 Since the introduction of prohormones a few years back, nothing but controversy has surrounded these enigmatic group of supplements. The primary debate about this class of legal mass-building compounds has revolved around their legality, safety, efficacy, and whether someone taking them could legitimately be considered natural. But there’s certainly more to the equation than just these four elements of contention.
Another justifiable part of the reason controversy has raged in the prohormone debate is the fact that the results one can obtain from taking prohormones varies so drastically. Much of that inconsistency might be attributable to manufacturers if it weren’t for the fact that most of what is really to blame is the term used to describe most prohormones on the market. It’s just far too broad! Enter “ANDRO”.
The term “andro” has been used to represent about 6 or more different chemical compounds of similar structure (4-diol, 4 dione, nor-4-diol, nor-4-dione, 5-diol, 5-dione, etc.) But at their heart and soul, these compounds can have dramatically different properties. Some lead to testosterone elevation, some to estrogen elevation. Some stimulate the immune system, while others still cause negative changes in blood lipid levels. With all of the different compounds available, and the relative lack of good scientific data examining and justifying their existence, the prohormone situation has gotten confusing at best, and maddening and impossible at its worst.
Bottom line? It’s safe to say that not all “andros” are created equal. But if saying this were that simple, the discussion would stop there and everyone would be clear about the fact that they needed to educate themselves on the differences and be done with it. If standardization and regulation were the panacea for all of this, it would no longer be a debate.
But here’s the thing…
At their core, some prohormones are flawed—seriously flawed. Although they may provide some kind of a small edge in muscle building they really haven’t lived up to their “wonder supplement” promise. Yet, it’s still not even that simple, because what is also true is that some of them actually do work extremely well. In layman’s terms, the catch is, their success or failure has everything to do with the delivery system used to transport the goods to the places they need to be to become effective. And success rates vary drastically based on the haphazard manner in which supplement manufacturers combine ingredients.
There are literally dozens of factors that contribute to the bioavailability of a prohormone or a steroid. Method of transport is a crucial factor among the dozens. For instance, orally administered drugs and nutrients are transferred to the systemic circulation via the portal and/or lymphatic routes, following passage through the mucosal cell of the intestinal wall. This is an accepted scientific fact. The portal route is the main route for compounds precisely because it offers about 500 more times greater blood flow than the lymphatic system to metabolize compounds. This systemic circulation includes penetration through the epithelial cells.
The problem with this is both anabolic steroids and prohormones undergo significant metabolic changes in the epithelial cells throughout the absorption process. (Hence, the varied results prohormones can offer, based on their manufacturer’s chosen system of delivery). The biggest problem with this, other than the obvious loss of bioavailable material and creation of an overall unpredictable compound, is that ingested prohormones, as well as other orally administered steroids, could actually be significantly converted into other active species with highly different characteristics before they ever reach the liver!
The sad fact is many manufacturers within the supplement industry don’t even include any sort of chemical compound in their formulation that will actually act as any kind of method of delivery. Without any system of delivery in place, as much as 50%-75% of the compound could be unabsorbed and lost almost immediately. In fact, you could probably just put it in your mouth and kiss it goodbye before it ever reaches your stomach! But that’s another story altogether. The main thing to understand in all of this is that the prohormones on the market are weak not because the compounds themselves are weak, but because of the method of delivery (or lack thereof).
Let’s take things one-step further….
When a prohormone or steroid is absorbed into the epithelial cell it is then partitioned (or directed) into either the portal vein or the lymphatic system. The process that determines this partitioning (choosing of one or the other disposition) is called “superlipophilicity”. Creating a system of delivery that will cause partitioning in the right direction is part of the equation, but not the whole picture.
In order to substantially increase the oral bioavailability of the prohormones currently on the market, there must be some modifications to the actual structure and system of delivery. There are a couple of ways to do that, but no one has yet bothered:
One way to do this is to add a methyl or ethyl group at the 17a position or a methyl group at the 1 position. These methods work but they impart a certain degree of liver toxicity that mimics the actual 17-alpha-alkylated molecule present in the chain of many oral steroids. Furthermore, there is no way prohormones could continue to be sold as dietary supplements in this case, because they would basically be illegal steroids.
The only other way to substantially increase oral activity of a prohormone is to create steroidal ethers. Etherification takes a wimpy, ineffective compound and turns it into a mighty giant. Ethers were actually designed as anabolic steroids back in the 60’s and they practically work like anabolic steroids.
You might be as confused at this point as I was at first, thinking, “Ether is a poisonous compound. Am I making a prohormone strong enough to mimic a steroid, or am I making crack cocaine here?” It’s not that kind of ether, I assure you. There are many different types of ether compounds in existence, and the only one remotely familiar to most people is the kind they’ve seen used in movies on TV and the big screen. But the kind of ether talked about here is not the same kind a stalker might pour onto a cloth in order to subdue his victim before dragging her into the bushes. The kind of ether discussed here is the kind that could revolutionize the supplement industry!
Most ether compounds have no use in the sports and fitness world; however, our own research team has been studying the effects of taking steroidal compounds and turning them into ethers via the 17B position of the steroid. Very specific steroidal ethers greatly enhance oral activity in comparison with their parent steroidal-free alcohols. Naturally, this has both positive and negative implications for our industry.
The positive aspect of this is that I, for example, could take a steroidal-free alcohol and turn it into a specific steroidal ether at the 17B position and make it an orally active, safe and effective steroid. Because these ethers are not 17alpha-alkylated, there would be no liver toxicity associated with them. And they are extremely potent in the oral form; in many instances they are at least as strong as methyltestosterone and in a few cases, 2-3 times stronger! Sounds great, right?
So if this is true, then what is the negative aspect of all of this? When the ether at the 17B position is hydrolyzed, both free nandrolone or testosterone is formed. Traces of this make this an automatic controlled substance—both illegal and impossible to produce without lots of arrests. Testosterone, and all of its derivatives, is still the undisputed king of muscle building. But possession or manufacture of testosterone can land you in jail. Believe me, the FDA is not likely to approve a testosterone thinly veiled and masquerading as a supplement anytime soon. The DEA would swoop down with arrest warrants faster than you can say “GHB”!
But if you’ve been around the industry long enough, you know that there are a few scumbags in this industry who would actually try to market these in the short-term, without thought of how utterly devastating it could be to the supplement industry as a whole. This is the most negative aspect and could set our industry back into the dark ages, and none of us can risk that—particularly when something so exciting is on the horizon…
But what I’m taking about is so huge and so new, most people can’t even conceive of it. In fact, you could call this a legal supplement that has two or three times the anabolic potency of Testosterone plus it can’t convert to estrogen and won’t cause hair loss because it’s doesn’t affect the reductase enzyme in the scalp. Meaning no hair loss or gyno, this is the single biggest discovery to hit the supplement market, quite simply…forever!
In a nutshell, our research team discovered a combination of the 17b ether technology and 1-Testosterone to revolutionize the bodybuilding market. It’s called 1-TestEtherone and it’s a more anabolic and bioavailable than any other supplement available. Again, I’m NOT talking prohormones here! Remember, prohormones require an enzymatic conversion in the body to form testosterone…this product does not! In fact, it does not require any metabolic activation within the body whatsoever.
1-TestEtherone is a legal natural offspring similar in chemical structure to the popular steroid Primobolan (clinically the most anabolic steroid available). 1-TestEtherone has basically the same actions and chemical structure except that 1-TestEtherone is more powerful!
We have been experimenting with samples and the results are safe and dramatic. One could expect excellent consistent muscle gains over an 8-12 week period. Test subjects report a gain of increased mass and reduced body fat in just a few weeks of use.
In the short term, we have confirmed that it is totally legal and safe to manufacture and distribute the ether compounds of 1-Testosterone. In fact, The Anabolic Steroid Control Act is very specific in its definition of an anabolic steroid and steroidal ethers are not mentioned.
Most of the popular prohormones out there are just one enzymatic conversion from testosterone, so one could logically assume that there is a great chance that by taking them, the body will take that next step to create testosterone from the prohormone. Gains in mass and strength would be the logical conclusion. But enzymatic processes are flawed. The goal here? Eliminate the need for metabolic/enzymatic conversions of prohormones by attaching steroidal ethers, and you create a giant to take you to the highest level of development yet.
We used the word “prosteroid” years ago, quite frankly I never was a big fan of the word prohormones; there’s so much negativity around it. Henceforth, etherified steroid compounds will be called “prosteroids”.
Within the next several months, mark my words: Expect the near implausible to happen, expect to be able to purchase etherified steroids without the ramifications and complications of procuring traditional steroids illegally.
My final prediction? Expect “Prosteroids” to completely revolutionize the prohormone market altogether!
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