Steroids are quite controversial in the world of sports in reality due to the inherent risks pertaining to health that they portend including their benefits in performance which is yet to be wholly proven. Most of the steroids in existence are illegal. As a result these substances are totally banned by many professional and amateur sporting organizations.

As it has been seen in most high profile cases, the fact that an athlete has been caught having used these substances or 'doping' as the practice is usually known leads to a stripping of medals that had been won and a subsequent partial or total ban from the respective sport. In retrospect, harming ones body or even ending up disqualified is not a very smart move aimed towards improving ones athletic performance. In fact for one to earn the title 'a star' it literally means training in the only true and healthy way; that is really practicing without ceasing, eating healthy foods and being engaged in strength exercises devoid of drug use.

Steroids happen to be a class of very powerful compounds which are in related and derived from the male hormone testosterone. Steroids have a lineage that runs back to the 1930's where they were originally used to repair and build tissues as well as preventing their breakdown in some very serious and debilitating diseases.

Steroids also come handy when it is really needed to aid men who cannot produce in their bodies enough natural hormones that are required for the development of lower voice, body hair as well as other masculine traits in the onset of puberty. When combined in their intake with another program of serious muscle developing exercises and controlled diet, steroids have tended to increase the body weight as well as the strength in the body muscles. This is the reason why a lot of athletes continue in their exploit of abusing steroids.

Seldom do physicians prescribe steroids. As much as they are abused for injuries in athletics, steroids have been a source of more harm than good due to their manner of retarding a healing process as well as suppressing ones immune system. Steroids are bought via ads in magazines, gyms, other sportsmen, and through the Internet. In their illegal use steroids are got through black markets as well as underground laboratories and even foreign sources.

Steroids obtained through these channels do lack in purity, quality and usually with counterfeit labels in an effort to imply that legitimate companies did manufacture them. Due to the nature of these steroids they do lack appropriate ingredients and are commonly manufactured in facilities that lack in sterile equipments. Steroids have been associated with the development of serious side effects amongst the users.

For starters, steroid users have been known to suffer from various conditions that affect the major organs. The effects of steroids are different among men, women and teens. Many of the harmful effects of steroid use are manifested in men since they form the largest proportion of steroid users globally.