Click Here For Your Free Muscle Building Magazine Subscription
Pro Hormone Supplements Review
What are Prohormones?
Prohormone Q&A Technical Fact Sheet By Sal Abraham M.S. R.D.
1. What are Prohormones? Prohormones are Precursor hormones. (Pro=Pre) This refers to a Prohormone that converts into its parent hormone.
2. How does the body convert these Prohomones into their corresponding parent hormones? The prohormones are converted in the body by liver enzymes. The diones utilize 17beta hydroxysteriod dehydrogenase and the diols utilize 3beta hydroxysteriod dehydrogenase.
3. What Prohormones are currently being utilized by supplement companies? 4-androstene3, 17dione; 4-androstene3, 17diol; 5-androstene3, 17diol; 19-nor4-androstene3, 17dione; 19-nor4-androstene3, 17diol; 19-nor5-androstene3, 17diol 4. What does the dione and diol ending represent? These endings represent the type of double bond. The dione has a double ketone bond (di=double one=ketone). The diol has a double hydroxyl bond (di=double ol=hydroxyl).
5. What is Androstenedione? Androstenedione is a prohormone produced by the adrenal gland and can be found in the pollen of Scotch pine trees. Androstenedione is one metabolic step away from testosterone. Testosterone is an androgenic/anabolic hormone. This means testosterone can impart male characteristics when administered in a high enough dose.
6. Can Androstenedione shut down my natural production of andro or testosterone? If taken in the recommended dose andro should not shut down natural hormone production. This is due to the fact that the prohormone conversion only lasts about 3 hours, which is not a long enough time to signal the adrenal gland to shut down.
7. What is 19-Norandrostenedione? 19-Norandrostenedione is Androstenedione with a carbon molecule missing from the 19th position. 19-Norandrostenedione is one metabolic step away from nor-testosterone or nandrolone. Nor-testosterone is an anabolic/ androgenic hormone. This means nor-testosterone imparts very little male characteristic side effects.
8. Is there a difference between the delta 4 & 5 versions of the diols? The delta refers to the number preceding the word andro. Example: 4 andro, 5 andro. This number represents the position of the chemical bond. The delta 4 version has been shown to be dramatically more efficient than the delta 5 version. The delta 5 version has been shown to have minimal anabolic activity and a high rate of estrogen conversion. This difference is due to the fact that a delta 4 prohormone can directly convert to testosterone while the delta 5 must first convert to delta 4 via an isomers enzyme.
9. Are the diols better than the diones? The diols utilize a different enzyme for conversion and have been recently shown to have a higher rate of conversion. The diones have a 6% conversion while the diols have a 16% conversion rate.
10. Is it beneficial to supplement stack the diones and diols? Since these compounds utilize different enzymes for conversion, there would be no enzymatic competition between the prohormones. This would allow full conversion of both compounds resulting in the highest percentage of hormone.
Androstenedione * Estrogen conversion: yes * DHT conversion: yes * Testosterone conversion: moderate * Anabolic effects: low * Beneficial for: men
4-Androstenediol * Estrogen conversion: no * DHT conversion: no * Testosterone conversion: high * Anabolic effect: very high * Beneficial for: men
5-Androstenediol * Estrogen conversion: yes * DHT conversion: no * Testosterone conversion: low * Anabolic effect: moderate * Beneficial for: women
19-NorAndrostenedione * Estrogen conversion: yes * DHT conversion: no * Nor-testosterone: moderate * Anabolic effect: moderate * Beneficial for: men and women
19-Nor4-Androstenediol * Estrogen conversion: no * DHT conversion: no * Nor-testosterone: high * Anabolic effect: very high * Beneficial for: men
19-Nor5-Androstenediol * Estrogen conversion: yes * DHT conversion: no * Nor-testosterone: moderate * Anabolic effect: low * Beneficial for: women
PROHORMONE Q & A WHAT IS TESTOSTERONE? Testosterone is the hormone that separates the men from women, this hormone is responsible for all male sex characteristics such as facial & body hair , increased aggression, and testosterone is also the reason men have more strength and muscle mass than women.
Testosterone acts as a messenger attaching itself to steroid receptor sites in the nuclei of muscle cells sending signals for muscle cells to increase nitrogen retention and protein synthesis which are the two major factors of muscle growth. Testosterone also decreases cortisol levels. (cortisol is the hormone released by the body during intense periods of stress that breaks down muscle mass.)
WHAT PROHORMONES ARE AVAILABLE TODAY? There are 6 prohormones available, 4-androstene3, 17dione ; 4-androstene3, 17diol ; 5-androstene3, 17diol ; 19-nor4-androstene, 17dione ; 19-nor-4-androstene3 17diol ; 19-nor-5androstene3 17diol. Note: In the US the above pro hormones are against the law and no longer legal to buy or use.
WHAT ARE PROHORMONES AND HOW DO THEY CONVERT? Prohormones are precursors to parent hormones such as testosterone, nor-testosterone, nandrolone. These hormones are converted to parent hormones via liver enzymes. The dione prohormones use 17beta hydroxysteriod dehydrogenase for conversion. The diol prohormones use 3beta hydroxysteriod dehydrogenase for conversion. Prohormones are not testosterone or steriods.
DO PROHORMONES SHUT DOWN MY NATURAL PRODUCTION OF TESTOSTERONE? Prohormones taken according to the recommended dose should not shut down natural testosterone production.Prohormones only increase testosterone levels for about 3 hours which isn't long enough for the adrenal gland to shut down it's production.
WHATS BETTER DIONES OR DIOLS? Both products are effective but use different enzymes to convert. The diols have been shown to have a higher rate of conversion. The diol conversion rate is approx. 16% , the dione conversion rate is approx. 6%.
Home | Articles | Nutrition | Exercises | Techniques | Workouts | Links
Click Here For Your Free Muscle Building Magazine Subscription
Disclaimer: This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.
