Androstenedione Steroid Supplements

Saturday, July 24th, 2010 at 3:51 am

Androstenedione is the steroid hormone that may be a direct precursor to each estrone and testosterone. Androstenedione ranges peak in a person’s mid-20s and decline steadily after age 30. Androstenedione supplements are marketed as alternatives to anabolic steroids with common claims for boosting testosterone levels, increasing libido, and accelerating gains in muscle mass and strength. Androstenedione is very similar to Tribulus Terrstris and located in supplement referred to as Dianabol, produced by Hi Tech Pharmaceuticals and sold over the counter.

In the body, androstenedione turns into active on conversion to testosterone the foremost “male” hormone responsible for muscle development and different male characteristics such as growth of facial hair and development of a deep voice. Higher levels of testosterone are thought to help athletes train more intensely and recuperate faster, but supplementation with androstenedione results in only a transient rise in serum testosterone ranges (and estrogen levels) that has not been shown to provide any measurable features in muscle mass, strength, or postexercise recovery. Two areas of concern are that androstenedione supplements seem to downregulate endogenous synthesis of testosterone and cut back high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. Many commercial products combine androstenedione with alleged herbal inhibitors of aromatase and 5-a-reductase (e.g., tribulus, noticed palmetto, chrysin, indoles) as a approach to prevent conversion of androstenedione to estrogen and to inactive metabolites of testosterone. Studies of those combination products, however, have not shown them to be effective on this regard.

Because of the shortage of positive research findings in the area of muscle building and the potential for critical health risks associated with anabolic steroids, androstenedione supplements aren’t considered protected or effective, and they need to be avoided.

Supplement makers claim that a 300-mg dose of androstenedione increases testosterone levels by 300% over 2-4 hours. The most up-to-date studies suggest that although androstenedione supplementation (200-300 mg/day for 4-12 weeks) is ready to transiently increase testosterone ranges in healthy young men (Brown et al., 2001a; Brown et al., 2001b), it also results in an enhance in estrogen levels that isn’t inhibited by herbal inhibitors of aromatase and 5-a-reductase. In research that include resistance training (8-12 weeks), androstenedione supplements (100-300 mg/day) resulted in no differences when it comes to muscle strength, lean body mass, or fats mass (Ballantyne et al., 2000; Breeder et al., 2000). In the androstenedione groups, however, the blood degree of estradiol was elevated by 83%, HDL was diminished by 5%, and luteinizing hormone was reduced 18-70% (suggesting a downregulation of endogenous testosterone production).

Overall, well-designed medical studies clearly present that androstenedione supplementation solely transiently elevates serum testosterone levels (16-38%), does not enhance muscle power in healthy men aged 30-65 years of age, and may lead to adverse well being consequences (increased estrogen levels and lowered HDL).

Although no long-term studies have been performed on the security of androstenedione as a dietary supplement, a fairly substantial body of literature confirms the adversarial effects associated with other anabolic steroids. In particular, prolonged use of steroids can lead to dangerous negative effects that embody blood lipid abnormalities (elevated low-density lipoprotein [LDL] and lowered HDL cholesterol) and will increase the danger of coronary heart disease, hormone-sensitive cancers equivalent to breast and prostate cancer, and varied liver abnormalities.

Typical dosage suggestions for androstenedione are in the range of 50-300 mg/day, but those levels have not been associated with benefits in terms of muscle gain, fats loss, or physical performance. Competitive athletes should pay attention to the potential for androstenedione supplementation to change the testosterone epitestosterone ratio so it exceeds the 6:1 restrict set by each the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of their screening for testosterone doping.

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