Are SARMS the new safe steroid?
For most people, going to the gym is a healthy habit that helps them reduce stress. Yet, for the competitive physique and strength chasers, it's more than habit. The strive for the best physique or the strongest lift are on the minds of some individuals. Being young, my group of friends were curious on what performance enhancing supplements that were safe to take and did not have as bad side effects as the typical steroids; which include acne, high blood pressure, sudden mood swings, etc (Zelman, 2017). The search for such supplement was on the rise and that is when SARMS came into play. SARMS stand for selective androgen receptor modulators and have the ability to select between anabolic and androgenic activities; with the potential upside of treating diseases that may cause muscle wasting (Zhangn & Sui, 2013). Anabolic steroids on the other hand, work by binding to a multitude of androgen receptors and also upregulate the number of active receptors in skeletal muscles (Ganesan, 2019). With SARMS ability to bind to specific androgen receptors and increase cellular anabolic activity, while avoiding side effects associated with anabolic steroids, this makes it seem like the perfect drug to take (Solomon et al., 2019). According to the USADA, SARMS were introduced in 1998, stating that is a relatively new drug. As for side effects, none of the literature have stated any, due to how relatively new this drug is. So the question stands on if SARMS are better than steroids; even if there is more research on steroids and way less research on SARMS, is it worth it to be the “guinea pig” when experimenting with supplements? Even though no side effects related to the ones steroids produce have been discovered.
References:
Ganesan, Zito K. “Anabolic Steroids.” StatPearls [Internet]., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2 Feb. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482418/.
“Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs): USADA.” U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), 25 July 2019, www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/education/selective-androgen-receptor-modulators-sarms-prohibited-class-anabolic-agents/.
Solomon, Zachary J, et al. “Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators: Current Knowledge and Clinical Applications.” Sexual Medicine Reviews, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30503797.
Zelman, David. “What Are the Possible Side Effects of Oral Steroids?” WebMD, WebMD, 13 June 2017, www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/qa/what-are-the-possible-side-effects-of-oral-steroids.
Zhang, Xuqing, and Zhihua Sui. “Deciphering the Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators Paradigm.” Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Feb. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23231475.
You raise a good question with experimenting with relatively new drugs/supplements that have no clinic research. When it comes to supplementation, I believe that we are always the "guinea pigs". Whether it comes down to SARMs, creatine, or a simple herbal blend, there is little to no FDA regulation of these products. As stated by the FDA, "Federal law does not require dietary supplements to be proven safe to FDA's satisfaction before they are marketed"(FDA, 2015). Furthermore, even with the "safest" supplement there is still health risks and side-effects. Creatine is one of the worlds most used dietary supplements and has been used on the market since 1992. However, there is still detrimental effects of taking this supplement. High-doses of creatine can lead to liver, kidney, or heart damage alongside many other side-effects (Mayo Clinic, 2017). As such, the consumer should always do extensive research before consuming any dietary supplement.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
“FDA 101: Dietary Supplements.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 15 July 2015, https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fda-101-dietary-supplements.
“Creatine.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 12 Oct. 2017, https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-creatine/art-20347591.