From 2002 through 2005, pro-hormones were all the rage. Ever since some home run slugger was spotted with pro-hormones in his locker while storming through the record books, several brands of pro-hormones caught on with athletes everywhere, from high school through the pros. The pro-hormone craze was a brief one. The more than were tested, the more the FDA deemed their risks to outweigh their benefits, and they were soon banned from use in the United States. Today, pro-hormones are no more, in most circles.
Very often, the FDA makes decisions based upon hysteria, emotion, and political influence. Ephedrine is a very useful drug for getting lean and treating congestion in the chest due to severe sinuses or asthma. It had a very faithful and responsible following, which used it in ECA stacks (ephedrine, caffeine, and aspirin) to achieve fat loss. Yet ephedrine was banned because a few bad apples abused it. Media hysteria led to rash decision-making, and the supplement was banned. The banning of pro-hormones, on the other hand, might be one time that the FDA got one right!
Injectable steroids are administered to be body in an oil-filled shot. This causes the testosterone (or other steroid) to be slowly broken down by the body over a period of weeks. The damage felt by the body is very minimal, and the liver remains mostly uninvolved and undamaged. You get your money’s worth from injectable steroids.
Pro-hormones, on the other hand, are orally administered. Just like the very toxic oral steroids, they are taken by mouth, and quickly absorbed into the digestive system. Just like oral steroids, they are broken down by the liver and are very toxic. In fact, many pro-hormones are more toxic than actual steroids. And they deliver less muscle-building, fat-burning benefits. Imagine: more of the damage, and less of the benefits. No wonder they were quickly banned!
Incredibly, this is one case where the compounds bought illegally from unknown sources were likely safer and more effective than compounds bought over-the-counter from your favorite supplement store. While pro-hormones were legal for any kid to buy, they caused more damage to the body than real anabolic steroids. Parents who purchased a ‘safe’ supplement from a ‘health food’ store were actually giving their child something more toxic than an actual handful (or needle full) of steroids. It seems the right thing isn’t always the right choice in the steroid world!
