The real Nolvadex
The FDA recently requested a recall of various muscle building supplements that contained a substance called 3, 17-keto-etiocholetriene which is an anti-aromatase drug…so who cares about anti-aromatase drugs?
Well Aromatase is an enzyme that coverts testosterone to estrogen in a mans body, this conversion is where estrogenic side effects from steroid use comes from (most notably breast tissue growth aka “Bitch tits”)
So why would a natural guy who is not using testosterone want to take an anti aromatase drug/supplement?
Even normal men have a small amount of testosterone aromatizing to estrogen, the theory is that if you block even this conversion you can create a negative feedback loop tricking your body into thinking testosterone is low and thus causing your body to increase testosterone production…so the theory goes.
One of the supplements that has been recalled had a scientific research study done showing that subjects who took the product had increases in free and total testosterone…these results aren’t surprising now that we know there was a legitimate drug in the product all along.
To be fair to the manufacturer there were no adverse event reports associated with the sale of the product for the duration of it’s time on the market.
The point is that you can never really be sure what is in the products you are taking and even the FDA’s line as to what qualifies as a ‘supplement’ vs a drug is often blurry.
This is by no means the only time this has happened. In some cases drugs are knowingly put in supplements to build up the ‘street cred’ of the product, and in other cases the FDA’s definition of what qualifies as a drug is blurry enough that manufacturers just push the limit until the FDA if forced to make a decision.
It has happened with ephedrine, it happened with ‘pro-hormones’ like andro and DHEA, and now with ATD, and it will continue to happen as raw material suppliers discover new classes of compounds that fall between the line of supplment and drug.
In todays podcast we’ll discuss this recall and what goes into making a supplement and how drugs can end up in supplements without you knowing it.
John
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