In the last few years, there has been many advancements in the health supplements industry. The early attempts of the industry seemed to focus on providing athletes with an abundance of things that they already knew that they needed, and there wasn't much of an attempt to divulge into the science of metabolism and muscle re-generation. If you were to have walked into a health food store twenty years ago, about the only thing you would have probably found were protein powders, a few herbs, and some vitamins. For all of our benefit, the field has now changed drastically and companies now spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars on physiological research to scientifically advance the products we now use.
Arguably, Androstenedione is the best alternative to steroids on the market today, but it really isn't all that recent of a discovery. The substance was first isolated in 1935, and then ignored until a few studies were done in the early 1960's. Androstenedione played its first leading role with the Olympic Germans in the early 1980's though. There is at least one thing not to forget about the 80's. Androstenedione was used by the country's athletes in order to reap the benefits of an elevated testosterone level while competing, and then a matter of hours later the certain levels would then drop well enough to ensure the passing of steroidal tests. Androstenedione is capable of elevating testosterone levels by up to 300%. The Germans advantage of the substance was not without its drawbacks though. The form, which the Germans used was that of a nasal spray. An efficient means of absorption was one of the key benefits, but the fluid ate away at the athlete's nasal membranes very badly. The substance was also a mandatory practice of any German athlete. Also if you think back to that time, the Germans ruled the Olympic games, in fact the German's had a secret inner circle of scientists that was solely responsible for the development of performance enhancers for the games. I see it now as just another Cold War tactic?
Androstenedione is itself a steroidal hormone found in meat and some plants. It is often referred to as an adrenal androgen and is a direct metabolite of DHEA. DHEA as well as Androstenedione are both precursors to testosterone, but Androstenedione is only one metabolic biosynthesis away, where DHEA is three metabolic steps away from testosterone. Another drawback of DHEA is that it can be converted into other androgens like estrogen, while Androstenedione is converted only into testosterone by the liver. Androstenedione, when taken orally will increase blood levels of testosterone as well as increased energy, quicker recovery times, muscular gains, and an enhanced sexual arousal level.
Your level of testosterone will rise within about fifteen minutes after Androstenedione is taken orally. The peak of this testosterone surge is anywhere from one to one and a half hours, with the surge subsiding after about three hours. The normal dosage of Androstenedione is about 100 mg thirty minutes thirty to forty five minutes before your workout.
Professional football has banned the use of Androstenedione, almost in the same manner that the Olympic Commission has banned the use of ephedrine. The problem from the respective sports are that the use of these perfectly legal substances could be used to mask the use of illegal substances. The process of testing usually involves a technique by the name of mass chromographing. This process is not exact enough to distinguish between very chemically similar compounds. Just as ephedrine is only two carbon rings away from a methamphetamine, and can not be differentiated by a chromograph test. Androstenedione has also passed two of the three governmental tests to be determined a steroid, the important thing is that it didn't pass the third. Androstenedione was the substance that Mark McGuire credited his seventy home runs to, but the athlete claims he has discontinued the use of the substance due to the controversy and the fact that he feels it's the responsible thing to due as a role model.
While the use of Androstenedione is very safe and legal there are some side effects that may be associated with its use. Truthfully there have not been enough studies done to fully evaluate the side effects completely here are a few. Due to its brief peak of testosterone many of the typical steroid like side effects may be associated with the use of Androstenedione. These side effects include a decrease of HDL (good cholesterol), prostate hypertrophy, and acne. The more steroidal side effects you should not experience are liver toxicity, balding, gynecomastia, and kidney stress. It is possible that the natural production of testosterone by your body may be effected though, if the daily recommended dose is heavily exceeded.
As always I thank you for reading, and if you have any other questions or comments feel free to email me about them.
Wayne Mercer
CMERCER@hot.rr.com
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