Water pills (Diuretics) and Bodybuilding

Water pills are commonly used in the treatment of many medical disorders like high blood pressure and heart failure. These pills act by removing excess water from the body. The pills not only excrete water but also remove some potassium and sodium from the body. The water pills are generally safe when used as directed by health care professional.

Recently, there has been a craze among athletes and body builders about these pills. Anything that sounds like a pill and athletes want to pop it in their mouth. The drugs act rather quickly and can get rid of body water.

Boxer, wrestlers and other athletes often take water pills to get to a certain weight limit before a competition. One can take the water pills for 24-48 hours and easily lose a few pounds. However, while one may attain the weight limit, this excess water can cause tiredness, dehydration and exhaustion.

The other reason why athletes take water pills is to get rid of any other illegal or illicit drugs in the body. For example, some banned drugs can be rid of by taking water pills- at least this is what is supposed to happen. This is only true of drugs which are excreted by the kidney. In fact, the majority of anabolic steroids are first broken down by the liver and then excreted by the kidney.

Well the sports governing bodies are not that stupid. Not only do they look for anabolic steroids in the urine but also screen for water pills. Today, we have sophisticated detecting systems that can identify minute amounts of most steroids and drugs weeks after they have been discontinued.

When water pills are ingested in high doses in a short period of time, the possible side effects include:

- Weakness, dehydration
- Fatigue, exhaustion and lack of energy
- Muscle cramps due to loss of potassium, calcium
- Heart palpitations

There are many types of water pills but they all work in a similar way. For the athlete who wants to rapidly lose weight or get rid of banned substances from the body, water pills is not the best way. Water pills in a healthy person do nothing good and a lot of bad. The only way to hide a banned substance in the body is not to take it in the first place.

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