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What are the Side Effects of Sarms?
SARMs are marketed as health or dietary supplements. They are promoted as a safer alternative to anabolic steroids, usually referred to as steroids. Selective androgen receptor modulators or SARMs have some benefits. They can prevent muscle wasting. Some SARMs can undo the effects of muscle atrophy. SARMs have been found to be useful for bodybuilding as they tend to enhance lean mass.
They are also performance enhancers since they can increase endurance. SARMs provide some relief to people suffering from osteoporosis. The investigational chemical compounds can also help with fat loss, thereby also leading to weight loss. SARMs do not cause loss of muscle or lean mass. It only triggers fat loss, which is universally desirable unless someone is too slender for their age, height and personal preference.
Do SARMs have Side Effects?
SARMs are indeed safer than steroids or anabolic steroids. The damages caused by steroids may be short term. Some are medium-term side effects. Steroids do have the ability to cause long-term damage to cells, vital organs and bodily functions including hormones. SAMRs do not have such severe side effects. However, there are some side effects that you should be aware of and you must tread cautiously.
Every supplement has some side effects, just like all pills. It is nearly impossible to come up with any drug, pill, powder or tonic that would have absolutely no side effect. At the end of the day, the human body is being introduced to something that it deems foreign. The exposure is not natural unless something is completely organic and the human system has been familiar with it.
The side effects of SARMs are mostly minor and there is nothing to be worried about. The side effects can also be regulated in different ways. It is difficult to generalize all SARMs and their side effects. The severity of side effects would also vary from person to person. Just as any other drug or health supplement does not work identically for everyone, SARMs have varying effects including positive and negative.
Some SARMs are more potent such as Ostarine or MK-2866. It is also known as GTx-024. Ligandrol or LGD-4033, is potent but Andarine or S-4, also known as GSX-007 is substantially less potent and hence its side effects are almost unrealizable compared to the others. Yet, it is possible to experience some side effects if you take too much of Andarine or S-4. Cardarine or GW-501516 is more potent than Andarine so you ought to keep the dosage in check.
Which side effects?
It is possible you would experience some changes in appetite. SARMs were tested for their efficacy against metabolic disorders or syndromes. SARMs cause a change in muscle mass, they trigger fat loss and there is a significant effect on the secretion of certain hormones. These will inevitably have an impact on appetite. Some people may not feel any difference. Some people may experience cravings or may not feel hungry. The effects are not uniform. This is the least concerning side effect. It is obvious that a person would have metabolic changes if there has to be a physiological transformation. Anything that involves hormones would also have an effect on metabolism since nutrition is the basic building block of our physical self.
- Hormonal changes
Hormonal changes caused by SARMs may lead to acne, oily skin or hair, cysts, changes in blood pressure and sperm count. Some people may feel a little more aggression. Those who already have high levels of bad cholesterol should have it checked as there may be a spike. Testicular atrophy is a common side effect of SARMs owing to the primary hormonal change. SARMs or selective androgen receptor modulators reduce the secretion of testosterone. The testes produce less of the male sex hormone and there is an effect on the size of the testicles. This is an absolutely temporary phase.
There is no chronic testicular atrophy. The size of the testicles or the quantum of testosterone secreted by the testes would not be permanently affected. In fact, there is no medium-term impact either. Since testosterone production is adversely affected during the course of taking SARMs, many people go for a post cycle therapy to restore the natural secretion of the hormones. This reverses testicular atrophy. The same post cycle therapy also increases the sperm count.
- Cardiovascular health
SARMs do not cause infertility or impotence. They do not cause erectile dysfunction. There is no impact on cardiovascular health, liver or kidneys, lungs or respiratory functions, gastrointestinal health or the functioning of any glands. Only the hypothalamus is signaled to secrete less GnRH or gonadotropin-releasing hormone. This leads to reduced secretion of luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone. These two affect the production of testosterone. In some cases, especially when older males with an already depleted production of testosterone consume excessive SARMs, the testes may temporarily stop producing testosterone. This is reversible so you need not be anxious but do reduce the dosage of SARMs. It is futile to go for an excessively high dose when you do not need it. SARMs do not work and produce results overnight. You would have to complete a course or cycle so increasing dosage without any irrefutable reasoning is unnecessary and unwise.
- Sarms vs steroids
SARMs do not cause irreversible damage as steroids do. Steroids can cause heart dysfunction, male pattern baldness and liver disease among others. However, SARMs may cause temporary gynecomastia or breast development in men. Reducing the dosage will help reverse this. Increasing the dosage would again lead to the recurrence of the symptoms. Steroids are addictive but there is no evidence suggesting SARMs lead to dependence syndrome. People who have taken SARMs for eight weeks or longer have completed the course and switched to a normal life with other supplements or absolutely no such product.
It should be noted that SARMs work in a targeted manner. They do not operate in any part of the body where there is no purpose or relevance. SARMs are investigational in how they work and only bind to the androgen receptors. Effectively, they target the cells in your muscles and bones, not cells or tissues anywhere else. SARMs leave the immune system untouched. They do not interfere with the bodily functions or the normal functioning of any vital organ.
How to Avoid Side Effects of SARMs
Most of the SARMs side effects can be completely avoided. All you have to do is pick the weakest or the least potent SARM for your specific objective and go for the smallest dosage. If the standard dose is twenty milligrams, go for ten milligrams. If the standard recommendation is fifty milligrams, begin with twenty-five or thirty milligrams. You may start at forty.
When you note that a particular SARM should be restricted to a certain milligram count, you should stop increasing the dosage much before that. For instance, some SARMs can be taken once or up to thrice daily with a total dosage of maximum seventy milligrams. It is not necessary for you to go that far if you have side effects. You can get results with fifty milligrams or so. You may need more time but you will definitely be relieved of the side effects.
All side effects of SARMs are transient and minor. There are no severe side effects or long-term damage caused. However, some people may have a serious medical condition or perhaps someone is undergoing some kind of medical treatment and they can always be more vulnerable to SARMs or any other supplement for that matter.