Anabolic steroids or Androgenic Steroids are a group of testosterone derived steroids. Anabolic steroids is a broadly used term for a group of drugs like Testosterone, Dianabol, Ciba, Syntex. Almost all Anabolic steroids today are banned for any use other than medicinal use. Discovered in the 1930's steroids were initially used for medicinal purposes to aid muscle, bone marrow and body mass growth.

The general uses of anabolic steroids extends mostly in the medicinal fields where steroids have been used for treating problems like Asthma, muscle wasting induced by diseases such as AIDs, increasing bone marrow production. Almost all anabolic steroids available are under the controlled substances act in the US and are available only under prescription. Even after prescription anabolic steroids are consumed and regulated under supervision to ensure misuse and overdose.

The common side effects of Anabolic steroids are often over rated and numerous myths circulate about the overdose or misuse of anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids have the following side effects hypertension, cardio-vascular diseases, hair loss, growth of unwanted body hair, infertility and gynecomastia in men. This is one of the major reasons why anabolic steroids are used under supervision.

Anabolic Steroids in Sports

A majority of professional and amateur body builders openly admit to having used steroids at some stage of there lives, anabolic steroids have been used by body builders for a long time to increase the rate at which muscle build up takes place, in addition to being used by body builders to increase muscle volume, athletes in various fields of sports have used anabolic steroids to increase stamina. Anabolic-androgenic steroids can be used orally or injected directly into the blood stream depending on the type of steroid being used.

Most dope tests today are capable of screening for even the minutest amounts of anabolic steroids. However this has only bought on the advent of undetectable steroids that are not easily traced by doping tests, and many health supplements today that claim to have 'muscle building' capability are said to be laced with similar anabolic steroids.

It is also a well acknowledged fact that anabolic steroids can be used under supervision to increase muscle mass. Many consultants today offer there services to help body builders increase muscle mass and avoid the nasty side effects that they might experience due to misuse or over dose of anabolic steroids. At the end of the day the option of using anabolic steroids is completely a personal choice.