Anyone taking anabolic steroids should have the following tests performed:

• Total Testosterone
• Free Testosterone
• Estradiol (E2); most potent female estrogen
• Liver Enzymes Measured
• Blood Cell Indices
• Hematocrit
• Homocysteine
• VAP Lipid Test
• C-Reactive Protein
• PSA

    Also include,

• IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 for human growth hormone evaluation), and a
• Thyroid Panel (TSH,T4,T3)

     The Archives of Internal Medicine, 166:1660-1665, 2006, University of Washington researchers went to war veterans 40 + years old and found that death occurred in the men 75 % higher who had Low Testosterone compared to the men who had normal testosterone--450 ng/100ml (450 ng/dl; 45 pg/ml). Low testosterone was considered less than 240 ng/100 ml. Most, however, consider anything under 350 ng/dl as low. We would consider under 450 ng/100 ml (dl) as low.

    Eur J. Epidemiol, 19:657-663, 2004, showed that a link exists between bad health and low testosterone. A recent publication, August Archives of Internal Medicine found a 68 % increase in the risk of dying in men that have low testosterone.

    It is well-known a connection exists between high homocysteine levels and cardiovascular disease. It is not well appreciated that there is a definite link between mood and memory and excess homocysteine levels. The link takes the following form:

• Depression (mood)
• Cognitive Deficits (memory)

    The first, depression, can illustrate itself in a less than good response to antidepressants for light or deep depression. Homocysteine, responds to a number of nutrients including folic acid. Both states of depression, light or deep, are definitely linked to low folic acid levels in the blood serum. When the folate is low, homocysteine is high.---Morris Ms, Fava M, Jacques PF, Selhub J, Rosenberg IH. 'Depression and folate status in the US population.' Psychother Psychosom. 2003 Mar; 72 (2) :80-7.

    Research implicates homocysteine, when high, above 7 - 8 uMol/L, among depressed persons, at least up to 50 % of patients who are depressed had high homocysteine.---Bottibglieri T, Laundry M, Crellin R, et al. 'Homocysteine, folate, methylation, and monoamine metabolism in depression.' J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2000 Aug; 69 (2): 228-32; Fava M, Borus JS, Alpert JE, et al. 'Folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in major depressive disorder.' Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Mar; 154 (3): 426-8.

    It is known that folic acid is necessary for proper DNA function in the human organism. It is possible that homocysteine is just a marker in that it is up because the folate is driven down trying to neutralize the homocysteine. And various scientists have told the government recently that the RDA of 400 mcg is just not enough in our diet.

    Drugs for depression often are not very effective or have limited usefulness in treating depression. But this malady may be overcome with folic acid therapy. Research has determined that reducing elevated homocysteine with folate is often salubrious in treating depression. One study from overseas has shown this nutrient was as effective in some as regular antidepressant medications.---Passeri M, Cucinotta D, Abate G, et al. 'Oral 5'-methyltetrahydrofolic acid in senile organic mental disorders with depression: results of a double-blind multicenter study.' Aging (Milano.). 1993 Feb; 5 (1): 63-71.

    Many patients improved when on antidepressants when they were given folic acid; whereas, the medication was not as effective alone. This was demonstrated with Prozac® (fluoxetine). The dose administered was 0.5 mg (500 mcg) of folate daily. Only a few psychiatrists have added folic acid to their armamentarium. This is inexpensive and simple, but yet they don't to it. Folic acid is certainly not going to do harm at the dose experimented with. We suggest 0.8 gm (800 mcg).---Coppen A, Bailey J, 'Enhancement of the antidepressant action of fluoxetine by folic acid: a randomized, placebo controlled trial.' J Affect Disord. 2000 Nov; 60 (2): 121-30.; Godfrey PS, Toone BK, Carney MW, et al. 'Enhancement of recovery from psychiatric illness by methylfolate.' Lancet.1990 Aug 18; 336 (8712): 392-5.

    One of the writers of this document has personally seen 45 to 75 mg used with very good results. It was very effective when given with above nutrients for reducing homocysteine. We recommend Metafolin additionally, the more bioactive folate.

    The Second item written above, memory problems, is definitely associated with higher homocysteine and lower nutrients mentioned above. MRI studies have shown that the area of the brain associated with cognitive function are low in folic acid in the blood.---Scott TM, Tucker Kl, Bhadelia A, et al. 'Homocysteine and B vitamins relate to brain volume and white matter changes in geriatric patients with psychiatric disorders.' Am J Geriat Psychiatry. 2004 Nov; 12(6): 631-8.

    In 2005, Italian researchers have discovered a relationship between dementia, Alzheimer's disease and homocysteine. The study went on for four years in which they followed 816 adults that had no dementia. The average age was 74 years. During this study time, 112 persons developed dementia which included 70 diagnosed as having Alzheimer's. Those who had a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia were persons with high homocysteine levels of 15 umol/L. This caused scientists to conclude that more than high, but elevated homocysteine levels are independent factors of risk for developing these diseases.---Ravaglia G, forti P, Maioli F, et al. 'Homocysteine and folate as risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer disease.' Am J clin Nutr. 2005 Sept; 82(3): 636-43.

    Endocrine News, June 2006, writes that more than $500 million dollars in prescription sales were written last year for testosterone. Aging men in the millions are taking testosterone for various reasons listed throughout this document. We estimate most of the prescribing physicians do not know what you have just read: testosterone raises homocysteine, and the latter's relationship to mood and memory.

    Now...what is it a person on testosterone; especially the shots, may develop? Elevated homocysteine. Less chance occurs with cream or gels. However, you now know what to do if you develop elevated homocysteine levels. And why regular testing is necessary.

     Human Growth Hormone can raise blood sugar. This is what the Textbook of Medical Physiology, by Guyton and Hall, Fourteenth Edition, page 923, says:

"Growth hormone causes multiple effects that influence carbohydrate metabolism, including (1) decreased glucose uptake in tissues such as skeletal muscle and fat, (2) increased glucose production by the liver, and (3) increased insulin secretion.

"Each of these changes results from growth hormone-induced 'insulin resistance,' which attenuates insulin's actions to stimulate the uptake and utilization of glucose in skeletal muscle and fat and to inhibit gluconeogenesis (glucose production) by the liver; this leads to increased blood glucose concentration and a compensatory increase in insulin secretion.

"For these reasons, growth hormone's effects are called diabetogenic, and excess secretion of growth hormone can produce metabolic disturbances very similar to those found in patients with type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes, who are also very resistant to the metabolic effects of insulin.

"We do not know the precise mechanism by which growth hormone causes insulin resistance and decreased glucose utilization by the cells. However, growth hormone-induced increases in blood concentrations of fatty acids may impair insulin's actions on tissue glucose utilizations.

"Experimental studies indicate that raising blood levels of fatty acids above normal rapidly decreases the sensitivity of the liver and skeletal muscle to insulin's effects on carbohydrate metabolism."

    Dr. Elaine N. Marieb, writing in Anatomy and Physiology, Sixth Edition, page 613, explains it this way:

"GH mobilizes fats from fat depots for transport to cells, increasing blood levels of fatty acids.

"It also decreases the rate of glucose uptake and metabolism. In the liver, it encourages glycogen breakdown and release of glucose to the blood.

"The elevation in blood sugar levels that occurs as a result of this glucose sparing is called the diabetogenic effect of GH, because it mimics the high blood sugar levels typical of diabetes mellitus."

    She writes something of extreme significance and she may not have realized it. We pick up on it in her previous edition and it has truly worked wonders in most patients: Dr. Marieb says:

"Most growth-promoting effects of GH are mediated indirectly by insulin-like growth factors (IGFs)....a family of growth-promoting proteins produced by the liver, skeletal muscle, bone, and other tissues.

"Specifically, IGFs

(1) stimulate uptake of amino acids from the blood and their incorporation into      cellular proteins throughout the body; and
(2) stimulate uptake of sulfur (needed for the synthesis of chondroitin sulfate) into      cartilage matrix."

    There it is: Number (2). That is why some elderly with arthritis get benefit and some don't from taking supplements with biologically available sulphur including glucosamine chondroitin and MSM. They are still producing enough GH hormone to utilize the biologically available sulfur and others are not producing enough. However, all would benefit from GH administration.

    We have had patients inject GH with some results from the injections; when they took a biologically available sulfur compound as in the above, there was diminished pain (some lost all pain) in their joints and they have stayed mobile.

    Some, however complained it did them no good, even though they were more mobile and with less pain. They got off of it all and lost their mobility altogether.

    We said this in the last issue:

A substance, proteinaceous in form, called Nuclear Factor Kappa Beta, NFkB, when over generated, causes all sorts of problems in the body. Reduce NFkB by taking Super Curcumin with BioPerine to aid in absorption. Take 6 capsules daily. This is a tumeric spice extract with great potential to slow down neurodegenerative disorders.

    This would be ideal for those of you reading this current issue and suffer from arthritis; especially if you, under your physician's auspices, plan to inject GH and ingest glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. Just remember, take two to three thousand milligrams of glucosamine- chondroitin and at least 3,000 mg of MSM daily in divided doses.

    Also good for neurodegenerative disorders is alpha lipoic acid (ALA). We recommend Life Extension's Super Alpha-Lipoic Acid with Biotin. The Journal of Neuroimmunology, 3/04, says that mice studies demonstrated a slowing in progression of a disorder that compares to human multiple sclerosis, and the Journal of Neurochemistry, 3/03, reported age-related memory loss improved when N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) was included with ALA.

    Alpha-lipoic acid in test tube studies illustrated chemical reactions that prompted neural (nerve) cells to grow and survive. Thinning skin and arthritis improved when ALA was included in the diet. These two substances (ALA, NAC) are extremely good for diabetics with neural damage, such as neuropathy.

    Growth hormone is used for anti-aging, insulin resistance, and obesity. During early treatment stages, if large (3 IUs) or supraphysiologic doses are used, such as 4 IUs daily, blood sugar can rise because insulin resistance occurs at first. If you exercise, you are less likely to experience this side effect.

    However, this diabetogenesis, according to Oregon Health and Science University's findings published in Growth Hormone IGF Research, 16: S55-S61, 2006, comes on at 2 IUs daily; but at 1 IU does not, but does increase insulin sensitivity, but no lipolysis; and, hence, no fat loss. If you are insulin resistant (insensitivity), blood sugar builds up with all the attendant problems associated with it. Also insulin piles up and creates problems:

    People with excess insulin--a big problem in our society now--gain weight uncontrollably. Insulin is a strong anabolic (muscle builder) if controlled, and also, when in excess, causes calories from food, to be deposited as fat This is one reason why people on insulin often gain weight; they need to better control their energy intake.

    Insulin, along with phospholipase A2, generates an Arachidonic Acid Cascade (AAC), which in excess, yields profuse inflammatory substances. Over time, these metabolic products can generate arthritis, cancer, such as prostate cancer and metastasis and other diseases.

    We have two organizations (American Heart Association, AHA, and The American Diabetes Association, ADA) out there telling us to eat less fat and more carbohydrates. This runs your insulin up to try to remove that sugar (glucose) produced and remember...excess insulin generates fat gain! Why do people accumulate such weight as they age? One fact overlooked is that people who are overweight have high insulin levels in their blood!

    This brings us to still another blood test item to include in the above testing protocol: Fasting Insulin. The standard reference range allows the fasting insulin to be: 6-27uIU/mL; yet, the optimal range should be: 0-5 uIU/mL.

    With an excess amount of blood insulin floating around, even with exercise and diet- restricted caloric intake, the body will not burn significant calories from fat storage.

    The American Heart Association (AHA) and The American Diabetes Association (ADA) with practically countless nutritionists as well as dieticians tell us to eat more complex carbohydrates consisting of whole-grain products including cereals, seeds, and nuts. This idea has helped fuel the organic movement.

    However, the complex carbohydrate movement in the early 70s and 80s generated by Burkett and associates is not the same as the current definition of complex carbohydrate. Burkett's definition was given for the lay person. The complex carbohydrate was defined as mostly fiber, some of the associated protein, vitamins and minerals, and very, very little starch.

    For instance, the lay definition given by Burkett, who came back to this country after studying peoples in their native habitats who were eating not the refined carbohydrates but the unrefined, was for the U.S to peel a whole potato, any kind, only to 1/4 inch down to some starch and this is what you eat. Now, the scientific definition of complex carbohydrate is utilized which is linear and branch chains of glucose molecules strung together in this fashion creating "Starch."

    This subtle shift in definitions from lay person's complex-carbohydrate, as given by Burkett, went in the latter part of the 80s to more and more of the scientific-textbook definition, until in the early to mid-nineties, the definition was totally the scientific one, which has wreaked havoc upon diets and diabetics, and has created a race of "fat-peopled society" in America. In fact, just recently it was shown that many people are so fat now, they can't fit in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines in hospitals any longer!---Radiology, 240: 435-439, 2006.

    This is primarily what people tell me constantly: they eat and throw away the peelings; or, they eat "brown" rice, thinking they have done much better than what they used to eat--white rice. They're even buying their spaghetti in whole food shops, and still, the fat marches on. Wowee!

    Now, what is the point of all this we are discussing? Even though the body has to break down the so-called "complex part" of the complex carbohydrates and this supposedly allows the body time to deal with all this starch, it ain't so when you consume as much as you are told to, and especially when you don't exercise as an elite bodybuilder or as a long distance runner. Your body has to deal with this in one way or another (stored as fat) with increased insulin secretion.

    As the American Humorist, Josh Billings wrote:

It ain't what a man knows to be so that is so that hurts him. It's what a man knows to be so that ain't so that hurts him.

    When I have reduced out-of-control diabetics to less complex-carbohydrates and instituted them on the earlier definition, they had to reduce their medication--which is good.

    With this bit of background, let us continue. People are eating out more than ever and still consuming a very hefty amount of Omega-6 oils along with their starch. A number of years ago, one of these authors of this website predicted teens as well as children will possess a "madness" which will defy reason. We are now seeing this. You ain't seen nothing yet, however! There are numerous other reasons, in addition to the diet we now eat, but the endocrine disrupters have or will soon reach a meltdown that will drive sanity out of the door for all of us. Get prepared, the madness is coming en masse. We have now become victims of our technology.

    Please allow this temporary aside; but it is apropos:

• New York Times, July 16, 2006: Children falling in line for their morning dose of medications, such as Zoloft because they have such severe depression!

• USA Today, June 27, 2006: Elementary schools are banning soccer, touch football, and games of tag, because the children are getting injured too easily!

• Associated Press, January 3, 2006: Since 1990, cheerleading injuries have doubled.

  Something is happening out there and it is not nice. Our diets are having what the establishment says is nutrient sufficient. We need better nutrient-dense diets prior to conception.

  Children are getting weaker both mentally and physically---and if you are eating the same fare....

• Reuters, December 13, 2005, reports:

  Men used to live into their early seventies; women in their later seventies.

  The life expectancy for Americans according to the report on America's Health Rankings that was given at the American Public Health Association's yearly meeting, is now 69.3 years.

  Our life expectancy is behind 28 other countries, including Britain, France, and Germany. And this 69.3 years life expectancy is 5 years less than that in Japan. Our technology is shortening our life span.

    The Omega-6 oils in excess, as now exists, are considered pro-inflammatory. You have an inflammatory condition...read on, as well as many healthy Americans. When push comes to shove, the cortisol, stress hormone, will skyrocket and they will not be so healthy anymore. The Hell is Now Breaking Over Our Heads.

    In the July 01, 2002, Issue #23 of the Update, we wrote the following:

    "Linoleic acid (Omega-6) generates arachidonic acid in physiological systems. This latter acid yields eicosanoids, which are various lipids derived from the 20-carbon fatty acid, arachidonic acid, found in all cell membranes. Important eicosanoids are prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and paracrines.

    "Paracrines are known as local hormones.

    "The prostaglandins are hormone-like substances that affect multiple targets with various effects, from raising blood pressure to causing the expulsive contractions of birth, to enhancing inflammation and blood clotting.

    "The leukotrienes are signaling chemicals that bring about inflammation and some allergic reactions.

    "Notice, all these reactions, these chemicals, if over-elaborated, can cause problems. [ With a muscle disease, you want to keep as many other problems at bay, as in other diseases, as possible.]

    "The chief thing to note is the recurring word, inflammation.

    "Therefore, the Omega-6, using the physiologically active enzyme, phospholipase, splits arachidonic acid from membrane lipids. The arachidonic acid is reacted upon by 2 enzymes which you hear a lot about in the literature these days, called COX and LOX.

    "COX is cyclooxygenase. This enzyme forms a ring structure from arachidonic acid and oxygenates arachidonic acid to form prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and prostacyclins through various metabolic reactions. The first of the three compounds is vasoactive, causing powerful bronchoconstriction, and attracts a variety of white cells such as neutrophils, eosinopils, basophils and monocytes to the inflammatory site. When their expression is exaggerated or inappropriate, this causes damage or death to the host cell. An important thromboxane is TXA2. It promotes blood platelet aggregation while the prostacyclins (PGI2) have an opposite effect. You get the latter in Gamma Linolenic Acid.

    "LOX is lipooxygenase. This enzyme generates the following leukotrienes, LTB4, LTC4, LTD4 and LTE. These substances, generated from arachidonic acid in minute amounts, cause prolonged constriction of smooth muscle. They are considered to be the cause of much antihistamine-resistant asthma in humans. Leukotriene D4 causes the blood vessels to leak.

    "The leukotrienes have a special class name known as SRS-A, the slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis (against protection).

    "Now, the point of all this is what to do about the above material.

    "First, change your diet and increase your Omega-3 oil intake.

    "Next, be apprised that when we have an allergic reaction to something, there are two histamine receptors, H1 and H2, that are found on the mucosal surfaces such as the nose and the conjunctiva of the eyes, and elsewhere in the body.

    "When H1 is activated by histamine (an inflammatory chemical), we have constriction of smooth muscle around the bronchi in the lungs, and one may present with asthma or asphyxiation. H1 also causes vascular permeability which leads to extravasation of fluid into tissue spaces, which leads to decreased blood pressure. This is known as shock, with its attendant problems.

    "For this type of condition, H1 receptors are blocked by antihistamines such as Benadryl, by direct competition. When these drugs are given soon enough, they can counteract the effects of histamine.

    "Similar to the H1 receptor, but causing slightly different responses is the H2 receptor. when the H2 receptor is stimulated by histamine, in addition to vascular permeability and mucous secretion, acid-release is generated from the stomach mucosa.

    "Blockage of H2 receptors requires other drugs such as cimetidine (Tagamet).

    "However, another problem exists. It was noted that after the introduction of antihistamines, the antihistamines were ineffective in controlling constriction of smooth muscles that were slower in constriction and more persistent than those caused by histamine. This led to the discovery of SRS-A. And this is the leukotrienes discussed earlier.

    "For the problems one can have from too much Omega-6 oils as delineated above, or from an allergic response due to histamine release by mast cells, one can see to take Benadryl or some other antihistamine for an allergic response, or Tagamet for an extremely severe allergic responses which is causing an acid release from the stomach mucosa.

    "But from the arachidonic acid problems that may be caused by too much Omega-6 and the attendant health problems, consider CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) to suppress arachidonic acid excesses, which are pro-inflammatory.

    "Once the COX and LOX enzymes are activated, then Curcumin and Boswella would be important in controlling these enzymes from over-expression. If these substances are given soon enough, before competition for the histamine receptor sites begins, the receptor sites are blocked by Curcumin and Boswella, thus counteracting the effects of the enzymes, COX and LOX.

    "Incidentally, Curcumin has anticancer effects. CLA helps control weight and reduce cancer risk and inhibits growth of prostate cancer, according to Anticancer Research, May-June, 1998. Get the Super Curcumin with Bioperine by Life Extension. The Bioperine insures that the Curcumin is utilized fully by the body. Otherwise, much of the Curcumin's effects are lost.

    "Cimetidine is a histamine receptor blocker, but it may also aid the body's immune response to tumors (when histamine is released, it serves as a growth factor for certain cancers by inhibiting the immune response). This drug is no longer a leader for gastrointestinal problems, but medical science is now recognizing it could be an extremely important part of cancer treatment.

    "So what we want to do is control inflammation. Benadryl and Tagamet for histamine. For arachidonic acid, CLA. For COX and LOX, Curcumin and Boswella.

    "And increase your Omega-3 intake, while reducing your Omega-6 intake. Return to the tropical oils, coconut and palm kernel oils and eat real butter."

    With the additional background, now consider:

• Increased carbohydrates increase insulin which in conjunction with phospholipase causes arachidonic acid (AA) to be split from membrane lipids which increase Reactive Oxygen Species (chemical species containing highly reactive oxygen, often generating free radicals.)

• Stress increases AA cascade (various pathways AA follows; in our consideration: COX-2 and 5-LOX pathway) generating ROS.

    What you can do as a lay person is to inhibit excess AA cascade by reducing insulin secretion through reducing carbohydrate ingestion in its various guises. Also meditative prayer reduces stress and what it generates---cortisol excess. And that causes problems.

    Incidently, a former president of the American Heart Association (AHA), Dr. Lynn Alan Smaha, recently died with a heart attack after his regular workout of daily jogging. He was just 63 years old. We can rest assurred that Dr. Smaha most likely followed a "heart healthy" diet recommended by the AHA that was low in fat, especially saturated fat, cholesterol, high in carbohydrates, and little red meat, except that very low in fat. This did not save him!

    Studies of late have most definitely refuted the theory that a low-fat/high carbohydrate diet decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

    This has been shown in the past, and science is reaffirming that replacing carbohydrates (complex and refined) with fat and protein to be more effective in fat mass loss while sparing lean tissue mass (muscle).

    Therefore, it would be prudent to not follow the AHA or ADA dietary guidelines.

References:

Know Your Fats, M. G. Enig, Ph.D., Immunology: A Short Course, Fourth Edition; Ibid., Fifth Edition. Benjamini, Eli., et al.; www.lef.org; Life Extension, June, 2003; pp. 49-51.; Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University Press, Reprinted 2001, 2003.; Basic Medical Biochemistry: A Clinical Approach, Marks, Marks, and Smith, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 1996.; Fundamentals of Microbiology, Alcamo, I.E., Sixth Edition.; Human Anatomy & Physiology Sixth Edition, Marieb Elaine N., Benjamin Cummings, 2004.; www.vrp.com, November 2006.

Type II Diabetes

    People who are overweight have a high risk for developing type II diabetes. What is now rising more now in America...Type II Diabetes in adults, and especially children. They should not get this disease until they are in their fifth decade of life. But children are now turning up in droves with insulin resistance and going into type II diabetes. The cause--too much fat on their bodies and this creates insulin resistance and this is causing early adult-onset diabetes when they are still children!

    Adult-onset diabetes and obesity are interrelated. The treatment of one figures sharply in control or mitigation of the other.

    Having diabetes increases the risk of developing stroke and heart disease. If you are pre-diabetic, diabetic, or obese, reverse the process and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

    One final note on excess insulin in the blood; you are chronically hungry and consequently, eating practically all the time.

    You should consider taking the following: alpha lipoic acid with biotin several times daily, along with 500 mg of chromium twice per day to help lower the blood sugar. Also good is cinnamon in the form of Cinna CARE by Futurebiotics. This is a special extract of the spice and assists in controlling blood sugar.

Belly Fat
&
Growth Hormone

    But here's the wonderful part, abdominal fat, which is strongly related to insulin resistance, decreases and under growth hormone treatment, insulin resistance decreases and consequently blood sugar control improves--Growth Hormone IGF Research, 16: S62-S67, 2006.

    Patients with diabetes are heir to heart attack, stroke, and other problems including abdominal fat deposition. Researchers from Italy found that growth hormone supplementation not only reduced abdominal fat--but total body fat also.

    They also concluded that blood fat profiles improved, endothelium cells (those lining blood vessels) health improved and blood sugar control increased. Using growth hormone increased cardiovascular health and prevents heart disease, they felt, in older adults.---ibid. 16: S41-S48, 2006.

Diabetes
&
Testosterone

    The 66th Annual Conference of The American Diabetes Association held June 12, 2006, points out that for type 1 and II diabetes, especially type II, you probably have low testosterone and do not know it. There is a correlation between low testosterone and insulin resistance. A male past 30 with an abdominal pouch developing is probably insulin resistant somewhat and is concurrently moving into lower and lower testosterone levels.

    Researchers from Brazil found that there was an increased risk of developing Type II Diabetes if you have low testosterone. Testosterone levels were more likely to be found low in males with central (trunkal) obesity and total body fat. The trunkal obesity is central for enhancing insulin resistance from total body fat.--BJU Int, 96: 867-870, 2005.

Testosterone
Replacement Therapy

    We suggest a 20 % testosterone gel or vanishing cream to be rubbed into muscle parts of the body daily if blood tests prove you are low to low normal in testosterone.

    It is further suggested that you have your estradiol (most potent of female hormones) evaluated and if it is not in the 10 - 30 pg/ml range, then take the prescription drug, Arimidex, 0.5 twice weekly, to lower the female hormone.

    A man's estrogen, if elevated, can rob him of some to much of his free testosterone, as it is converted into estradiol.

    In some cases, all the male needed was to block the aromatase enzyme that converts testosterone to estradiol. His testosterone goes back up without supplemental testosterone.

    When you screen for testosterone deficiency, have the test performed in a morning sample of blood. Testosterone therapy is not recommended for men with a PSA (tool for prostate screening) greater than three (3); if you have or had breast cancer or prostate cancer; your hematocrit is 50 or higher, heart failure, or sleep apnea.---Endocrine News, June 2006.

    Physicians need to monitor patients for side-effects of high blood pressure, rising hematocrit, PSA increasing, and so forth. However, there are a number of reports (studies) out there that say to give testosterone for the heart, but not much, if the patient suffers from heart disease. Growth hormone would be good also, but not much either. Monitoring is the key word.

    Low testosterone causes sexual dysfunction in men (there can be other causes; e.g., uncontrolled stress, sleep deprivation, underlying health problems, including feelings that have changed about your partner), sarcopenia (lost muscle mass and its attendant problems), increased body fat, low sperm count, diabetes, anemia, bone loss, and a positive connection to coronary artery disease.---International Journal Impotence Research, 18:223-228, 2006.

    Low testosterone is linked to metabolic syndrome. This is a compilation of health problems that are all interrelated. They share abdominal pouch (fat belly), insulin resistance, inflammatory blood vessel disease, abnormal blood clotting problems, and high blood pressure. Men with metabolic syndrome have an increased risk of stroke, some cancer types, erectile dysfunction, depression, heart disease, and chronic fatigue.---Journal Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism, 91:843-850, 2006. They also have increased risk for diabetes.

    Low testosterone is associated with weak bones and bone fractures, strength loss, loss independence and mobility, and cognitive dysfunction displayed as loss in memory function, thought processes, and the ability to perform calculations.--Harman, SM. 'Testosterone in older men after the Institute of Medicine report: Where do we go from here?' Climacteric, 8: 124-135; 2005.

    Your testosterone can be driven low if you are in a serious automobile wreck, major burn injuries; any serious trauma experience, such as an acute illness; or, when the stock market crashes. Studies with animals suggest this may be caused, somewhat, by aromatase activity increasing. This is the enzyme that converts free (active) testosterone to estrogen, thereby lowering a male's testosterone.

    Studies with humans have shown that those patients suffering with stroke have a greater risk of dying within six months when their testosterone was low.---Jeppesen LL; Jorgensen HS; et al. 'Decreased serum testosterone in men with acute ischemic stroke.' Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 16: 749-54; 1996.

    Another study comes from intensive care patients: It was found that patients in an intensive care unit (ICU), if their testosterone levels increased, survival increased; whereas, those patients whose testosterone levels did not come up, but remained low, did not survive.---Dong Q.; Hawker F., et al. 'Circulating immunoreacting inhibin and testosterone levels in men with critical illness.' Clin Endocrinol, 36: 399-404; 1992.

Ray Peat's Newsletter, November, 2006, on page 8, writes:

"With aging, hypothyroidism, stress, and fatigue, the amount of estrogen in the body typically rises. Estrogen is catabolic for muscle, and causes systemic edema, and nerve excitation."

    This excess estrogen means in men that their testosterone is low and with the coming recession (depression ?) in 2007, you can expect the resultant chaos to exacerbate low testosterone and all of its attendant problems we are speaking about in this paper.

    This may provoke a frenzy in America unlike anything history has ever recorded. Get prepared mentally, physically, and spiritually.

    Store food, some water, cash, gold and silver, especially the latter two. Get two guns!---Luke 22: 35-38.

    "Why do long distance runners or cyclists use testosterone, they certainly are not big or muscular?" is a question that I am often asked.

    You have fast-twitch (Type II) and slow-twitch (Type I) fibers making up your muscle cells. Slow-twitch is like a fish cruising under the world's oceans. Its muscle fibers fatigue very slowly--that is, they contract more slowly than fast twitch, and can sustain the action the muscles are undergoing longer. This type of fiber is aerobic; it uses oxygen to produce the necessary ATP (the energy currency of the cell) by electron transfer and oxidative phosphorylation. They generate less force, but have great sustaining powers for longer periods of time as in the fish; or, a long-distance runner, or a cyclist, such as Floyd Landis who won the Tour de France, and was disqualified and 'dethroned' for using the "juice," testosterone.

Incidently, if you have ever wondered why long-distance runners look like refugees from a concentration camp, the answer is that over-training/over-reaching causes a large drop in testosterone.

    The other type of fiber is fast-twitch, and it is anaerobic, requires no oxygen. The source of s fuel is glycogen/glucose. This type of fiber contracts very fast, but has little sustaining action; generates more force; and give a white appearance or less red than the slow twitch fibers to the muscle meat (chicken breast, for instance).

    This can be seen in flat fish, as the flounder, that can dart here and yonder in seconds, but can't cruise the oceans with this fiber; for that, they use the slow twitch fibers.

    Now, here is the rub...the American Journal Physiology Endocrinology Metabolism, 291: 506-560, 2006, says that:

Testosterone is used in slow-twitch muscle fibers, but not in fast-twitch muscle fibers.


It increases the capacity for more work in the slow-twitch fiber.

    And that is why swimmers, joggers, bicyclists, fast walkers would use the "juice" if they are knowledgeable about what and how it does what.

    It can be readily surmised what a "boon" this is to the elderly who are losing muscle leg mass and having difficulty sitting and rising, even from the toilet seat. Keeping the muscle or rebuilding more with testosterone and growth hormone helps give them independence, self-assurance and a general sense of well-being.

    Testosterone decreases as we age because:

• Changes occur in testicular cells.
• The brain's regulatory functions decrease.
• Increases suppression or negative feedback of the hypothalamic/pituitary/testicular axes.
• Increased aromatase levels cause more of the available free testosterone to be converted into estrodiol, the most powerful of female hormones.
• The increase in estradiol increases fat content of the body and a host of other problems.
• This decrease in testosterone starts around 30 years old.

    You want youthful hormone levels. This is between 20 to 29 years old. Beginning around 30 years old, a male starts losing 1 - 2 percent of his testosterone per year, such that at 60 years old, he has lost between 30 % to 60 % of this hormone. Generally, his loss is nearer to 60 %. This extrapolates into andropause, which used to be known as male climacteric with its associated problems, including:

• Get up and go.
• Feel good.
• Loss of muscle and bone mass.
• Mental acumen diminishes.
• More fat content to the body develops, especially around the waist (belly fat).

    It's not just about sex anymore. It is about the quality of life one experiences with or without testosterone at youthful hormone levels. This is what you want!

    As stated earlier, get an Estradiol test. The range should be between 10 pg/ml to 30 pg/ml. Many labs are not following the confirmed research, but are using 0 to 50 pg/ml. You want to be in the 10 - 30 pg/ml range. You can also control the aromatase enzyme that converts free testosterone to estrogen by taking from your local natural foods store, Nettle Root Extract (2 - 3 tablets/capsules several times a day), and Pygeum, also a number of times daily. Nettle root extract and Pygeum synergize in inhibiting the aromatase enzyme. Anastrozole (arimidex, a prescription drug) is best. However, use all three, because the herbs do other things for the human male body.

    If you are high in estrodiol, you can ask your physician for a prescription for Arimidex, 0.5 mg twice weekly, spread out. You could also test for Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), a protein that binds free testosterone, making none available to you. Nettle Root "knocks" off (displaces) testosterone and other steroid hormones from SHBG binding sites and increases free testosterone for muscle and bone building. Then, the now free testosterone must be kept from excessive aromatizing into estrogen. This is done through an aromatase inhibitor as in the above herbs and/or Arimidex, or another as such.

    We further suggest you avoid alcohol if your estrodiol is elevated. Also if obese; lose weight. Don't over-use alcohol because your liver may not be quite right. That which is given and others, such as environmental factors, can induce higher estrogen in males.

    Your zinc may be low and this mineral inhibits higher aromatase levels. Being obese increases this enzyme for estrogen production from testosterone. This mineral is important for regular pituitary function from which it stimulates testicular production of testosterone.

    Alcohol use runs up estrogen production dramatically; it decreases zinc levels in the body. The liver, with its P450 enzymes for detoxing the human body, if not functioning adequately, can allow, and does, a buildup of estrogen in the body because it is not detoxifying or removing the female hormone effectively.

    Therefore, get tested! Then, start on the herbs as well as a good mineral tablet without iron, such as Nature's Plus Mega-Mins: Hold The Iron. Work on losing weight, but it will be hard if your estrodiol (estrogen) is up.

    If your testosterone is down, and E2 is up, try aromatase inhibitors (nettle root, pygeum, and consider anastrozole (Arimidex) as given above, first. Then, retest in two to three months to ascertain if your problem is solved without having to use testosterone in its many guises. Later, one will probably have to. Test once a year for evaluation.

    For your liver, we suggest you take Silibinin Plus, N-Acetyl Cysteine, Super Alpha-Lipoic Acid with Biotin---all by Life Extension. Note, the liver metabolizes estrogen via one of two pathways: One is less toxic than the other and produces a less potent form of estrogen. One pathway metabolizes estrogen into 2-hydroxyestrone; the other, into 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone (more toxic).

    Researchers in 2000 found that certain estrogen metabolites can generate more cancer types in the body: breast cancer promoter, prostate cancer, head and neck cancers, as well as cervical cancer among others. They feel that it is more conducive to exit estrogen out of the body through the beneficial estrogen metabolite, 2-hydroxyestrone.

    Indole-3-carbinol and diindolylmethane (DIM), cruciferous vegetable extracts, guide estrogen into the more protective estrogen metabolite, 2-hydroxyestrone. These extracts would be advantageous to your health even if your estrogen is not high. You want to guide it into the right pathway for exit from the body.

    An inflammatory marker protein, C-reactive protein (CRP), is lowered when testosterone is in the normal to upper normal ranges.Testosterone lowers the "heart attack" cholesterol, lipoprotein (a). When testosterone levels drop, total blood cholesterol and LDL rise; the opposite is true also. Taking oral anabolic steroids lowers the "good" protective HDL cholesterol, because this type of steroid generates a liver enzyme that destroys HDL. The exception to this is testosterone undeconate, Pantestone. Other oral steroids make a first pass through the liver; whereas undeconate makes its first pass through the lymphatics.

    It was recently proven what most elite athletes have known for years: Testosterone synergizes (works with) growth hormone.---Giannoulis, M. G. et al., 'The effects of growth hormone and/or testosterone in healthy elderly men: A randomized controlled trial.' J Clin Endocrin Metabolis, 91: 477 - 484, 2006. If you just use transdermal (cream/gel) testosterone (it stimulates hGH secretion too) with low-dose growth hormone injections, there will be a 28 % over-all-fat-mass loss than one who uses just testosterone alone. The fat loss was equivalent to if you had used larger doses of growth hormone by itself and no testosterone. The beauty of this study is that low doses of both, testosterone and hGH, were used without concern over significant side-effects that either one at high doses could cause.

    America today is now considered sleep deprived! This leads to all sorts of problems and includes school and college students. You can have low testosterone over a 24 hour period when you are sleep deprived, even if you stayed in bed 8 or more hours. If you don't get deep, biologically restorative sleep, testosterone levels drop. America, it seems, is running on less sleep and this means less testosterone. Reread what was written above and you can see what our society is headed for and many symptoms now with drastic results. Ooooh...it really ain't cholesterol causing our heart problems. Our modern technology with its endocrine disrupters is causing it, and possibly the lack of proper sleep.

    Your testosterone can be lowered by 40 % over a 24-hour period with just one bad night of sleep, even if you are a young man who should have high levels! You have a dramatic loss in testosterone starting at age 50. You start losing between 1 and 2 % from about 30 years of age, and by age 50 it really shows.

Back To Human Growth Hormone

    Some physicians place prospective surgical patients on growth hormone (HGH) two weeks prior to surgery. And still others place surgical patients on HGH two weeks after surgery. The reason is that they found their patients healed faster with less complications. A good high quality protein diet was mandatory. Some have patients on HGH two weeks before and two weeks after surgery. The length of time they stay on growth hormone is dependent upon how well they are healing and not losing muscle mass from the surgical stress.

    Growth Hormone & IGF Res, 15:416-422, 2005, reports that brain cells are not lost with age as once thought, but lose their connections from one to the other. How many connections stay up during life determines mental acumen. If GH and its metabolite, IGF-1, do not deteriorate from being secreted, the brain cells and their neural connections, the neurites, are protected. This condition helps maintain cognitive ability (memory function, thought processes, and the ability to perform calculations) throughout life.

    Also helping with neurite growth is the supplement Inosine. Neurites consist of dendrites and axons of a neuron. Natural food stores carry the product. We suggest the powder by Life Extension; however, capsules are available.

    More than 20,000 studies on human growth hormone (HGH), with increased levels in the body, demonstrate faster wound healing, elevated mood, and sharper vision. People who have lost their luster in their 60s and 70s, claim and demonstrated it came back, when growth hormone levels were elevated to youthful levels of 25 years old.

    Growth hormone, until recently, cost about $30,000 a year for injections; but, came down to approximately $17,000. Now, with more companies make it and more innovations (made from microbes; esp. E. Coli, and marketed as its other name, Somatropin; the price is easily around $117/mo., or $1,404 to $2,000 per year. It is easily within most person's reach...and appears that most are using it for slowing down the ravages of aging. And to have "get-up and go," feel good," and "increase" muscle and bone mass.

    Growth hormone declines in every animal species studied as they age. According to The New Anti-Aging Revolution by Drs. Robert Goldman and Ronald Klatz. After the age of 21 to 31, GH falls about 14 percent per every ten years or 1.4 % per year.

    Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin at Milwaukee took 320 aging adults, placed them on growth hormone. Seventy-six percent of the men reported improvement in sexual potency and frequency. Note: In order for this to happen, a lot of other things had to have improved. Sixty-two percent enjoyed longer erections. Again, it's not just about sex anymore, it is about the positive biochemical changes occurring in their bodies to make these things happen.

    At the same college in 1990, 12 men ranging in age from 61 to 81, with age-matched controls, were given injections of growth hormone for six months. Those given the injections gained in muscle mass, reported as an increase in lean body mass of 8.8 % and loss 14 % of fat mass. This all happened without exercise or diet.

    Another study illustrated an increase in bone density of the hip and lower spine vertebrae, when growth hormone levels were restored to prior years. This was performed in Sweden.

    At the University of Toronto, 2002, HGH was administered to 67 men and 48 women, found to be deficient in GH before the study. When the study was over, it was shown that there was an increase in muscle mass (lean body mass, 4.6 lbs) and a loss in fat mass by 2.8 kg. or 6.174 lbs.

    Somatomedin-C also known as Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF-1) is the main effector of HGH activity. The reason we test for this moiety and GH proper is because IGF-1 stays in the blood longer and more accurate an indicator of GH status. It is highest between 12 to 15 years of age. Then begins to decline, such that one-third of a person's muscle mass and strength is loss between ages 30 and 60. This, in part, can account for a lot of people looking and feeling old before their time.---Barton-Davis ER, Shoturma DI, Musaro A, Rosenthal N, Sweeney HL. 'Viral mediated expression of insulin-like growth factor I blocks the aging-related loss of skeletal muscle function. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 1998 Dec 22; 95(26):15603-7.

    In Gerontology, Nov-Dec; 48 (6); 401-7, Ruiz-Torres et al showed that in males over 70, who had similar levels of IGF-1 to men up to 39 years of age, the seniors did not show decreases in (a) serum testosterone and (b) muscle mass; (c) nor did they have body fat mass increases, as would be normal for someone of this age.

    And in Am J Epidemiol, Jan 1; 157 (1): 25-31; 2004, van den Belt et al show where IGF-1 is low, an association exists for the atherosclerosis development. They discovered that free IGF-1 correlated with less risk of atherosclerosis. This suggests that IGF-1 plays a protective role in the generation of atherosclerosis in the aging male, along with testosterone and the female hormone, estrone.

    In the study that Carro et al did, it appears there is a role for IGF-1 as a neuroprotective hormone. Data shows that there exists a relationship between lower levels of IGF-1 and increased levels of the protein, amyloid-B, in Alzheimer's patient's brains. This latter can be reduced by increasing serum levels of IGF-1. Researchers suggest that "circulating IGF-1 is a physiological regulator of brain amyloid levels with therapeutic potential."--Carro E, Trejo JL, Gomez-Isla T, LeRoith D, Torres-Aleman I. 'Serium insulin-like growth factor I regulates brain amyloid-B levels, Nature Medicine, 2002, Dec: 8 (12): 1390-7.

    In the past, it was considered that high levels of IGF-1 were indicative of generating prostate cancer. Now we know that high levels of IGF-1 may be serving as a tumor marker for prostate cancer, rather than a causative agent for the disease.---Woodson K, Tangrea JA, Pollak M, et al. Serum insulin-like growth factor I: tumor marker or etiologic factor? A prospective study of prostate cancer among Finnish men. Cancer Res. 2003 Jul 15; 63(14): 3991-4.

    Now this, as in the testosterone discussion, is concerned with free IGF-1. If this is bound, then you get very little bioactive insulin-like growth factor-1 for your tissues. The same as in testosterone. If bound, or converted into estrogen, little is bioactive for your tissues. That is the reason many physicians still to this day think that testosterone is worthless because they never ran an estrodiol test, nor performed a sex hormone binding globulin assay to see why the testosterone injections they were giving their patients were to no avail---it was being bound up. And those physicians to this day tell patients, media, and their colleagues, "Testosterone cream or injections, pellets, etc. are worthless."

    And this brings us yet to still another test you want performed: Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein-3 (IGFBP3). It has been shown when this is raised in hypertensive patients, there is a nine-fold (9 x) increase of carotid arteriosclerosis. This is a narrowing in the carotid arteries that many seniors have and require medication and/or surgery.

    The growth hormone metabolite, IGL-1, may and often does become excessively bound to this binding protein such that it is no longer bioactive; that is, free. Then you get no good (except little) out of your endogenous (natural) or injected, GH metabolite, IGL-1. The good news is that three (3) grams of acetyl-L-carnitine daily may significantly affect IGF-1 levels, whereby a difference is seen, such as the ones we've been writing about.

     You may not even need the GH injections if you ingest three or more grams daily of carnitine. We suggest the brand from Life Extension Foundation, Acetyl-L-Carnitine Arginate. Carnitine helps with mood, cognitive function (which is memory function, thought processes, and the ability to perform calculations), weight loss, and muscle and bone mass enhancements. ---Di Marzio L, Moretti S, D'Alo, et al. Acetyl-L-carnitine administration increases insulin-like growth factor 1 levels in asymptomatic HIV-1 infected subjects; correlation with its suppressive effect on lymphocyte apoptosis and ceramide generation. Clin Immunol. 1999 Jul; 92 (1): 103-10.

    The carnitine probably blocks the binding sites on IGFBP3 and thereby keeps free the IGF-1.

    Low levels of IGF-1 have been associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease)--a neuromuscular disease. "It is a rare progressive degenerative fatal disease affecting the motor neurons, usually beginning in middle age, and characterized especially by increasing and spreading muscular weakness and atrophy."-- Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary

Testosterone
&
Surgery

    However, bleeding is a major concern if you are going to have surgery and are on anabolic steroids. If you are on testosterone or another steroid, inform your physician and surgeon. Be off all substances of this nature if you are scheduling for an operation, even dental work. Bleeding could become an issue. Hence, do not take any anabolic/androgenic steroids (AAS) for at least one (1) month if surgery is indicated in your future.

    If you have sudden, unplanned-for surgery, tell your attending physician and other medical care personnel so it stays in the forefront of their brain cells you are on (AAS) so they can give you a vitamin K shot and be prepared for this. Have a relative or next-of-kin, someone you confide in, to inform the physician of AAS in your current medical history, should you be so incapacitated, such that you can't communicate.

    As physicians become more knowledgeable with regard to AASs, they will ask prospective surgical patients if they are on AASs and apprise them of the problems this presents with surgery, so they can take precautions if this is an emergency. As more Americans are "hitting the juice" for better health and appearance, this will become more common.

    Incidently, anything in a bottle, don't take it if you are going into surgery without your physician's approval. Get off it for 2-4 days or more. Wait a day before resuming steroids after surgery, if your physician has you on them. The rub-on 20 % cream or gel would be best while you are still in the hospital.

    One of the best stimulators for growth hormone is intense exercise followed with good nutrition and this followed by a good night's rest.

    Aside from all the good things testosterone has going for it, one not often recognized is that it stimulates growth hormone secretion.

    If hormone replacement therapy for testosterone and human growth hormone are introduced earlier in life--when levels tested are found low, this earlier treatment reduces risk and generate better improvements, as opposed to waiting until frailties present themselves.

    The main drawback to both therapies is the tendency, in some, to induce water retention and hence raise the blood pressure and both can cause gynecomastia, male breast development.

    These problems can occur primarily with supraphysiological doses (greater than 200 mg/ml injections per week of testosterone and 4 or more IUs daily of growth hormone).

    For a male with andropause, low testosterone and its symptoms, 20 % gel or cream is very safe. Growth hormone side effects can manifest as joint pain, finger and foot numbness, gynecomastia, insulin resistance, and water retention. But, side-effects vary in users.

Testosterone & Human Growth Hormone
Differences

    Human growth hormone causes hyperplasia, an increase in the number of cells, in this case, muscle tissue. Testosterone causes hypertrophy, an increase in the size of muscle cells.

    Growth hormone increases the strength of connective tissue and tendons; some strength in muscle tissue.

    Testosterone enhances the strength character of the muscle.

    This is why earlier (60s and 70s) "elite" body builders, taking testosterone but not HGH, developed tremendous strength, but quite often pulled tendons. Their large size and strength could lift extremely heavy weight due to the strength inherent in such a muscle built with exogenous testosterone, but the tendons could not support the weight that the muscles hoisted and trained with.

    It didn't take long for the elite lifters to start with human growth hormone. Not only did this aid in stripping them down of any excess amount of subcutaneous fat, but gave them, and enhanced, that shredded look from growth hormone.

    And they became tremendous in size. The current crop of lifters do not even look like nor resemble former lifters of the 60s and 70s era. They looked like physical cultists at first, and began to grow into what we now see as humongous in size, and are often referred to among adherents to the new sport size as "Freaks."

    Going to one of the elite body building contests is referred to by many who follow the sport, as the "best" freak show ever! This demonstrates what a human being can do with body development. The body builders have lent a great hand to medicine and showed the way for many physicians as to how to help various diseases in their patients through watching them overcome much by developing such a physique with the ergogenics we are discussing here. Many have risen from frail, weak, skinny insecure bodies and minds to become giants of discipline and control over one's self and their destiny.

    Testosterone and especially Human Growth Hormone increase bone cell mass. We have used it successfully in women with osteopenia (bone thinning). Now that men are living longer because of modern drugs, we see men developing osteoporosis and broken hip-joints.

    By the time a man is 70 years old, studies show that often, he can't lift ten (10) pounds overhead because of sarcopenia (loss of muscle). A few years later, he may have to use a walker or wheelchair because of muscle loss and need assisted living care facilities. Sarcopenia leads to lost independence and freedom of movement.

    Between 50 and 60 years old, people lose about 20 percent of their muscle mass. This is bad. But there is more. Not only do they lose muscle cells but they lose the connection from nerves to the muscles. In other words, motor nerves disconnect at the motor end plates (the neuromuscular junction). This is where the nerve and muscle come together and you lose the ability to contract your muscles strongly. There is a decrease in the fibers known as fast-twitch. This is why you see many elderly not moving quickly, but slowly and methodically. They have lost muscle connections from the nerves and have lost muscle itself. This means muscle power is down. That is the ability to contract or exert force rapidly. That is the fast-twitch we are speaking of.

    Furthermore, researchers have found that muscle loss starts between 25 and 30 years old and continues throughout life. They point out that for each decade of life, you lose between 5 and 10 pounds of muscle, and this begins in the reference range of 25 to 30. Testosterone causes motor neurons to enlarge which in turn generates more force ability which is extrapolated as strength enhancement.

    Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone may change all that. For now, hundreds of thousands of adult Americans are using HGH and testosterone to feel good, have get up and go, possess more muscle and bone mass and thicker skin. Growth hormone is to them the "Fountain of Youth."

    Guyton and Hall's, Textbook of Medical Physiology: Eleventh Edition writes on page 927, "...multiple tests of growth hormone therapy in older people have demonstrated three important effects that suggest antiaging actions:

(1) Increased protein deposition in the body, especially in the muscles;
(2) Decreased fat deposits; and
(3) A feeling of increased energy."

    Your editors of this newsletter have received numerous communications from women wanting to know if they can take testosterone and growth hormone. Yes you can, but we never suggest women take injections of testosterone. For less androgenic effects (masculinizing; e.g., hair growth and acne), use 10 % to 20 % cream (incidently, no hardcore bodybuilder, athlete, and the like would use creams or gels--too weak for what they want). The cream can be used daily. If a woman wants stronger testosterone, she can try testosterone undeconate, as it tends to be milder and possibly less androgenic but still have the anabolic (protein synthesis) for strong bones, more muscle and better health. Do not take testosterone if you have had cancer; if cleared for 5 - 7 years, under your physician's supervision, you could try growth hormone, same for men.

    Woman, the world over, it appears; at least most definitely in various parts of the U.S. are injecting GH. We suggest 0.02 cc (1.2 IUs) daily for five days and then off for two days. This is a low dose with less possibility (with this regimen) of any significant side-effects. For mixing and calculating dosage, see below.

    For the last part of your question: "I filled the prescription for growth hormone. It says 'Somatrophin HGH, 6 mg 18 iu.' Can you tell me how to mix it and how where 1 - 2 IUs would be on the syringe? My doctor or his nurse practitioner told me nothing except '0.5 is where you draw it to, and then inject.'

Answer:

• Take the 3 ml of the bacteriostatic water that comes with the lyophilized (freezed dried) powder, following sanitary procedures listed in the material that comes with the two vials.

• Using a 3 ml (='s 3 cc) syringe, draw the air out of the lyophilized hGH powder, inject it into the bacteriostatic water; invert the vial and withdraw 3 ml of bacteriostatic water. If you use a 1 ml syringe, withdraw and inject 3 times to properly mix.

• Inject this fluid just withdrawn into the hGH powder, letting the fluid hit/strike the side of the container.

• Gently swirl, do not shake, or your compound will break down and you will be injecting water and amine fragments. Refrigerate between injections.

• The bottle lists 6 mg, 18 IUs.Therefore do the following:
  (Using a B-D Allergy 1 cc Syringe because graduated markings are on the syringe; but any will do. Just keep the math together)
  • 18 IUs divided by 3 = 6 -IUs per 1 ml (='s 1 cc) syringe
    Therefore:

  • 0.10 cc (reading on the syringe) x 6 ml ='s 0.6 IUs.
  • 0.15 cc " " " x 6 ml ='s 0.9 IUs.
  • 0.20 cc " " " x 6 ml ='s 1.2 IUs.
  • 0.30 cc " " " x 6 ml ='s 1.8 IUs
  • 0.40 cc (remember, using the mark on a B-D Allergy 1 cc Syringe) x 6 ml = 2.4 IU
  • Half (1/2) of that syringe would contain 0.50 x 6 ml = 3.0 IU; therefore,
    0.50 cc ='s 3.0 IUs.
  • And so forth...
  
  A supraphysiologic dose would entail 4 - IUs and above. Be careful with this!

• We suggest you do a subcutaneous injection, which extends the life of the hGH in your body. However, intramuscular (IM) is fine but does not extend the life of the human growth hormone, and hGH is expensive. Most physicians do not know this. Use the Sub Q method!

• We further suggest you inject five days on; two days off. Say, for example,
  M - F inject; Sat & Sun don't.