Useful Idiots, Soap And Testosterone

It isn’t often I’m actually impressed with an article written by a politico. Senator Orrin Hatch’s article, The Supplements Made Me Do It, is one common-sense piece of writing that made me say to myself, “It’s about friggin’ time someone of importance commented on the idiocy surrounding baseball.” In Senator Hatch’s article (washingtonpost.com), he starts off by saying that essentially the argument used by some Major League Baseball players, when accused of steroid use, is as follows: "The supplements made me do it." Yep, the supplements made ‘em do it. I’m sure that those of you with even half a brain would realize that this argument carries as much weight as Paris Hilton giving a seminar on rocket science. Roger Clemens, for example, “has repeatedly denied using steroids or human growth hormone. But he acknowledged that he has been injected with vitamin B-12. Tainted B-12 was how Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro explained his failed steroids test in 2005. In his congressional testimony last month, Baseball union chief Donald Fehr blamed not just dietary supplements, but Congress for insufficient regulation.”

I know. It reminds me of the movie “Dumb and Dumber”…we should add a third person, too. Supreme Dumbass. Because that’s how baseball is sounding. According to Fehr, "Go to the drugstore or GNC or somewhere else and look what's up on the shelves. Every tree, every grass, every bush, every mineral, everything else anybody's ever heard of is there." Accordingly, the fearless Mr. Fehr recommends revisiting the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) "to see if it makes sense, so that we don't, in effect, advertise to kids." Huh? Can you follow that argument? I’m sure that piece of oratorical brilliance escapes you, too? I mean, come on. If the supplements were to blame, you'd think these gazillion-dollar ball players would hire the best lawyers and sue supplement companies. But my guess, and it’s only a guess, is that MLB players know the truth. And it ain’t in that silly B-12 injection. Dietary supplements are regulated well; perhaps overregulated (i.e., the ephedra ban which was based on psuedo-science and true idiocy). Either way, if dietary supplements truly made you do it, then you really are an idiot. (The original article by Senator Hatch can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/12/AR2008021202135.html)

The sad part about the stupidity from MLB as well as the politicians who are using MLB’s so-called steroid problem for an opportunity to grandstand is that there is a wealth of data showing that androgens or anabolic steroids are indeed quite useful, good and healthy (when used correctly).

Testosterone Makes You Smart

The relationship of total and free serum testosterone to cognitive performance was studied in 2,932 men aged 70 through 89. Scientists did a bunch of wacky tests to see if these old guys could tell the difference between a naked Jessica Simpson or Bart Simpson. I swear! Honest, Injun. OK, maybe that’s the protocol I’d use if I were doing the study. Anyhow, cognitive function was assessed using the Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE). In these old geezers, they indeed found that serum free testosterone > or = 210 pmol/l is associated with better cognitive performance. See? Their brains do work better. But does that mean they’ll ask for directions? Hell no! That’s why man invented the GPS. Either way, it’s a darn good idea to keep up your testosterone levels with age.

Soap Stuff And Testosterone

Triclocarban is a common antibacterial chemical that is widely used in household and personal care products. This includes bar soaps, body washes, cleansing lotions, wipes and detergents. Triclocarban-containing products have been marketed in the United States and Europe for more than 45 years with an estimated 1 million pounds of triclocarban imported annually for the United States market. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071207150713.htm). Well apparently, triclocarban (TCC; 3,4,4'-trichlorocarbanilide) is part of a new category of endocrine-disrupting substances. Say what? You mean if I rub soap down in my nether regions it’ll make my private parts grow to porn star status? In essence, this study found that TCC and other urea compounds with a similar structure, which have little or no endocrine activity when tested alone, act to enhance testosterone (T)-induced androgen receptor-mediated transcriptional activity in vitro. In fact, this amplification effect of TCC was also apparent in vivo when 0.25 percent TCC was added to the diet of castrated male rats that were supported by exogenous testosterone treatment for 10 days. All-male sex accessory organs increased significantly in size after the T+TCC treatment compared with T or TCC treatments alone. Accordingly, “the data presented here suggests that the bioactivity of endogenous hormones may be amplified by exposure to commercial personal care products containing sufficient levels of TCC.” I can see it now. So is this the new stack? TCC plus AAS [anabolic-androgenic-steroids]?

Testosterone Good For HDL

What’s the relationship between circulating androgens (total testosterone [TT], free testosterone [fT] and dihydrotestosterone [DHT]) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in men with and without cardiovascular disease (CVD)? If you were to go by the typical rubbish printed in the mainstream press, you’d think that next to eating fried doughnuts, taking anabolic steroids would be your heart’s worst enemy! Well let’s find out what the science nerds say. In this study, a cross-sectional analysis of 1,661 baseline samples from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS), a population-based cohort of men aged 40 through 70, was determined. They discovered that TT and HDL-C were positively correlated…meaning that those with higher total testosterone also had higher HDL-C. Thus, the notion that androgens necessarily contribute to heart disease is a fallacy, indeed.

Growth Hormone Jacks Up Muscles’ Mitochondria!

GH isn’t on par with androgens when it comes to building mass. However, its lipolytic effect is quite profound. But there’s more to this protein hormone than attaining ripped abs. In this study, nine healthy men and women completed a study in which GH (150 mug/h) or saline was infused for 14 hours on separate days and muscle biopsies were obtained. The fourfold increase in plasma GH caused elevations in plasma IGF-1, insulin, glucose and free fatty acids and a shift in fuel selection, with less carbohydrate (-69 percent) and leucine (-43 percent) oxidation and 29 percent more fat oxidation. So there you have it. Proof it oxidizes fat. But there’s more to this story. Muscle mitochondrial ATP production rate and citrate synthase activity were increased 16 percent to 35 percent in response to GH. Accordingly, this study proves that acute GH action promotes an increase in mitochondrial oxidative capacity. In gym lingo, what that could mean is that your muscle’s endurance capacity will be elevated. That means longer workouts, less fatigue and a physique that your next-door neighbor covets.

Jose Antonio, PhD is the CEO of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. When he’s not paddling around Key Biscayne, he watches his kids play softball, soccer, or basketball. Go to www.joseantoniophd.com for more information on Dr. Antonio.

References:

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Chen J, KC Ahn, NA Gee, MI Ahmed, AJ Duleba, L Zhao, SJ Gee, BD Hammock and BL Lasley. 2008. Triclocarban enhances testosterone action: a new type of endocrine disruptor? Endocrinology, 149(3):1173-9.

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