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What Are Sarms? Benefits, side effects, and results
Men and women who are trying to improve their physique will go to great lengths to achieve perfect conditioning. While steroids, both anabolic and legal seem to be the product of choice, some men and women overlook the benefits of SARMs. there are many men and women who are looking for safe and effective ways to transform their body with the least amount of side effects. In this article, I will review the best safe SARMs alternatives for bodybuilding.
What are Sarms?
The name SARMs stands for selective androgen receptor modulators. SARMs were introduced into mainstream science in the 90's however, SARMS have been around for much longer than that. Steroidal SARMs have been used in medicine since the 1940's and similar to anabolic steroids they have been used to treat bone and muscle wasting diseases including osteoporosis.
Unfortunately, steroidal SARMs also have an ugly side to them, and like steroids, they can cause side effects.
When people hear the term SARMs many believe they do not have side effects, the truth is many do. In men, they can convert to estrogen, cause gynecomastia (man boobs) reduce sex drive and cause damage to the liver and kidneys.
In women they can cause symptoms of masculinization including excess body hair, deepening of the voice and baldness. While the side effects are not as harsh as they are from taking steroids, they should still be considered
There are two kinds of SARMs non-steroidal and steroidal
Steroidal or Non-Steroidal Sarms
There is a big difference between steroidal and non-steroidal SARMs. In 1990 scientist developed something called protein based SARMs. Both SARMs stimulate protein synthesis, the difference is, Steroidal SARMs increase protein synthesis in all of the body's cells, whereas non-steroidal SARMs only affect certain DNA cells responsible for muscle gains or wasting.
Nonsteroidal SARMs have been used in bodybuilding for the last couple of decades and similar to anabolic steroids they help increase muscle, strength and improve athletic performance. According to many studies, the side effects from nonsteroidal SARMs seems to be lower than that of anabolic steroids. The downside to nonsteroidal SARMs is that they take some time to work (3-6 months) whereas the results from anabolic steroids happen within weeks.
Benefits of SARMs
SARMs provide similar benefits to those of anabolic steroids which includes increasing lean muscle mass, bone density, and help burn body fat. The purpose of SARMs is to stimulate androgen receptors. In theory, SARMs are much less toxic but there are different viewpoints on this, in some situations, SARMs are just as harmful or even more so than anabolic steroids.
Are SARMs Safe?
This is kind of a complicated question, most will tell you that SARMs are safe, (especially nonsteroidal). The problem is that SARMs have not been as popular as steroids so fewer people have used them, plus there are many companies that sell them, however, it's really hard to know exactly what is in the formulas.
What we do know is that many pro athletes have been using SARMs since 2015, and some of them have been suspended and even stripped of their title due to SARMs use.
For example, college basketball star Allonzo Trier (Arizona Wildcats) tested positive for SARMs and was suspended. Ricky Gerard a well known CrossFit athlete was stripped of his title for failing a drug test due to using SARMs.
Are SARMs Legal?
In some countries, SARMs are sold as dietary supplements and are legal. Other countries like Australia consider SARMs illegal and in the world of competitive bodybuilding, SARMs are forbidden, If they show up on a drug test you could be disqualified.
SARMs Side Effects
Many pro bodybuilders and athletes switch to SARMs thinking they are a safer alternative to anabolic steroids. Unfortunately, since SARMs use has not been as popular as steroids there has not been much bad press.
What we do know is that Steroidal SARMS can cause similar side effect to those of anabolic steroids, in fact, some may be more toxic to your liver than steroids. Other known side effect form SARMs are similar to those from taking anabolic steroids, those side effects may include:
- Hair loss
- Acne
- Irritability
- Poor sex drive
- Liver damage
- High cholesterol
The bottom line is that SARMs do have side effects. The big issue that we see with SARM's is that they do have some degree of toxicity and since they take longer to work long-term SARMs use can lead to health problems.
In order to stay clear of any side effects your best bet is looking into a legal steroid. these are the only way to rule out and side effects and they can be just as effective as sarms without any side effects.