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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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0 4 - 0 7 - 2 0 0 7 Desire for muscles leads to death
Todays Zaman
The recent death of a bodybuilder in Kocaeli who died of a steroid-induced heart attack has re-ignited the debate on the sale and usage of such chemical substances.
Stating that many of these substances, known as anabolic steroids, are banned, Dr. Yavuz Nak from the Uludag University Veterinary Faculty added that if used by humans the drug damages the circulation system leading to a heart attack.
These hormone supplements are chemically designed to increase the muscle structure of the body but in the process damage the body balance, with the lethal potential to cause organ failures in a short period of time. One tragic example of this occurred in Kocaeli, last Thursday.
Veterinarian Batuhan Tayfun got into bodybuilding 10 years ago and around the same time began taking steroids, the results of which were all too apparent with his untimely demise of a heart attack at 33 years of age.
The autopsy revealed that Tayfun's heart was three times bigger than normal. Similar abnormalities were visible in other organs as well. Failures were observed in his lungs, liver and kidneys. Kadriye Tayfun, the mother of the young veterinarian, was aware of the reason for her son's early death.
Now, the spotlight is on the hormonal drugs that caused the failure of almost every organ in Tayfun's body. These hormonal drugs are widely available in the livestock industry and used to accelerate the growth of animals.
At present, the authority responsible for the sale of these drugs is the Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry gives permission for the sale based on the understanding that the intended consumption is by animals, but without any accompanying warnings of the risks involved if the drug is abused.
The medicine, which varies in cost between YTL 85 and YTL 250, is being sold primarily in gyms and numerous other places.
Even kiosks have started to specialize in the sale of these medicines. Herbal kiosks, with "healthy life" inscribed in large letters on the packaging, sell the substances without questioning the intention of the customers.
Pharmacist Sinan Usta noted that these types of medicines should be controlled not by the Ministry of Agriculture but by the Ministry of Health. "This kind of medicine is being sold with permission by the Agriculture Ministry. It is not sold in pharmacies," Usta said.
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