There are plenty of muscle-building supplements and products out there, but it’s important to note that many of them may not be the best for your body. Anabolic steroids, for example, can have far-reaching effects on a person’s body and mind, making them far worse off than when they started.
We’re going to talk about SARMs in this article. We’ll explore what they are, as well as answer the question, “Are SARMs safe?”
Hopefully, the information below can give you some insight into SARMs, what they do, and whether they’re a safe choice for you.
What Are SARMs?
SARMs are the byproduct of medical research to treat prostate cancer. Doctors were looking for ways to increase the body’s ability to manage the effects of cancer treatment, considering the physical downsides of chemo are severe.
It turned out that SARMs weren’t very effective at dealing with cancer, but they did prove to be good at maintaining muscle mass for patients. Muscle loss is a big issue for those suffering from cancer and undergoing treatment.
They operate by binding to an individual’s androgen receptors and adjusting one’s DNA to prompt more muscle growth. In essence, SARMs hack our DNA to help us put on mass.
Note that anabolic steroids operate in much the same way, though, with a few alterations that can be more damaging.
Why Are Steroids Dangerous?
Steroids are just drugs that allow humans to produce more of the hormones that they release naturally. Hormones are the source of our body’s response to grow muscles and do numerous other essential things.
Anabolic steroids are those that tend to increase the androgenic qualities of an individual. These are the terms associated with “maleness,” although, associations with gender and sex are shifting all the time.
That said, we can imagine that androgenic properties are those that have to do with muscle mass, aggression, and various other masculine traits. The tricky part about anabolic steroids, though, is that they have a lot of side effects that aren’t desirable.
While your muscle development can be massive with steroids, you’re bound to experience some other issues. For one, aggression and the adjustment of a person’s mentality are common. You might find yourself more irritable, prone to outbursts and blind rage.
Further, other androgenic properties might not be what you’re looking for. The increased production of hair or the development of breasts in males, for example, isn’t always wanted.
Why Do Anabolic Steroids Cause Additional Issues?
The reason that traditional steroids cause problems is that they act upon a person’s testosterone production. Testosterone is the culprit behind a person’s ability to produce most androgenic properties.
When you change that natural production, you will get the result you’re looking for in most cases. That is, when you’re trying to build muscle mass, you will be able to do so if you take steroids.
That said, steroids don’t discriminate between the properties that you want and those that you don’t want. Testosterone is a far-reaching hormone in the body, and it has an impact on a number of functions in the body.
So, while you’ll get bigger muscles, all of the other hormonal balances that involve testosterone will be out of order.
Testosterone and Estrogen
Testosterone and estrogen are complementary hormones in a lot of ways. They balance each other out, and both are needed in male and female bodies.
Men often try to increase their testosterone without recognizing the effect that it will have on their estrogen levels. When you artificially put more testosterone into your body, your body will read that as a sign that there’s not a need to produce more.
So, your natural production of testosterone will become low. Further, the change in testosterone will alert your body to make more estrogen. Less testosterone and higher levels of estrogen will lead to a variety of hormonal side effects.
One such side effect is the increased breast size. A lot of men who abuse steroids find that they have larger breasts than they naturally would. This is just an example of how hormonal changes can impact the body.
How Are SARMs Different From Steroids
“SARMs” stands for “selective androgen receptor modulators.” This is a fancy way of saying that SARMs are “selective” when they address different androgenic properties in the body.
So, where steroids take a comprehensive approach to testosterone production, SARMs aim to target only the receptors that lead to muscle growth. You can expect to avoid all of the unpleasant side effects of steroids when you use SARMs.
You shouldn’t see aggression, irritability, undesirable changes to the body, or other issues. That is, you shouldn’t see them as often or intensely as you would if you were using steroids. One reason for this might be that SARMs were a happy accident.
They were a side-effect of a treatment that was created to benefit cancer patients and not an intentional effort to improve the performance of athletes.
Research and Understanding of SARMs
SARMs have been in use since shortly after they were discovered. Bodybuilding circles have used and distributed them heavily since that time.
The difficult part about SARMs, though, is that there isn’t a lot of official research to prove or refute the claims about them. Most of the information you can find online is anecdotal, and the result of a person’s individual experience with SARMs.
The anecdotal evidence does stack up, though. A lot of people who have experience with anabolic steroids and SARMs, respectively, have claimed that SARMs are a safer alternative to steroids and they do help you to increase muscle mass.
Official organizations like the FDA, however, haven’t given significant time to SARMs and can’t prove whether they’re safe.
Are SARMs Banned?
Because there isn’t an endorsement from the FDA or similar agencies, SARMs aren’t allowed in any professional sports. They’re not illegal, though.
They exist in the market through a sort of loophole that allows individuals to find and use them. SARMs haven’t been proven to be harmful, so they’re available only as “research chemicals” sold online.
They can’t be bought or distributed as performance enhancers for human use. There’s still a variety of products available, though, and there’s a lot of anecdotal information from people who have used them.
So, it’s possible to buy SARMs and have a pretty good idea of what to expect if you should use them. The legality of their sale and use can depend on where you are in the world, though, so it’s important to check the laws and regulations regarding SARMs in your area.
Are SARMs Safe?
Now we get to the important question: are SARMs safe to use?
The answer to this question is complicated, so it’s important that you put some thought into whether to use these products.
To start, note that SARMs can be safe to use if you’re the right person for them and you use them in an intelligent way. By “intelligent,” we mean that a person should be thoughtful and intentional about the way they consume SARMs if they choose to do so.
It’s not as if a person can just take SARMs regularly and see increased muscle mass without side effects. You’re still putting a powerful hormone-modulator into your body, as we’ll discuss in a moment.
We’ll break down some of the factors to consider when you’re looking at the safety of a SARMs cycle.
1. The Seller and The Product
Because SARMs are only sold as research chemicals, companies have a lot of leeway when it comes to putting their product on the market.
There isn’t a regulative agency that tests SARMs for human use and deems them safe. Research chemicals are sold for research, so it’s implied that nobody knows the nuances of how they affect humans upon use.
There are numerous different compounds that are sold, and all of them affect your body in different ways. It’s important to note that this isn’t the same as choosing a different flavor of drink at the store.
It’s not an arbitrary difference when it comes to performance-enhancing supplements. Changes to these products will affect the hormones in your body. Your receptors will be modulated to try to achieve a specific result.
In doing so, many of the primary functions of your body will adjust to the supplement that you’re using. So, it’s very important that you do research into the company you’re buying SARMs from.
Research the product and see what real people have to say about using it. If there isn’t enough information about people’s experiences with the product, find another one that has more anecdotal evidence.
2. The State of Your Body
As we mentioned above, we have to remember that SARMs are still affecting the hormonal balance of our internal system.
Just because selective receptors are being acted upon doesn’t mean that there won’t be side effects. Testosterone is still being increased in various areas, so that means that other hormones will compensate.
Hormones run through everything from our eyeballs to our toenails. Our internal organs to our external appearance are impacted by hormone production. So, SARMs will have some effect on a few of those things, but the specific effects will be unique to your body.
If you have a preexisting health condition, you might want to talk to a doctor about how these hormonal changes could affect you. If there’s a chance that SARMs could put your health in jeopardy, it might be wise to find another muscle-building option.
In fact, it’s always a good idea to talk to a doctor before undergoing a process like this. They’ll be able to let you know about any issues you might be able to expect as you go through the process.
Further, you can check back in with the doctor as you undergo the SARMs cycle. They’ll monitor how your health is holding up under the new pressure of the supplements you’re taking.
3. Your Approach to SARMs
SARMs are taken in cycles. This means that there’s a period of time during which you take specific dosages. You also have to be exercising and putting in work to build muscle during these periods.
Cycles last anywhere from two to six weeks, and it’s important that you don’t continue using the products after that point. Further, you have to know how much to take according to your experience and your body.
These factors make a big difference in the way that your body handles the supplements. Particularly, dosage and cycle length will be two of the most important factors in the entire process.
If you go heavy on the dose or the length, you might find that negative side effects start coming up. It’s also important to monitor how you’re thinking and feeling throughout the whole process.
What matters the most is that you’re staying in a good state of mind and that the SARMs aren’t having a negative effect on your mental health. Only you can be the judge of how those things are going.
It’s a good idea to keep a daily journal throughout the process of a SARMs cycle, referring back to it when you’re feeling unusual. If you notice a pattern in your thoughts and feelings that correspond to the SARMs, you should look deeply into it.
If you start to feel difficult physical changes, that’s something to consider as well. SARMs should just impact the muscle production of your body. There might be a few side effects that you notice while you’re cycling, but they can go away once you’re done.
That said, significant changes to your body or mind should be looked at by a medical doctor.
Interested in Learning More about SARMs?
So, are SARMs safe? The answer is that they can be, but it’s important to treat them with adequate respect. There’s a lot more to learn about SARMs if you’re thinking about trying them, though.
We’re here to help you learn all you need. Explore our site for more ideas into SARMs, muscle building, and more.
