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The Pros and Cons of Pro-Hormones
Pro-hormones are easily found in every pharmacy, whole foods and
supplement store. They used as a performance enhancing drug that people
take as a professional aid. Pro-hormones are a naturally occurring
chemical compound that is quite similar to actual hormones. The
difference lies in the fact that they don't actually exert their actions
immediately upon ingestion; it is only after being converted to the
final target hormone that it starts acting on the body. The pro-hormones
are converted to the final target hormone with the help of enzymes that
are naturally found in the human body. It is only with the help and
presence of these enzymes that its conversion process is completed.
However, there is a drawback that the enzymes can convert only a small
amount of pro-hormones in a given period of time. It is basically this
conversion of pro-hormones with enzymes that differentiates a
pro-hormone from a steroid and what permits pro-hormones to remain as a
legal drug. The only drawback over a pro-hormone and a steroid is that
there is no point in taking too much of the pro-hormone as this does not
promise a respective increase in the final amount of hormones.
It should
be noted that the enzymatic processes of pro-hormones gives numerous
byproducts; and one of them is the dreaded hormone, estrogen. It is only
with a high intensity workout and training that this hormone will get
converted to testosterone. Another point to remember about pro-hormones
is that there is a necessity of the presence of cholesterol in the body
for the hormonal synthesis process of pro-hormones. This means that a
reduction in the availability of cholesterol in the body only leads to a
reduction in the amount of hormones produced. So it is important to
consume fat during the muscle building stage of the body. However this
does not imply that it is necessary to consume junk food; only that
eliminating fat from the body will only lead to a negative effect on
hormonal production.
There are
many pro-hormones available on the market today; each having its own
pros and cons. I-Testosterone is a target hormone having strong anabolic
properties where there is no aromatization to estrogens. Instead, it
exerts its effects immediately, and not with an enzymatic conversion; it
is responsible for some side effects like hair loss, benign prostate
enlargement and acne.
IAD
(I-androstene-3beta, 17beta-diol) is the precursor to I-Testosterone and
has similar pros and cons. However, as there are conversion byproducts
here, there is an increase in the risk of side effects. Moreover, it
offers a lower efficiency than I-Testosterone as only a part of it is
converted in the conversion process.
4-AD
(4-androstenediol) is another precursor to testosterone and offers the
same benefits. However, as in the case of IAD, there is a conversion
process here which leads to an increase in the conversion of
metabolites. In addition to this, there is a decrease in the amount of
converted testosterone wherein there may be side effects.
Nordiol
(19-nor-4-androstenediol) is another pro-hormone that doesn't convert
into testosterone. Instead it converts to nortestosterone to produce
less androgenic effects and side effects. Thought there is no conversion
to estrogen with typical pathways, you find that it produces unwanted
estrogen through progesterone pathway.
1, 4-Andro
(1, 4-androstadiene-3, 17-Dione) is a pro-hormone that has relatively
fewer side effects. One of its side effects is water retention. However,
it is a pro-hormone that has sufficient anabolic properties and also
converts to estrogen in its conversion process. There is a possibility
of an increase in estrogen related side effects like water retention,
gynecomastia and most HPTA inhibitions.
Basically,
the use of pro-hormones may result in dangerous and unwanted side
effects that are similar to those that steroids produce. In fact,
comparatively, when choosing between steroids and pro-hormones, the
ratio of risk to benefit is in favor of steroids as both the results and
risk ratio of pro-hormones offer no justification as a performance aid.
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