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Are Male Hormones Ever Safe for Women?
Dear Tony,
I recently read about the German coaches on trial for doping their female athletes. The reports say they have bone and back problems, and scores of gynecological maladies that range from ovarian cysts to infertility. There are some cases of miscarriages and birth defects born to these women. One threw her hands up at the whole mess and just had herself changed into a man!
This is pretty scary stuff. I've never taken a steroid (that I know of!) but I have used creatine, Orchic Testosterone Extract and boron. Do these substances have any side effects I should know about?
Heidi M. |
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Dear Heidi:
Always be careful and wary of anything you put in your body. Creatine is a well-researched supplement that provides the user with more stamina. It can dehydrate a person, so be sure to drink lots of water when using it.
Your other two choices should be discontinued immediately. The Orchic Testosterone Extract is derived from bull testes, and as a glandular extract, is almost completely disassembled by the stomach and small intestine. In other words: it doesn't do diddly. Boron may increase naturally occurring steroidal hormones in post-menopausal women. It has not been tested effectively on any other significant group of people. I don't know what your goals are that you think you need to increase your male hormones. The events in Ms. Fitness discourage masculine-looking physiques. I'd stick with a good low-calorie meal replacement drink loaded with vitamins, mineral and protein, and your creatine, with extra water.
The FDA is presently making a big stink about herbal and natural products being touted for weight loss and other magical cures. Most of these products are put on the market without enough testing and in formulations that are not stable. That's why I try to stick with products that are produced under stringent regulations, use quality ingredients and undergo lengthy testing. There are a number of these available. You can find them right on the Internet at sites such as CyFit.com, which I endorse.
The German athletes were given powerful anabolic steroids. These are male hormones, which account for the secondary sexual characteristics of men, such as beards, deep voices, more muscle mass and a man's genitalia. In addition to taking steroids, these women were given straight testosterone. The doping for the Olympic swimmers was more powerful than the dosage a woman would receive legally at a trans-gender clinic if she desired to become a man!
I hope that a few people will also hold a mirror up to the sport of women's bodybuilding, which in the 1980s was rampant with drug use. If more of these women would speak out and be honest, fewer ambitious and athletic women would ever be tempted to use any supplement containing male hormones.
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Ask Tony articles are reprinted by permission of Ms. Fitness magazine at P.O. Box 2490, White City, OR 97503. Ms. Fitness® is a registered trademark of Wally Boyko Productions, Inc., in the USA, Canada, European Union and other countries. All rights reserved. Wally Boyko Productions, Inc. P.O. Box 2490 White City, OR 97503 USA 1.541.830.0400 |
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