SUPPLEMENTS
Ever since Major League slugger Mark McGwire admitted to taking the hormone androstenedione, sales of the supplement have soared like his record-breaking home runs. No question: the use of andro is legal. But is it safe?
Manufactured by the gonads and the adrenal gland, andro is a steroid hormone, the biochemical precursor to testosterone. Athletes take it because it speeds muscle recovery so lean muscle mass can develop faster. However, there are virtually no studies on how andro works or what its side effects might be, warns Gary Wadler, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at New York University. "People assume that andro isn't harmful," he says. "But nobody has really looked at its anabolic capabilities."
What we know about other steroid hormones should give andro users pause. Because the body converts testosterone to estrogen, men on anabolic steroids, which derive from testosterone, may feminize as they get stronger, developing high-pitched voices, shrinking testicles and enlarged breast tissue. Women popping steroids may notice breast atrophy, deepening voice and male pattern baldness. Steroids can also stunt growth in teenagers by closing their growth plates. Steroid users also run the risk of liver tumors, surging cholesterol levels and behavioral changes ranging from mere assertiveness to the infamous 'roids rage. "Andro is related to testosterone, so there's little reason to doubt that their effects are similar," says Wadler.
