live a longer, happier, healthier life. Call or contact us today if
you have any questions!
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