Oral Steroids

Individuals that are looking for fast, effective results from their anabolic steroid routine tend to select oral steroids. Oral anabolic androgenic steroids are preferential as they require no preparation, or painful injections. Immediately after being consumed, the substance goes through the so described ‘first pass meatbolism’. The oral steroids are absorbed into the blood stream, whereby they can commence the anabolic process on the cells. The anabolic effect is the increase in the metabolic activity that anabolic androgenic steroids have on organs and tissue, particularly in the muscle, to enable cells to enlarge, leading to the increased muscle mass associated with athletes and body builders. Oral anabolic steroids are preferred over the injectable substance counterparts for the shorter time period in which this reaction begins. Steroids administered by injection often have esters that slow the process down. This is because the ester chain firstly needs to dis-attached by hepatic enzymes in order for the anabolic steroids to become active within the system. Oral anabolic steroids also have a shorter half life, another benefit that makes them seem advantageous over injectable steroids or the dermal adhesive skin patch. The half life means that the metabolites are excreted from the system in a shorter period of time. For athletes or body builders that are required to be subjected to anti drug testing, this is a very desirable quality, as anabolic steroids are a controlled substance by law as well as by the vast majority of sporting and competition authorities. For recreational, amateur, or even professional athletes, the most commonly taken oral anabolic steroids include Anavar, Anadrol, and Dianabol.

There are certain negative side effects that are particularly associated with oral anabolic steroids, more so than with the other methods of administering the performance enhancing drug. Taking oral steroids causes even greater strain on the liver than taking an injectable anabolic steroid or by using a dermal adhesive patch to release the drug through the skin. In the human body, the liver carries out very important functions such as storing vital nutrients, for example the glycogen that endurance athletes and others must rely on for stamina and fighting fatigue during exercise, training, or competition, and responsible for detoxifying the internal systems by the excretion of waste products from the body. Oral anabolic steroids can severely reduce the ability of the liver to effectively perform these operations, causing detrimental negative side effects to the steroid user’s health. In particular, oral anabolic steroids that contain the c-17 alpha alkylation cause the greatest stress to this organ and its ability to carry out vital bodily functions. The chemical alteration is added to the oral anabolic steroid in order that the substance can withstand the ‘first pass metabolism’ mentioned above. If it cannot bypass this process through the liver, the drug becomes unable to carry out the anabolic effects that are desired from taking the illegal and immoral performance enhancer in the first place. As the liver tries to break down this additional chemical additive, it is working extremely hard to reduce the molecular size of something designed to with stand the process, wasting the energy of the organ.