Hormone homers?
For: Better Sex in a Bottle?, September
2002
It's hard to say what baseball fans and sports writers talked about more: Mark McGwire's single-season record of 70 home runs or his use of androstenedione. Referred to as "andro," this hormone precursor supposedly helped McGwire in his training regimen. However, it takes more than this or any other OTC pill to build muscle, and more than muscles to hit home runs. Whether or not andro improves athletic performance, it is a bad idea all around.
Androstenedione was developed as an athletic supplement in East Germany, where it was used mostly for female athletes. The body can convert it either to testosterone (the "male" sex hormone) or estrogen ("female" sex hormone), but which way it will go can't be predicted. Since it can be converted to testosterone, androstenedione is considered an anabolic steroid. (Anabolic steroids are tissue-building compounds in the body, notably testosterone and other "male" hormones, as well as drugs that act like them.) Unlike supplemental anabolic steroids, which are banned in sports, andro has to be converted by the body into testosterone to have an effect on muscles. It's testosterone that helps build muscle and boost sex drive in both men and women.
Does androstenedione work? How much of it is absorbed by the body? How much is converted to testosterone? How long does the testosterone level remain elevated? There is much debate on all these points. According to Dr. Tim Ziegenfuss, assistant professor at Eastern Michigan University, androstenedione does not boost testosterone significantly, and thus is not effective. But no one really knows.
In any case, if you take androstenedione, you still need to exercise vigorously in order to build muscle.
Is it safe? There has been little research on the safety of androstenedione, and none on its long-term effects. If it does substantially affect testosterone and/or other hormones, its adverse effects could include breast enlargement, testicle shrinkage, increased body hair, blood-clotting disorders, personality disorders (such as increased aggression), liver and heart problems, and accelerated growth of any prostate tumor. It can also interfere with bone growth, which would be a special danger for teenagers. Since androstenedione can be converted into estrogen, some supplement manufacturers add substances that are supposed to prevent that reaction. In that case, the supplement could interfere with the hormone balance in the body.
The problem with experimenting with hormones, or anything that may affect them, is that the body has an elaborate feedback mechanism to maintain balance. Take something that boosts testosterone, and your body may shut off its own supply, which could, among other things, cause the testicles to shrink. It is amazing that such a potentially powerful substance can be bought by anyone as a completely unregulated "dietary supplement."
Though andro isn't banned in professional baseball, basketball, or hockey, it is banned in the National Football League, the NCAA, and the Olympics. The Association of Professional Team Physicians has recommended that it be taken off the market and be banned in all competitive sports. Some health-food stores have stopped selling andro, but it's easier to get than ever, thanks to the Internet and mail order.
Last words: Unfortunately, with all this publicity, andro is bound to be used by even more body builders, professional athletes, and, scariest of all, teenagers. The labels on some bottles of andro warn that it should not be used by women, children, teens, or anyone with a medical condition. Will teens pay heed? The bottom line: nobody should use andro.
UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, January 1999
