Your liver is a vital organ that you must protect at all costs, especially when using anabolic steroids. It is worth mentioning that not all anabolic steroids are liver toxic (hepatotoxic). However, protecting your liver during the use of liver toxic steroids is of utmost importance.
Luckily, the liver has the ability to heal itself and regenerate. Nonetheless, abusing liver toxic substances can lead to permanent damage. That’s why I strongly recommend using steroids carefully. It is worth mentioning that not only steroids can cause damage to your liver. Various Over-The-Counter (OTC) and Prescription (RX) medications can, alcohol can, and even various foods can stress your liver. Certain medications can do it even more than certain anabolic steroids. In this article, we’re going to talk about the connection between steroids and liver health as well as the best ways to protect your organ.
Hepatotoxic Steroids
As said, not all steroids are hepatotoxic. Moreover, even those that are liver toxic, there are some that are harsher than others for your liver. This means that you should use them in lower doses and for shorter periods than the milder-for-your-liver steroids. Usually, injectable steroids are not liver toxic because they reach the bloodstream without entering the liver. However, not all injectable steroids are liver-friendly. An example of an injectable steroid that still stresses your liver is Winstrol (Stanozolol). This is a compound that remains hepatotoxic regardless of the way you use it.
On the other hand, most oral steroids are hepatotoxic. As said, some are more toxic than others. For example, there’s Anavar (Oxandrolone) which is mildly toxic for your liver. However, there’s Halotestin (Fluoxymesterone) which is considered highly toxic (among others). Not all orals are toxic, however. Oral Primobolan (Methenolone Acetate) and Proviron (Mesterolone) are examples of steroids that are not hepatotoxic, despite being used orally. However, some studies suggest that a bit of liver stress is still likely to occur in abusive dosages for prolonged periods (but dramatically less than with other orals).
Most oral steroids are hepatotoxic because they must pass through your liver to reach the blood system. That explains why cycles of injectable steroids are usually long (10-16 weeks), with some injectables being used life-long (such as Testosterone and/or HGH for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), whereas cycles of oral steroids are short (4 to maximum 8 weeks).
Non-Toxic Steroids Are:
Hepatotoxic Steroids (from mildest to worst):
- Anavar (Oxandrolone)
- Turinabol (Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone)
- Dianabol (Methandienone)
- Winstrol (Stanozolol)
- Anadrol (Oxymetholone)
- Superdrol (Methasterone)
- Halotestin (Fluoxymesterone)
- Oral Tren (Methyltrienolone)
Steroids That Toxicity Cannot Be Completely Excluded (somewhat possible in high dosages)
- Methenolone Acetate
- Mesterolone
- Trenbolone
Liver Health
Using hepatotoxic (most orals) steroids will somewhat damage it. But there’s no need to worry about it, at least, as long as you do it alright. In fact, as said, lots of medications, all alcohol, and even certain foods are damaging your liver. However, it is an organ that can heal itself. However, it does it slowly, so you shouldn’t abuse anything hepatotoxic in order to make sure to stay away from permanent damage.
You can check your liver health by having a blood test, testing liver function. Usually, it is enough to check your ALT and AST enzymes (alanine transaminase and aspartate aminotransferase). However, there are more in-depth tests if necessary.
I strongly recommend checking your ALT and AST before starting a cycle with oral steroids (or whatever other hepatotoxic compound) because if you find that something is wrong, you shouldn’t use them in the first place. The reason is pretty obvious: your liver is already not in good condition. If you add something that stresses it even more, you’re at risk of developing liver issues / permanent damage.
When you use oral (hepatotoxic) the ALT and AST numbers during the test will increase. The rate that it increases depends on the dosage you use, how hepatotoxic the compounds are, your lifestyle, and other factors. Your aim is to protect the liver by ensuring the numbers do not increase too much, as you continue using steroids to achieve your goals.
- NOTE! There’s no need to use oral steroids. They are optional. You can use injectables only.
- WARNING! Do NOT use liver toxic steroids if your liver is not in good condition.
- TIP! AST and ALT will come back to pre-cycle levels after you discontinue the use of any liver toxic compounds.
Protecting Your Liver During The Use Of Steroids
So, you can use oral (hepatotoxic) steroids only as long as you make sure that you need/want them (as said, you can only use injectable steroid cycles), and as long as your liver is in good condition. Assuming you start using them, you should follow certain rules in order to make sure that your liver won’t get too much damage.
Methods
- Don’t abuse toxic steroids. This means that you shouldn’t use them for too long periods (up to a maximum of 4, 6, or 8 weeks, depending on the steroid you use and dosage) and definitely shouldn’t use too high doses. Higher dosage = higher toxicity.
- Break between cycles. It is an organ that regenerates itself. So, you shouldn’t use hepatotoxic steroids for too long, and you should provide adequate break in between cycles in order to allow it the time it needs to recover. I recommend abstaining from using hepatotoxic steroids for the same amount of time you’ve been using them. For example – you’ve used them for 6 weeks. Then stay away from them for at least 6 more weeks before using liver toxic steroids again. Or unless you can confirm your liver is in good condition with blood work.
- Don’t use anything else that is hepatotoxic. This means that you shouldn’t drink alcohol during the use of hepatotoxic steroids, abstain from using any medications unless absolutely necessary, and not even stack multiple oral steroids. All to avoid too much stress. You may stack two hepatotoxic steroids as long as you use them in lower doses. For example, Anavar is milder than Winstrol. So, using 50 mg/day of Anavar is better than using 25 mg/day of Winstrol and 25 mg/day of Anavar. I guess you got the point.
- Do add protection supplements. There are supplements and compounds that are helpful in protecting your liver. Some examples are NAC, TUDCA, LIV 52, N2Guard, Milk Thistle, and others. Adding them during the use of steroids can help minimize the damage.
Liver Protecting Supplements
You can find liver protection supplements whenever you want. Local supplements store, online stores, or whenever else because they are supplements requiring no prescription. We offer LIV 52 if you want to, but they are generally easy to find and there are a lot of different options to choose from. Lots of our clients ask which are the best – there’s no best.
You should go for the one that works for you. You just can’t know which one is best for you without giving them a try. But usually, it works very well. You can stack liver protection supplements if you want to. Generally, I recommend using them for at least as long as you use the hepatotoxic steroids cycle, and maybe even a few more weeks post-cycle. The dosage is as stated on the label. You could even take higher doses if you want to, or stack multiple liver protection supplements, they are highly unlikely to do harm but likely to help somewhat more (it is just more costly doing so).
Supps For Life and Your Liver
Generally, there’s no need to buy LIV 52 from our site as you can buy protecting supplements whenever you want to. By saying this, we try to prove that Supps-For-Life.to is not here to simply sell as many compounds to as many customers carelessly. We try to keep you all safe while helping you reach your body goals.
The Supps For Life team cares about your health and well-being. That’s why we provide the information that you need to be safe, but we also provide you with various compounds that are meant to protect you from potential damage from anabolic steroids. We just hope you’re on your way to your bodybuilding goals, without compromising on your health.
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