Information about legal anabolic steroids from a legal steroids source. Learn about legal steroids alternatives to Deca, Dianabol, Anavar, Winstrol and more.
Chemically speaking, steroids are types of organic compounds such as cholesterol (yes cholesterol!), sex hormones, and anti-inflammatory drugs. The types of steroids mentioned here are steroid hormones, particularly anabolic steroids. Other steroid hormones include sex steroids, corticosteroids, and as mentioned cholesterol. Anabolic steroids are in a class of thier own in that they bind to the body’s androgen receptors to increase muscle mass and bone density. Steroids exists in both natual and synthetic form. In modern culture, saying “steroids” is often associated with anabolic steroids.
The four major classes of steroid hormones are: 1) progestogens (progesterone - a female sex hormone), 2) corticosteroids (aldosterone, cortisol), 3) androgens (testosterone – the primary male sex hormone), and 4) estrogens (estrogen – another female sex hormone).
Estrogen and progesterone originate in a women's ovaries and adrenal glands during pregnancy, while testosterone originates in a male’s testicles (gonads). Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone. They were originally synthesized to retain and magnify testosterone's anabolic effects while reducing or alleviating some of the androgenic effects. However, the "perfect" anabolic steroid, one that enhances testosterone;s anabolic functions while eliminating the androgenic functions, has never been developed. Nearly every conceivable alteration to testosterone's steroid molecular structure has been synthesized and studied in attempts to find the perfect anaboic steroid. Each of these anabolic steroids has a unique molecular structure that is similar to testosterone but no two are the same. Steroid androgens (aka anabolic steroids) are synthetic and they include oxandrolone, oxabolone, testosterone, and nandrolone. They are composed of 19 carbon atoms that are bonded together to create four joined rings, which oxidize. Because all of the anabolic steroids retain some androgenic potential, they are often referred to as anabolic-androgenic steroids.
Anabolic steroids are not "true" hormones since they are not made by glands in the human body. However, within the body, they function as steroid hormones. Different anabolic steroids have different effects on the body. This is due to the androgen receptors and their location througout the body. Anabolic steroids seem to have different affinities for binding to these receptors to cause effect. For instance, one anabolic steroid may tend to bind more to muscle cell receptors than to brain cell receptors. Another anabolic steroid may tend to bind more to osteoblast receptors in bone than to hair cell receptors, and so forth. Some may not alter themselves through reduction, hydroxylation, or aromatization. This concept of "selective receptor binding" has been used to determine the anabolic-to-androgenic ratio of a particular anabolic steroid.
