A muscle-building expert revealed all about the real impacts of taking steroids on an episode of Steven Bartlett's podcast, Diary of a CEO.
While certain people inject drugs to enhance weight loss effects, others turn to supplements or steroids to pack on muscle mass more rapidly.
Anabolic steroids synthetic derivatives of naturally occurring testosterone and according to one study, around 2.7 to 2.9 percent of young American adults have taken them at least once in their lives.
However, more research is revealing the negative effects of taking steroids on the body.
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Dr. Michael Israetel is a fitness expert who co-founded Renaissance Periodization which offers fitness and dieting advice on YouTube.
Speaking on an episode of Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO podcast, the sports scientist explained the impact of steroids on male anatomy and sexual health.
First, Dr. Israetel described how steroids can be taken orally or injected directly into muscles like the shoulders, thighs or glutes. After just a few months of use, the competitive bodybuilder explained that you start to notice changes in your body and workouts.
For muscle development, Dr. Israetel noted that steroids allow for 'faster recovery,' so users can 'magnify' their workouts with more sets and repetitions, delivering bigger results in less time. But like any chemical substance, steroids can dramatically affect the body - and not always positively.
"Something like half of all people will experience testicular shrinkage while using steroids," Dr. Israetel revealed during the podcast. "Roughly half will experience a decrease in ejaculate volume and a profound decrease in fertility."
While he clarified that steroids 'don't make you infertile,' they can sometimes impact your sex drive (libido).
According to the nutrition specialist, steroids have never been proven to alter penis size since there's 'no mechanism by which they can do that.'
Ultimately, the effects of taking steroids come down to the type that you use, your individual biology and any other drugs you take alongside it, Dr. Israetel added.
Some users have reportedly experienced increased libido, while others either don't notice a change or come across decreased libido. Among those who do see increased sex drive, some can simultaneously develop erectile dysfunction, the content creator claimed.
Among the sexual changes, other psychological side effects that come with taking steroids include 'increases in anxiety, aggression, disagreeableness and a higher probability of confrontation,' Dr. Israetel confirmed.
Adding to this, steroids have also been shown to 'substantially reduce fluid intelligence' and may reduce your 'overall intelligence' in the long term. The expert assured that these mental effects typically reverse once you stop using steroids, though possibly not completely.