Study Finds 17x Elevated Estrogen, High Progesterone + Reduced DHEA Levels in 65% of Ecdysteroid, Tribulus, Phytoestrogen, Phytosterol and / or Soy Protein Users!

Image 1 (Oliver Knöbel aka "Olivia Jones"): Not sure, but maybe the famous German drag artist Oilver Knöbel  aka "Olivia Jones" would be willing to buy some of your "all natural ergogenics"?

Tekin and Kravitz estimate the number of currently available "nutritional supplements" to be 30,000+ and if you want my personal estimate, roughly 30 of those are useful (Tekin. 2012). And while many of the other 29,970 supplements are often just dispensable, some are downright harmful or, as we have recently seen for alpha lipoic acid and zinc only beneficial for a certain, often sick, obese and diabetic part of the population (see "You are better of without alpha lipoic acid" and "Zinc supplements may cause insulin resistance & diabetes") and can - if taken in high doses or for long periods of time - become downright harmful for active physical culturists like you and me. The data Paolo Borrione and his colleagues from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Rome present in a recently published paper does now confirm that ALA and zinc are probably still the most benign among the "potent ergogenics" and "all natural", "plant-derived nutritional supplements" that are specifically marketed to fitness enthusiasts all around the globe (Borrione. 2012).

Believe it or not: "Natural" and "non-hormonal" can be worse than synthetic and hormonal

Image 2: In view of the fact that ecdysteroids are meant to turn the guy on the left into the nasty bastard on the right, the guys in this study should be happy that they got away with hormonal imbalances ;-)

In their peer-reviewed observational pilot-study (I am already looking forward to the follow up ;-) the scientists queried 740 trained subjects (420 body builders, 70 cyclists, and 250 fitness athletes) over a 6-months period on their use of "commercially available plant-derived nutritional supplements", which contained any or several of the following ingredients

• ecdysteroids, 
• phytoestrogens, 
• phytosterols and/or
• tribulus terrestris

To my surprise only 26 of those 740 experienced trainees (all subjects have been training regularly for at least 1 year, 1–2 hours per day, 3–6 days per week) declared that they were currently using respective products, with

• In defense of at least some of the ingredients mentioned in this list to the left, it should be mentioned that it is not clear, if the observed effects were due to a single component of the supplements, due to several of the ingredients of an individual product or the highly undesirable and based on studies on isolated compounds non-predictable interactions. Personally, I would bet money that all three of these were involved, though.
  6 subjects consuming products that contained Caffeine, Citrus A., Zingiber, Guggul, Cacao, Naringine and Bioperine. 
• 6 subsect consuming products based on 5-Methyl-7Methoxyisoflavone, 7-Iso- propoxyisoflavone, 20-Hydroxyecdysone, Secretagogues, Triboxybol, Saw Palmetto extract, Beta Sitosterol, Pygeum extract, Guarana extract and Cordyceps extract. 
• 4 subjects consuming different dosages of a commercially available product containing Rhaponticum Carthamoides extract and (in one case) Ajuga Turkestanica and Rhaponticum Carthamoides root extract

for 6-12 months. The rest got at least a daily dose of phytoestrogens from soy protein products, some of which were enriched with Muira Puama and/or Guta Kola extracts - with highly detrimental consequences on the endocrine milieu for 15 (65%) of them.

Figure 1: Progesterone (ng/ml), estrogen (pg/ml) and DHEA (ng/ml) levels in users vs. non-users of "plant-derived nutritional supplements"; the bars for lower and upper indicate the lower and upper limit of the normal range, the figures on top of the blue bars are relative to the group average of the non-users (based on Borrione. 2012)

If your brain is not already malfunctioning due to too many "all natural ergogenics", it should be plain obvious that neither the 16x increase in estrogen, nor the 3x increase in progesterone are something you would be willing to pay money for. And that goes irrespective of whether you are a man or a women. After all,  these profound "hormonal alterations" (esp. the hyperestrogenism) could, as the scientists point out, lead to "severe health problems" such as

• gynecomastia, hypogonadism and reduced fertility in men, and 
• macromastia, enlarged uterus, menstrual irregularities and breast cancer in women.

In addition, hyperestrogenism represents a major risk factor for the female and male breast cancer (Heinig. 2002; Martin. 2003; Cederroth. 2010).

Taking DHEA or an "all natural" aromatase inhibitor will only exasperate the mess!

Image 2: Actually this post only confirms what I have been written in my previous post on "hormone optimization made simple and cheap". Avoiding all the natural and unnatural hormonal disruptors is the less expensive and healthiest way to optimize your endocrine system.

And while you could try to counter the reduced DHEA levels and the increase in estrogen by simply swallowing another pill (or a whole "stack"), I would suggest you better avoid all those totally natural, but by no means harmless test- or whatever boosters and suppressors of which Paolo Borrione et al. rightly state that they "have not been studied for long-term safety".

Contrary to the users in Berrione's study, of whom 45% did not even know all of the substances on the label of their supplement of choice you are now aware that the phytoestrogens, vegetal sterols and ecdysteroids are not simply not worth their money, they are more importantly not worth your health and should, just like the soy protein, which happens to be the one supplement that was on the list of every subject with abnormally elevated estrogen levels(!) never make it onto your supplement shopping list.

References:

1. Borrione P, Rizzo M, Quaranta F, Ciminelli E, Fagnani F, Parisi A, Pigozzi F. Consumption and biochemical impact of commercially available plant-derived nutritional supplements. An observational pilot-study on recreational athletes. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012 Jun 19;9(1):28.
2. Cederroth CR, Auger J, Zimmermann C, Eustache F, Nef S: Soy, phyto-oestrogens and male reproductive function: a review. Int J Androl 2010, 33:304–316
3. Heinig J, Jackisch C, Rody A, Koch O, Buechter D, Schneider HP: Clinical management of breast concer in males: a report of four cases. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2002, 102:67–73.
4. Martin RM, Lin CJ, Nishi MY, Billerbeck AE, Latronico AC, Russell DW, Mendonca BB: Familial hyperestrogenism in both sexes: clinical, hormonal, and molecular studies of two siblings. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2003, 88:3027–3034.
5. Tekin KA, Kravitz L: The growing trend of ergogenic drugs and supplements. ACSM’s Health Fitness J 2004, 8:15–18.

Natural Hormone Optimization Made Simple & Cheap: Avoid These 10 Anti-Androgens to Boost Testosterone & DHT

Image 1: I am not aware of the effect the process of making yourself up has on androgen levels, but the PCPs in many cosmetics could in fact lead to hormonal imbalances.

One of the things you hear and read increasingly often, when it comes to topics such as detoxification, the use of anti-inflammatory supplements or simply increased intakes of omega-3 fatty acids to counter the "hazardous omega-6 overload in your diet", is the analogy of somebody banging his head against a wall asking for a helmet, instead of simply stopping this stupid practice. Likewise, it does not really make sense to invest $50 into an already more or less worthless natural testosterone booster, when, at the same time, you are eating or even supplementing one of the items on the following list of proven anti-androgens:

• anti-androgenic drugs - cyproterone acetate, spirolonactone, flutamide, ketoconazole, finasteride & co.: It stands to reason that your doctor will have had good reason to prescribe you one or the other of the aforementioned drugs; and at least as far as the DHT blocker dustasteride is concerned, diligent SuppVersity students will be aware that it does not compromise testosterone-replacement-therapy induced changes in body composition. In this regard, it should however be mentioned that the pertinent study, I discussed on March 12, 2012 (cf. "Dustasteride Does Not Hamper Changes in Body Composition on Supraphysiological Doses of Testosterone") was not a training study and that, given DHT's hitherto not fully elucidated role in satellite cell recruitment and proliferation, it is well possible that we would have seen differences in weight training athletes.To use these drugs as a means to bolster up your testosterone levels is therefore not just risky and irresponsible, but plain out stupid.
• ATD (1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione): Yes, surprisingly the potent anti-estrogen (aromatase inhibitor) and much-touted testosterone-booster ATD is a relatively potent anti-androgen. You can read all about ATD's anti-androgenic effects in an older blogpost here at the SuppVersity: "Anti-androgenic effect of ATD"
   
• Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus): Also sold to help your testosterone levels along, yet even more to counter the scientifically hitherto non-established phenomenon of "progesterone gyno", Vitex is another relatively commonly used supplement of which a 2007 study by Nasri et al. shows that it will probably reduce, not increase your luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone levels in parts, but not exclusively via dopaminergic pathways (Nasri. 2007)
• Green Tea (Camellia sinensis): As a diligent student of the SuppVersity you will already be aware of the differential effects of green tea and its catechins on serum testosterone levels; if you are interested, in the details you can read them up in "5 Cups of Green Tea Can Reduce Testosterone by Up to -20%"
• Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra): The phytoestrogens in licorice have been shown to reduce testosterone levels in women; glycyrrhizin and glycrrhetic acid exhibit anti-androgen effects in healthy (Armanini. 2003) and diabetic men (Fukui. 2003)  - there is yet also counter-evidence coming from Josephs et al., who were "unable to reproduce" previous results showing a licorice reduced reduction in the conversion of androstenedione to testosterone (Josephs. 2001), since the latter does yet reference a previous study by Armanini et al. the results of which the latter were able to repdroduce in 2003 (Armanini. 2003), it is save to assume that licorice does in fact reduce testosterone levels in diabetic and healthy men and women; and that despite the fact, that a more recent study shows that its corticosteroid (cortisol) modulating effects are probably of greater relevance than its impact on the androgens and other sex steroids (Sigurjonsdottir. 2006)
• Red clover: Extracts from red clover exhibit potent binding affinity to the androgen and progesterone receptor and "theoretical estrogenic activity expressed as equivalent E2 concentration is in the same range as recommended for synthetic estrogen" (Beck. 2003)
• Reishi (LinghZi): Red reishi is supposed to be the mushroom with the greatest anti-androgenic activity. A methanol extract from Ganoderma lucidum has been found to decrease testosterone-to-DHT conversion by up to 80% in a 2005 study by Fujita et al. (Fujita. 2005)
• Spearmint (M. spicata): At least in women spearmint tea has been shown to increase estrogen and luteinizing hormone in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle (Aktodgan. 2007). In a 2004 study that was conducted on male rodents, on the other hand, the daily administration of peppermint tea (M. spicata) for a period of 30days lead to significant increases in luteinizing and follicle stimulating hormone and increases in serum testosterone, yet with the serious downside of "extensive degenerative changes in the germinal epithelium and spermatogenesis arrest compared with the findings in the testicular biopsies of the control group" (Aktogan. 2003)
• Soy and soy phytoestrogens: It goes without saying that you won't take your girlfriends pill, right? So why do you even remotely consider eating soy, let alone supplementing soy phytoestrogens? "I've seen soy consumption cause impotency in numerous patients." - Dr. John Crisler (male hormone expert) on my facebook wall in response to Jefferson. 2012; avoid feeding soy to your male offspring at all costs (Sherill. 2010; Leraiki. 2011; Siepmann. 2011)
• White Peony (Paeonia lactiflora): Also known as Chinese Peony, the ornamental plant has been shown to contain at least two compounds, 6'-O-galloylalbiflorin and pentagalloylglucos, which bind to the androgen receptor and thusly inhibit its activation by testosterone, DHT and weaker androgens (Washida. 2009).
• Xenoestrogens & Co - BPA (Bisphenol A as in plastics), PCPs (as in cosmetics), etc.: Can inhibit testosterone production by reducing the conversion of cholesterol to androgens (Feng. 2012) and estrogen-like effects (Nakamura. 2010); similar effects have been reported for all sorts of so-called "xenoestrogens", these are synthetic compounds that act as (mostly weak) estrogens in the human body and can induce permanent damage to the endocrine system and resproductive system, specifically in young boys and adolescents. In grown up men and women they have been linked to the development of various forms of cancer (Donovan. 2007).

I know, "avoid this... avoid that..." does not sound half as sexy as "with just three caps of our product you can boost your testosterone levels by up to 123.741%!... but you know what? Other than those red gren, blue, yellow, red and white caps in their mostly black, as of late yet often white (probably to suggest "drug-like" effects) boxes, it's totally free and, more importantly, it works!

From Subclinical to Full-Blown Hypothyroidism by Soy Supplementation. 3-Fold Risk with Just 15mg Soy Phytoestrogens per Day.

"Soy is healthy!" At least the majority of women in the western hemisphere still seems to believe this. Interestingly, it is this group of individuals who is most susceptible to subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism. A recent study may reveal why...

A group of scientists from the UK (Sathaypalan. 2011) investigated the effect an 8 weeks dietary intervention with "high-dose phytoestrogens (30 g soy protein with 16mg phytoestrogens, representative of a vegetarian diet)" on thyroid function in sixty patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. The results were unequivocal - high dose phytoestrogens put your thyroid over the edge:

Six patients (10%) developed overt hypothyroidism after high-dose phytoestrogen, and none after low-dose phytoestrogen supplementation. [...] All six subjects were diagnosed as having overt hyothyroidism during their end-of-study visit after the 8-wk high-dose phytoestrogen supplementation period, when they were found to have raised TSH of more than 10 mU/liter and a low fT4 of less than 9 pmol/liter, i.e. overt hypothyroidism.

Even in view of the fact that some "health markers" such as insulin resistance, hsCRP, and blood pressure improved in the 16mg (high dose) phytoestrogen group, the question remains, whether lifelong levothyroxin medication and the possible subsequent damage due to hypothyrodism (even with "adequate" medication, cf. stopthethyroidmadness.com) is worth it!?