| The relatively new field
of natural hormone enhancers was subjected to sudden sharp scrutiny
when it was learned that Baseball's famous hitter was using
Androstenedione to boost his performance. Time magazine
quoted McGwire as saying "I discourage children, especially in High
School from taking the stuff (but) Andro helps me get through my
workout throughout the season. I've been through so many injuries in
my career, and this was one little step that helped me. By no means
does it help you hit a baseball ... Mark McGwire's hand-eye
coordination was given by the man upstairs". Interestingly, despite
all the brouhaha about Andro, the Commissioner of baseball, Bud
Selig, declined to ban it as recently as the spring of 2000.
However, Mr. McGwire, who is obviously a highly principled
individual, has announced he will no longer be using Andro because
he does not wish to encourage young people to use it.
Andro is not a drug, it is not a steroid, it is a
metabolite of DHEA, and a precursor to testosterone, which is not
only responsible for the Maleness of men, but is also a factor in
energy levels and immunity, sex drive and mood in both men and
women. At the moment, there is not much research available to
suggest whether Andro is effective for its most popular application,
muscle building: what we do know is that Andro supplies the body
with what it needs to make more testosterone, but the body will only
do that if the levels are low: in other words, it may not do much
for young men whose testosterone levels are already high, but for
those whose levels tend to be low, and for older men, it may
certainly prove beneficial in several ways: enabling them to work
out longer and harder without injury, and providing the anabolic
boost needed to build muscle. Testosterone levels are elevated only
briefly (which accounts for the libido enhancing effect it sometimes
has for women) thus distinguishing it from steroids, which impose
elevated levels on the body for long periods of time. The risk is
that the supplement may be abused: despite all the evidence to the
contrary, there are still athletes out there who feel that if some
is good, more is better: it would be a pity if Andro's intrinsic
safeness were compromised by excessive use. Many experts recommend
using Andro on a cycle of 5 days on, 2 days off, and that seems a
valid and useful safety device.
Purchasers need to be aware that some Swedish
Customs & Canadian Doping Control Lab testing has turned up some
Andro products that contain "significant quantities of testosterone
not mentioned on the label". Be sure you are buying from a reputable
source!
On the market also are Norandrostendione and -diol,
which are converted to testosterone through different pathways,
bypassing the liver and attaching to different receptor sites in a
manner which may pose even less of a risk to long term use. However,
they may show up as positives on a steroid test and this factor
needs to be considered.
One troubling thing about these pro hormone
supplements is that there are NO long-term studies on their
safety, and they should therefore be taken with great caution
and at the lowest effective doses, with frequent "hormone holidays",
or breaks in their usage.
Some manufacturers are stacking the Andro with a
herb called Tribulus Terrestris. This is a plant with a long
history of use, going back to Ayurvedic, Chinese and Greek medicine.
Mostly it has been used as a tonic, cardiovascular support, liver
and kidney problems, though Ayurvedic medicine values it as an
aphrodisiac and treatment for sexual problems. Ayurveda has also
combined Tribulus with Mucuna to treat the types of tremors seen in
Parkinson's disease. Mucuna contains L-Dopa, while Tribulus both
helps the absorption and prevents the breakdown of L-Dopa.
Tribulus actually contains a substance called Harmine, which
was the basis for one of the first mono-amine-oxidase inhibitor drug
treatments for this disease.
Its current usage in pro-hormonal supplements
dates back to studies in Romania in the 1970s, when Bulgarian
researchers began investigating its use for infertility, and
purportedly (the study is out of print) discovered that Tribulus
boosts levels of luteinizing hormone, produced in the pituitary and
responsible for regulating testosterone levels. At this stage, it is
impossible to verify how much and for how long the levels of
hormones were raised, yet supplement manufacturers are postulating
that adding Tribulus to compounds with other testosterone enhancing
ingredients will have positive results on muscle strength. This may
or may not be so - at this point, no studies confirm the claim.
Tribulus does, however, appear to be safe to use, though pregnant or
lactating women should avoid it, as should adolescents and children
for fear of disrupting their natural hormonal development and
chemistry. One possible explanation for its action is that the
harmine affects dopamine levels in the brain, which in men leads to
the release of luteinizing hormone and consequent raises in
testosterone levels. Growth hormone levels are raised in both men
and women when there are high amounts of dopamine present.
It would not be wise to use Tribulus if you are
taking any kind of mood medication.
I also recommend using a detoxification programme
during the "break" from hormone use. Depending on your preference,
there are teas and supplements which cleanse the liver, and
also formulations for liver support. This is another wise and
careful way to make sure you are getting the benefits while at the
same time lessening the possibility of any potential problems.
Related articles you may find
interesting:
| Keywords:
testosterone supplement, tribulis testosterone, tribulis
terrestris testosterone, vitamin lady writes about natural
prohormones |
|
