Oral steroids are
preferred by individuals who want quick results. This is because
oral steroids are in
ready form and once they are ingested they immediately undergo the
so-called first-pass
metabolism
and enter the bloodstream to exert their anabolic effects. Injectable
steroids, particularly those that have esters, cannot be readily used
by the body because the ester chain should be cut off first by hepatic
enzymes before they can be active. Another advantage of
oral steroids is
their shorter half-lives, which means their metabolites do not stay in
the system for long. This property is what makes oral steroids the
choice by most athletes who undergo anti-doping screening. Among the
most popular oral steroids are
Anadrol,
Dianabol
and
Anavar.
Oral steroids, however, can pose drawbacks to users. One of the common
complaints with oral steroids is that they are stressful to the liver,
particularly those which are c-17 alpha-alkylated. The 17 alkylation is
added to improve the bioavailability of oral steroids. Without this
chemical alteration,
drugs
may not be able to survive the first-pass metabolism of the liver, and
thus may not be able to exert anabolic effects.
The liver fulfills vital functions in the body, including storage of
important nutrients like glycogen and clearance of waste products
(detoxification).
Oral
steroids can negatively affect the liver’s ability to
carry out these functions.
| 
