Are Steroids Ever Good for You?

We constantly hear about the use of steroids in the sports world, but the world of Major League Baseball is in the spotlight right now. Big time.

The MLB is set to suspend about 20 baseball players connected to an ongoing performance-enhancing drug scandal that includes big name players like Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun. If the suspensions go through this will be the largest steroid scandal in the history of American sports.

Due to the way the media spins incidents like this, we only think of the use of steroids as wrong and bad for one’s health. Performance-enhancing drugs essentially are synonymous with the word cheating. And often times the bad rep that the controversial substance has are true.  But even so, the MLB scandal got us thinking…is there ever a healthy time to use steroids?

Steroids can affect everyone’s body differently and, when used for the right reasons, can actually have healthy benefits other than building muscle. Here are 6 reasons that one might use the drug in a healthy way that the media tends to leave out of the conversation:

1. Steroids can help stimulate bone growth.
2. The controversial drug can treat arthritis.
3. Steroids have been used to treat organ inflammation.
4. When used during injury treatment, steroids can help accelerate recovery and healing time.
5. Steroids increase the production of red blood cells so are beneficial for anemic patients.
6. Difficult to understand in the professional and competitive sport world, but steroids do increase the effectiveness of a training regimen. The drugs have the ability to cut down a players fatigue levels

The use of steroids by healthy athletes is controversial because of the competitive advantages they may receive, but from a medical standpoint there are many uses for the drug that are not talked about.

What do you think about the MLB steroid scandal? Do you know of any other positive benefits of the drug?

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