Doping, What Is It and Why Is It Dangerous?

We've all heard about athletes being eliminated from their sport for doping. Certain Olympics like track and swim, baseball, football, bodybuilding, weight lifting and cycling have seen their share of doping scandals. Just what is doping?

Simply put, doping is the use of drugs or other substances to improve athlete performance, making them faster, stronger or with higher stamina than usual. Anabolic steroids may be the most well-known drug, followed by HGH (human growth hormone). Drugs and other substances have also been used, such as testosterone, Dianabol, Furabol, cocaine, digitalis, amphetamine, ephedrine and strychnine.

Since the early 1990s, blood doping has also been performed using a variety of materials and methods to increase the number of red blood cells. The two ingredients used are Erthropoietin Factors Stabilizer and Inducible Hypoxia. The first is usually used in medicine for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy. It also promotes faster wound healing. The second is used in the treatment of chronic kidney disease. Blood transfusions and blood substitutes (designed O2 carriers) are two methods used to increase red cell counts. Increasing the number of red blood cells allows more oxygen to be carried into the body.

Many drugs and methods used for doping have beneficial medicinal uses when used appropriately and at low doses. In sports, they are used in high doses and more often than not use drugs to last longer, become faster and stronger to have a competitive advantage.

When these materials and methods are used to improve the performance of athletes, they are not only dangerous but dangerous. Athletes' risk of doping includes stroke, heart failure, hypertension, liver, kidney and thyroid damage, cardiovascular disease, aggressive behavior, severe mood changes, suicidal thoughts and adrenal burns.

The risk of an athlete taking doping is not only harmful to one's health, they can be deadly. Other risks may not be harmful but will continue to affect athletes for the rest of their lives. For example, adrenal fatigue will leave the athlete weak, damage to the reproductive system can lead to infertility and impotence, balance and coordination problems, and enlarged heart.

Before an athlete even thinks about doping to win the competition, they better think about what to do with their health and how it will impact their personal lives. Has it become stronger, faster and has greater endurance that could put your life at risk? Are you ready to die for your sport?

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