Features > Steroid Side Effects

Learn all about steroids side effects with the graphic below. There are many types of steroids and they all carry side effects. From topical steroids side effects to oral steroids side effects there is a lot going on inside of someone that takes steroids. Did you know that there are even legal steroids side effects? Check out the graphic below and then don't let buying steroids cause you to put your health on the line and substitute a bottle of pills for good old fashioned hard work and a proper workout plan.

Steroids Side Effects

Steroids are the ultimate moral choice in the world of weight training. The trainee stands there on the edge of a cliff: step off into a world of quick, easy strength gains, but end up free-falling to your doom. OR you can walk away, knowing that the path you are taking is the right one, the more challenging one, the more rewarding one.

There are many (bad) examples of steroids in sports. Many professional, amateur, and casual weightlifters have fallen prey to the promises of steroids, thinking that they would be a quick pathway to increased size, strength and stamina. Others turn to steroids for their anti-aging capabilities. Youth and beauty are hard to let go of, and when a seemingly magic elixir like steroids (while illegal) is so easy to get, it can be difficult for the weaker ones out there to say no to.

The side effects of steroids are many and they are all frightening and terrible (as you'll see). Regardless of how big and impressive they may make your body look, the damage that they will wreak is so great that no amount of strength could possibly offset it. Remember: steroids are for the weak.

Fatal Side Effects of Steroids

The longterm and widespread effects of steroids are crippling. We'll see them in greater detail further along this infographic. However, a few big ones to talk about right off the bat are the ones that could end up killing you. Steroids play hell with your internal systems. Steroids are (or are related to) naturally-occurring substances (Human Growth Hormone, testosterone, etc. - click here to learn the facts about HGH) in your body.

However, whereas the natural hormones and chemicals occur in response to various stimuli from within your body (puberty, increased muscle activity, proper diet, etc.), steroids are unnatural and cause devastating effects to the same systems (glands, sex organs, etc.) that usually produce the hormones and other secretions that you want or need!

This shock to the system from steroids can be so bad that it can cause the following potentially deadly steroids side effects:

• Heart attack
• Suicidal thoughts
• Stroke
• Blood clots
• Liver failure
• Liver cancer

Breakdown by Body Part

We'll talk about the specific impacts that steroids have on humans by gender, but this introduction will run down some of the major issues that almost all steroid users will experience. First off are the psychiatric effects: aggression ("'roid rage"), irritability, anxiety, suspiciousness, manic behavior, mood swings, delusions and depression. Your brain is a delicate thing. It is intensely affected by the biochemicals secreted by different parts of your body. Steroids throw those chemicals all out of whack.

Since most steroids are artificial, and all are present in the body in far greater amounts than should otherwise be there, they have to be processed by the liver. This increased load on the liver can lead to many problems. First on the list is jaundice (yellowing of the skin and/or whites of the eyes). This is often-times associated with liver failure. Liver cancer is also a possibility.

Yellow skin isn't the only possible problem. Many steroid users suffer from acne, caused by over-active sebaceous glands. Other problems under the skin center on the heart. Starting with an enlarged heart, the steroid user's troubles escalate. Lipid levels (fat in the blood) can go all over the place, and LDL (the "bad cholesterol") can spike. This is often associated with clogged arteries.

Elsewhere in the body, the same muscles that steroid users were seeking to build up are having their own problems. For one thing, their tendons are getting weakened. This is a HUGE problem if your muscles are getting bigger and stronger, because tendons are responsible for connecting muscles to bones. Anyone want to guess what happens if your muscles get too strong for your tendons? SNAP!

Steroid users also deal with dysplasia of collagen fibrils (which means that it's growing strangely) and increased bone production (which you DO NOT want). So-called "general physical problems" also include fatigue, restlessness, insomnia, loss of appetite, and eventual physical dependency (that's ironic - steroids do terrible things to your body - then make you addicted to them!).

Steroid User Common Traits

Check out these steroid statistics:

HDL levels are 50% higher than average (not actually too bad, but not worth the TON of bad things that steroids do to you).

LDL Levels are 56% higher (that's BAD).

57% more likely to experience increased levels of anger and irritability.

67% more likely to experience changes in libido.

25% of users develop hypertension.

250% more likely to develop heart disease (which is already the number one killer in America).

Steroid Use Side Effect by Gender and Age

Steroids have different effects on each sex. There are both steroids side effects for men and for women. There are even extra teenager steroids side effects.

Male Steroids Side Effects

Male users can look forward to accelerated/unnatural hair loss and breast development. Shrunken testicles (due to them thinking that they no longer need to produce testosterone, etc. because you are injecting it into your body), impotence, infertility, and decreased sex drive are all also associated with steroid use in males. Highly ironic, considering that many males take them to make their physiques more impressive and typically masculine.

Female Steroids Side Effects

Women who use steroids, on the other hand, definitely end up looking more masculine. They can expect shrunken breasts, increased/new facial or body hair, and a deeper voice. Steroid use also increases breast cancer (a leading affliction amongst women in developed countries), osteoporosis (another leading affliction) and anemia. Steroids can also lead to birth defects in any children that a female steroid user may have. The steroids side effects for women are very serious. The hormonal disruptions caused by steroids also lead to irregular periods (at first) and eventually can result in the full cessation of periods altogether.

Steroid Side Effects for Teenagers

The many many many terrible side effects of steroids go on far longer than this article. Be sure to check the full graphic above for details about how steroids affect teenagers. There's also much more to steroids than is revealed in this graphic. The bottom line is: they don't make you stronger in all ways, they make you weaker. Skip out on using steroids and instead use all natural supplements and good 'ol fashioned hard work with a great workout plan to meet your fitness goals!