Dying to Get Big - The Dangers Associated with PED Use

While packing on muscle mass and gaining strength can be incredibly satisfying, using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to achieve this goal is simply just not worth the risk— as many of these drugs can have an extremely negative impact on your health, ultimately resulting in premature death. In 2015, Muscular Development made a considerable effort to highlight many of the dangers associated with these drugs— while promoting the use of safer performance-enhancing supplements that, although not as potent, still provide a powerful anabolic impact without the negative side effects associated with PEDs.

DYING to Get Big!

A primary cause for the increased health risks associated with the contemporary use of PEDs has to do with the simultaneous use of many different types of PEDs that will wreak havoc on the body, producing poor health, thus increasing the odds for premature death. The standard cocktail of PEDs consumed today usually includes heavy doses of different kinds of anabolic steroids in combination with other powerful anabolic agents such as human growth hormone (GH) and insulin.^1,2 While this mix of PEDs may improve your physique in the short term without manifesting disease, the harsh reality is that over time, the repetitive use of these drugs will break your body down— potentially causing a plethora of disease that will most definitely result in premature death.

 The Perils of Anabolic Steroid Use

The most heavily consumed PED is the anabolic steroid. Elite bodybuilders have been using this form of PED to build muscle mass and strength for quite some time now. In fact, the use of anabolic steroids has likely increased over time, as one study investigating the use of PEDs by competitive bodybuilders showed that 77 percent of the respondents reported using anabolic steroids.³While anabolic steroid use is very high among top-flight bodybuilders, the truth is the vast majority of PED users are not elite bodybuilders, or athletes, but rather individuals focused on simply wanting to look leaner and more muscular.³

The reason for the widespread consumption of anabolic steroids is they do, indeed, potently stimulate muscle growth and strength. The primary anabolic effect from anabolic steroids is caused by cranking up the synthesis of certain protein molecules within the muscle cell that promote muscle growth and strength. Of course, the positive influence on muscle growth from anabolic steroid use does not come without negative side effects, as anabolic steroids also trigger protein synthesis in non-muscle cells, such as the prostate, which promotes the unwanted enlargement of the prostate gland, increasing the chance for prostate cancer.

Anabolic steroids have also been shown to dramatically impair cardiac function by pathologically increasing cardiac muscle hypertrophy, which decreases the capacity of the heart to pump blood throughout the body.^4,5 In addition to the undesirable effects of anabolic steroids on the function of cardiac tissue, some steroids, especially the 17-alpha-alkylated anabolic steroids like Anadrol⁶, reduce the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (the “good cholesterol”) while increasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (the “bad cholesterol”), which is a well-established profile for developing cardiovascular disease.⁷As if the aforementioned side effects are not enough, a few additional, yet less severe, adverse health effects also seen in anabolic steroid users include infertility, gynecomastia, sexual dysfunction, acne and testicular atrophy, which altogether further stress the considerable danger associated with the use of these incredibly powerful drugs.

 GH Induces Insulin Resistance, Resulting in the Use of More Drugs

The second most common PED that has also been used for an extensive period of time by those dying to get big is human growth hormone (GH). Human growth hormone is a protein molecule secreted by the anterior pituitary gland that functions by binding to the growth hormone receptor found on the cell surface of many different organs and tissues within the body. The binding of GH to the receptor triggers biochemical signaling cascades that powerfully stimulate an anabolic environment that supports greater muscle growth, while also promoting fat loss.

To date, there have been no systematic studies of the adverse effects of GH use. So, much of the information about the potential adverse effects from GH use in the supraphysiologic range has been deduced from studies of patients with acromegaly, a disease caused by excessive GH production, resulting in abnormal growth of the hands, feet and face. The high GH levels in these patients also typically leads to hypertension, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, increased insulin resistance, diabetes and even increased mortality.⁸

So, one might conclude that all of these negative health effects associated with GH use would deter, if not completely stop, the use of this drug just to get bigger muscles. Regrettably, that has not been the case. In fact, the shocking reality is that instead of discouraging the use of GH, this knowledge has actually led to the use of additional drugs, such as metformin, to mitigate some of the ailments associated with GH use, such as insulin resistance and diabetes. Metformin is able to minimize the increase in blood sugar due to insulin resistance by suppressing the production of glucose by the liver, while also restoring the insulin-signaling response to some degree. Obviously, trying to prevent an adverse side effect from the use of one drug by consuming another drug, especially without the advice of a physician, is extremely dangerous and should be completely avoided.

 Metformin Reduces Testosterone Production and Function

Furthermore, not only is it a bad decision to use metformin without the guidance of a physician, but it appears that the use of metformin to mitigate GH-driven insulin resistance is an even worse decision, when considering a recent study has shown that metformin actually impedes the muscle-building hormone testosterone.

In fact, this study revealed that consuming 850 milligrams of metformin twice a day for two weeks had several negative influences on testosterone in healthy young male subjects.⁹ The first adverse consequence being a reduction in total testosterone levels and the second, more deleterious, consequence being a decrease in the biologically active form of testosterone, which is the form of testosterone that stimulates muscle growth. Altogether, this means that metformin not only reduces testosterone levels but also reduces the muscle-building activity of any testosterone that is still being produced.

 A Steroid Alternative With Muscle-building Potential and No Side Effects

As a potential alternative to anabolic steroids, a class of compounds known as ecdysteroids, that are naturally produced in many different organisms including the insect¹⁰, have also been shown to effectively promote anabolic muscle growth with essentially no androgenic or estrogenic side effects.^11,12,13Moreover, human consumption of ecdysteroids has been shown to influence several physiological functions that enhance muscle size with essentially no adverse side effects, making them an attractive alternative to anabolic steroids.

 For most of Michael Rudolph’s career he has been engrossed in the exercise world as either an athlete (he played college football at Hofstra University), personal trainer or as a research scientist (he earned a B.Sc. in Exercise Science at Hofstra University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Stony Brook University). After earning his Ph.D., Michael investigated the molecular biology of exercise as a fellow at Harvard Medical School and Columbia University for over eight years. That research contributed seminally to understanding the function of the incredibly important cellular energy sensor AMPK— leading to numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals including the journal Nature. Michael is currently a scientist working at the New York Structural Biology Center doing contract work for the Department of Defense on a project involving national security.

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