Apr 28, 2020
The ALL ME® Podcast
Body Dysmorphia, Eating Disorders and Anabolic Steroids – Brian Cuban
Brian Cuban who is a nationally recognized author, speaker and advocate gives us an inside look into his life and his personal struggles with eating disorders and addiction. With a famous last name and a successful career as a lawyer, Brian was able to hide his bout with body dysmorphic disorder, his eating disorder and his addiction to anabolic androgenic steroids.
In this podcast you’re going to hear Brian talk about why sharing his personal struggles with others is important to him. He’s going to talk about the topic of body dysmorphia and that he’s struggled with body image issues since he was in his teens.
Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental health disorder in which you can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance — a flaw that appears minor or can't be seen by others. But you may feel so embarrassed, ashamed and anxious that you may avoid many social situations. (Mayo Clinic)
We will then dive into the topic of eating disorders where Brian will share his struggle with exercise bulimia.
Exercise bulimia is an extreme, pathologic exercise behavior. It has some characteristics similar to bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder that generally involves binge eating followed by purging. Purging means ridding your body of ingested food by self-induced vomiting or diarrhea. A person with exercise bulimia doesn’t purge. They overexercise to burn fat and calories instead.
Doctors once classified exercise bulimia as a type of bulimia nervosa. However, this is no longer the case. Exercise bulimia is hard to classify. It may fall into other categories, such as body dysmorphic disorders, OCD-spectrum problems, or a combination of these and others. (Healthline.com)
The topic will then shift to Brian’s abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids. Due to the use of these drugs Brian ended up getting a Staph Infection and almost lost his leg due to a dirty needle he had used. You will hear him discuss getting Gynecomastia or “Man Boob” from the use of the anabolic steroids, which he still has today.
Gynecomastia is an enlargement or swelling of breast tissue in males. It is most commonly caused by male estrogen levels that are too high or are out of balance with testosterone levels. (Clevelandclinic.com)
One of the topics we will discuss is how anabolic steroids can effect the heart. Anabolic steroids are muscle growing drugs, they work! The heart, which is the most important muscle in the body, can also be effected. Long term anabolic steroid use damages the heart function. See the resource section for links to studies about how anabolic steroids effect the heart.
National Institute on Drug Abuse
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- Demonstrated that use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) is associated with compromised heart pumping and atherosclerotic plaque.
- Suggests that clinicians should inquire about AAS use when young or middle-aged men present with left ventricular dysfunction or coronary artery disease.
Brian is very open about his struggles with addiction and one of the stories he will share in this podcast is one you will want to hear. When the Mavs went to the playoffs for the first time since his brother, Mark Cuban, purchased the team Brian had playoff tickets. Listen to the story in the podcast as to what he did with the playoff tickets because of his addiction.
Towards the end of the show Brian tell us that if Hollywood made a movie about him that Nick Cage would play him. As you can see there is quite a resemblance.
Resource Links:
How anabolic steroids effect the heart:
https://newsroom.heart.org/news/chronic-anabolic-steroid-use-may-damage-heart-arteries
Contact Brian
Cuban:
Brian Cuban Books:
https://www.amazon.com/Brian-Cuban/e/B00DPJI7HG%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
Did You Know?
- Over 1.5 million teens admit to using anabolic steroids.
- The #1 reason young people turn to anabolic steroids is to look better.
- Up to 25% of Dietary Supplements are contaminated with illegal drugs and banned substances.
- 85% of students have never been educated on this topic.
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