Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) are a class of therapeutic compounds that have similar anabolic properties to anabolic steroids, but with reduced androgenic (producing male characteristics) properties. As an example, the androgen receptor is activated by binding androgens, such as testosterone. Unlike anabolic steroids, which bind to androgen receptors in many tissues all over the body, individual SARMs selectively bind androgen receptors in certain tissues, but not in others.
All SARMs are prohibited at all times (both in and out-of-competition) for all athletes, from those competing at the highest level of sport to those competing at the recreational level. SARMs are listed in the category of “Other Anabolic Agents” under section S1.2 of the WADA Prohibited List.
In medical settings, this could be very useful for stimulating specific tissue growth like muscle and bone, while avoiding unwanted side effects in other tissues like the liver or skin. SARMs are being evaluated as a clinical treatment for muscle-wasting caused by several diseases, such as osteoporosis, cancer, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, end-stage liver disease, end-stage renal disease, and HIV. To date, all SARMs are for investigational purposes only.
Examples of SARMs include: ostarine (Enobosarm, MK 2866), andarine, LGD-4033 (ligandrol), and RAD140. SARMs have the potential to be misused for performance enhancement in sport due to their anabolic properties, as well as their ability to stimulate androgen receptors in muscle and bone, leading to bone and muscle growth.
Recently, SARMs have been placed in various supplements marketed to fitness enthusiasts. SARMs have been found to reduce endogenous testosterone, affect cholesterol levels, and alter liver function. Recreational users of SARMs may take them in combination with each other on a cyclical basis. They may also practice postcycle therapy, which involves the use of SERMs in between cycles to help restore hormone balance.
In 2015, about 1,084,000 people in North America stated that they incorporate performance-enhancing drugs into their daily routines. That number has since increased, with the global market for these products expected to grow at an impressive CAGR of 4.8 percent between 2018 and 2025.
Over the years, performance-enhancing products have been a touchy subject, with some people considering them cheating when it comes to sports.
Currently, it is legal to sell and buy SARMs that are marketed simply as research chemicals, which commonly occurs online. However, it is illegal to sell and buy those that are packaged in capsules for human consumption and/or labeled as dietary supplements. Furthermore, they cannot be marketed to the public as dietary supplements, and claims regarding their benefits cannot be made.
How Do SARMS Work?
SARMs are different because unlike steroids and anabolic supplements they can target a single androgen in your body: your skeletal muscle. Your androgen receptors are found in various parts of the body, such as the liver, the muscle tissue, the prostate gland, and the bones. SARMs are capable of selectively connecting and linking to these receptors.
Most varieties of SARMs mimic the way your testosterone works within the body. Once they link themselves to your androgen receptors, these drugs boost protein synthesis and increase your overall strength and nitrogen retention.
Fake SARMS Market
Currently, it is legal to sell and buy SARMs that are marketed simply as research chemicals, which commonly occurs online. However, it is illegal to sell and buy those that are packaged in capsules for human consumption and/or labeled as dietary supplements. Furthermore, they cannot be marketed to the public as dietary supplements, and claims regarding their benefits cannot be made.
Most of the products sold online as SARMs contain either these unapproved substances alone sometimes in amounts different from what is specified on the label or other unapproved hormones and steroids, according to a study published in the medical journal JAMA. The study reported that only half of them actually contained SARMs. About 60 percent contained ingredients different from what was featured on the label. Nearly 10 percent of the products tested didn’t contain an active ingredient of any kind.
The US Senate introduced the SARMs Control Act, which empower the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to regulate selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) as an extension of the Designer Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 2014. Few people understand what SARMs are, and even fewer know how to spot them. This becomes problematic for payment facilitators onboarding merchants selling bodybuilding and weight-loss products online because there is a risk that the website is facilitating the sale of SARMs.
How to Spot Fake SARMs
Though not an approved drug, SARMs are being sold on the black market in countries where it is classified as an illegal substance. Illicit drug dealers have taken advantage of the body building craze to introduce a wide range of toxic products into the market labeling them as SARMS.
How do you know if a SARM is fake?
According to a Specialist Dorothy Fournier, the following tips below will help you avoid unwholesome and fake SARM products currently being sold in the market place online and offline;
Check The License of Their SARMs For Sale: Ideally, the first couple of aspects which you should consider properly are the costs of SARM and the operating license of the selling authority. You will find a lot of chemists and suppliers claiming to sell top-notch and quality-approved SARMs through their stores. But determining whether they are selling the truth or playing a bluff can be daunting- especially to someone who is doing SARM shopping for the first time!
When you’re buying SARMs online, you always want to check and make sure that they have the appropriate licenses to sell SARMs. Otherwise you may be getting scammed by low quality vendors who are selling you fake supplements and drugs.
Price of SARM: Besides the operating license of SARMs suppliers, the other aspect is the offered cost of the SARMs supplement by suppliers. While it’s no surprise that prices will vary among different market providers, the ones who un-hesitantly intend to sell off SARM supplements at either very high or very low prices are the ones you need to watch out for.
For your knowledge, the best SARMs for sale are often priced at moderate industry-standard rates, particularly since their making procedure involves certain key components procurable either locally or imported internationally. So, if you come across a seller who charges either exorbitant or unrealistically low prices, ignore them completely. Rather do thorough research on the accepted market rate and pick out suppliers who provide their SARM supplements meeting that realistic price tag.
Examine Seller Reviews of Others Who Buy SARMs Online: The review of sellers is another essential aspect to consider prior to selecting which SARM supplier is right for you. With these reviews, you can have a clear idea of how effective their product is prior to purchasing it. If you want to buy SARMs you should definitely check the Reddit reviews as a first place, but remember that sometimes many reviews are fake by fake accounts – so be careful!
When you search online, you will come across a whole lot of sellers having tons of customer reviews in their site’s testimonial section. For your clarity, you should shortlist a few top names based on their market reputation (or Google stars) and check out each of their customer testimonial sections.
At times, these reviews reveal certain aspects of the concerned SARMs supplement which may not be known at first- especially in terms of any probable side-effects (be it short term or long-term) prior to using it over a specified period! That said, not every review on a particular site that you come across may tell you the truth. Many companies hire content writers to write compelling reviews about their product quality to lure in more clients to buy SARMs from them.
For better closure, you can call up the company you are presently searching for and ask them to provide you with some references from their recently served clients. Using those references and contact details, you can talk to that customer and ask for their real-time opinion. If the concerned supplier tries to stall when asked for information or refuses to provide it, simply move over to the next best supplier as per your short listings.
Suppliers’ Insurance & Their Availability: Prior to purchasing SARM supplements from the chosen company or supplier, you need to check their insurance claim. This, in other words, is a guarantee from the seller’s part in the event of anything going wrong! While it is true that just because a seller does have insurance, it doesn’t affirm them to be a quality service provider. But what it does differentiate is the list of good sellers from the bad, unreliable, and uninsured ones who take no accountability towards anything whatsoever! If the seller is not reliable in the SARM supplements they sell to its customers, there lies the probability of them disappearing before anyone can accuse them of their wrongdoings.
With SARMs supplements, there is always the distinct possibility of some side-effects taking place over a period post its usage- simply because the supplement didn’t meet the necessary standards and quality tests. Keeping this in mind, you need to be extra vigilant in picking a supplier who is available at all times in the event of anything going wrong with their sold supplement.
Usually, the ones who are good and sell quality market standard SARMs won’t disappear anywhere. And for your sake, those are the kind of suppliers you would want to target for your own supplement procurement! READ: How Long Does Anavar Stay In Your System
