Just a thought.
Can extreme low blood sugar + too much testosterone (from drug use) = ‘roid rage’?
Even when someone is not using anabolic steroids or even lifting weights, they can still get quite grumpy when they haven’t eaten for a while. As write this, I am beginning to get quite hungry and irritable. Maybe due to the fact I did a heavy back / deadlift session yesterday and a leg session today. So I’d better eat soon!
As I lift weights regularly, my body needs to be fed (good food) regularly to help it rebuild and recover. Also due to the fact I lift weights (without any drugs), my testosterone levels would be higher than the average man. This is due to the protein synthesis that weight training causes. This is a by-product of the break down in muscle tissue.
This then creates a larger need for testosterone in the body (by eating meats and eggs), as it is needed for the process of protein synthesis (rebuilding of cells).
“In general, androgens promote protein synthesis and growth of those tissues with androgen receptors. Testosterone effects can be classified as virilizing and anabolic, though the distinction is somewhat artificial, as many of the effects can be considered both. Testosterone is anabolic, meaning it builds up bone and muscle mass.
I can get really irritable with strong feelings of aggression and negativity when my blood sugar levels are really low, or drop too low, too soon. Or as Charles Poliquin puts it when he has low blood sugar, “I feel like Charles Bronson with a tooth ache when my blood sugar is low.”
In other words, exercise (especially weight training) is like putting your foot down on the accelerator of your car. You burn through the available energy a lot faster. In a car, that would be the petrol in the tank and in the body, it would be the stored nutrients in the muscles you are working and in the liver.
Also, as one becomes bigger from lifting weights he or she will need more food to keep their larger body working. That’s kind of like putting a larger, more powerful engine in your car. So it’s no wonder that people who lift weights regularly feel the effects of low blood sugar more so than those who don’t.
So, if a natural lifter can feel pretty aggressive when his or her blood sugar levels are really low, how about the guy or girl who uses anabolic steroids and has up to 10 times the amount of testosterone floating around in their body?
It makes sense that they could get 10 times more aggressive if they don’t eat enough to fuel their fast growing bodies.
That’s why some people use steroids, it speeds up the process of protein synthesis, or, in other words, it makes them bigger, stronger – faster.
If you ever watch the film Rise of The Foot Soldier and notice the scene when he doesn’t get his dinner, you will know what I mean about the combination of steroids and low blood sugar from hunger, giving someone ‘roid rage’ :).
P.S. With all this said, some steroid users can get mental problems directly from steroids. That’s what I heard on a documentary a while back. It’s pretty rare, but it can be a compounding factor.
What do you think?