Juice: Not for breakfast anymore

Just because something looks like a steroid (structurally) doesn’t mean its effects are similar. Heck, androstenedione is structurally very similar to testosterone. But the effect of ‘andros’ in normal men would be like feeding a lion a McDonald’s hamburger and calling it a meal. And whether it’s legal?

What gets lost in stories such as this is the fact that anabolic steroids provide benefits when used in the right dosage for the right duration. The scientific literature is nothing less than amazing when it comes to the potentially positive effects of anabolic steroids.

Hot Women, More Testosterone

Did you know that men release testosterone and cortisol in response to brief social interactions with young women? So men get turned on and they seem stressed out at the same time. What about the reverse?

One study examined whether women show a similar endocrine response to physically and behaviorally attractive men. One-hundred-and-twenty women were shown one of four 20-minute video montages extracted from popular films, depicting the following scenarios:

an attractive man courting a young woman (experimental stimulus) a nature documentary (video clip control) an unattractive older man courting a woman (male control), and an attractive woman with no men present (female control).

Saliva samples were taken before and after presentation of the stimulus, and were later analyzed for testosterone and cortisol content via enzyme immunoassay. And voilà! Women experienced a significant increase in testosterone and cortisol in response to the experimental stimulus, but not to the control stimuli. According to these researchers, women may release adrenal steroid hormones to facilitate courtship interactions with ‘high mate-value’ men. Put another way, it may be good to train with a good-looking guy or girl (whatever your preference) to get a nice little boost of testosterone.

Endurance Exercise Boosts Testosterone

I guess a little is good, but too much may be bad. We know that elite endurance athletes have testosterone levels akin to a 10-year-old boy. But what happens if you take novices and subject them to endurance training?

Fifteen young, healthy men performed endurance training of five-week duration on a cycle ergometer. Before and after the exercise program, all participants completed a ‘max’ exercise test. The training program resulted in 3.7 % improvement in maximal oxygen uptake and 8.2 % improvement in power output reached at max VO2. Testosterone also increased from 18.8 to 22.0 nmol/L. That’s a 17 % increase! Not too shabby. Moreover, the training caused a significant decrease in sex hormone-binding globulin concentration, but there was no significant change found in cortisol concentration. So at least in novices, it looks like mild exercise can boost Testosterone levels.

Anabolic Steroids and Heart Health

Scientists studied the effect of oral administration of Testosterone undecanoate for three months on serum lipid levels, and on the occurrence of anginal attacks and daily ischemic episodes in patients with coronary heart disease (CAD). Yes, you read that right. CAD. If this stuff is so bad for your heart, why on earth would doctors give it to folks with heart disease? As you well know, the scientific truth often differs from the mainstream press’ idiotic assertions.

Eighty-seven diabetic male subjects with CAD were randomized to a 12-week treatment with either Testosterone undecanoate (40 mg administered three times daily) or placebo in a double-blind protocol. Weekly episodes of angina attacks, number of ischemic episodes daily and total ischemic burden on ambulatory ECG Holter were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the study. Serum total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were also measured at the same time points. So what did they discover?

Compared to Testosterone undecanoate, it significantly reduced the number of anginal attacks per week by 34 percent; the silent ischemic episodes by 26 %, and the total ischemic burden of 21 % on ambulatory ECG monitoring. If you don’t have your medical dictionary handy, that means taking the anabolic steroid Testosterone undecanoate actually improved heart performance by allowing more oxygen to be delivered to the heart muscle. Also, after 12 weeks, total cholesterol and plasma triglycerides were significantly reduced in the Testosterone undecanoate group, compared to the placebo group.

So is the data actually suggesting that folks with CAD take an anabolic steroid? If you answered ‘yes,’ then go to the head of the class. There is a plethora of data supporting the beneficial effects of Testosterone undecanoate. For instance, in older men, lower total testosterone levels predict increased incidence of stroke. So why do folks still believe this hormone is so deadly? I don’t know. Heck, some folks actually believe astrology.

Green Tea Bad for Testosterone

This study investigated the acute effects of green tea extract and its polyphenol constituents, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and (-)-epicatechin (EC) on basal and stimulated testosterone production by rat Leydig cells in vitro. Now before you get your panties all up in a bunch, keep in mind that this was an in vitro study. I’m not suggesting you give up your green tea, but you have to admit, the data is rather intriguing.

Leydig cells (from the testes) were incubated for 3 hours with green tea extract, EGCG or EC and the testosterone-precursor androstenedione, in the presence or absence of either protein kinase A (PKA) or protein kinase C (PKC) activators.Green tea extract and EGCG, but not EC, inhibited both basal and kinase-stimulated testosterone production. Whether this occurs in vivo (i.e., a living mammal) is yet to be seen. And I’d imagine the dose required might be a bit higher in us humans than a bunch of testicular cells in a dish.