From the Desk of Raybravo
THE IMPORTANCE OF ESTROGEN.
a) The ability of an androgen to aromatise, which may seem like a very undesirable effect at first, upon close observation, shows us how useful this property of an androgen can actually be in a study (1) where the effects of testosterone and stanozolol were compared for their effects on stimulating GH release. Testosterone enanthate (only 3 mg per kg per week) increased GH levels by 22% and IGF-1 levels by 21% whereas oral stanozolol (0.1mg per kg per day) had no effect whatsoever on GH or IGF-1 levels. It is to be noted that IGF-1 increases satellite cell activity, muscle DNA content, muscle protein content, muscle weight and muscle cross sectional area (Adams,1998).
Why is this so important ? "When satellite cells are prohibited from donating new nuclei, overloaded muscle will not grow (Rosenblatt,1992 & 1994; Phelan,1997). so , as we can see , the increase in igf-1 levels(which would be one of the results of estrogen) in the body is very important to achieve muscle growth .
b)Estrogen is not a fat accumulating agent ! yes thats right! infact, it is both an appetite supressive as well as a fat burning agent. Recent research has reported that part of the fat burning ability of testosterone is due to estradiol (2) .
c) Estrogen lowers levels of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL), when LPL activity increases, the potential for adiposity increases(3).
d)Estrogen also increases androgen receptor upregulation, and this means what!? it is making your testosterone work better! also the more AR’s, the more lipid uptake is inhibited (4).
Of course there is definitely something called too much estrogen, which would cause proliferation of preadipocytes into which can mature into fat cells,not to mention gyno etc. so what i’m trying to say here is, its best to maintain optimum levels of estrogen for all the above mentioned reasons, while not allowing estrogen levels to go out of control. use an aromatase inhibitor only if necessary.
(1) Fryburg DA., Weltman A., Jahn LA., et al: Short-term modulation of the androgen milieu alters pulsatile, but not exercise- or growth hormone releasing hormone-stimulated GH secretion in healthy men: Impact of gonadal steroid and GH secretory changes on metabolic outcomes. J Clin Endocrinol. Metab. 82(11):3710-37-19, 1997
(2) Metabolism 1997 Feb;46(2):179-85 Evidence for sex steroid inhibition of lipoprotein lipase in men: comparison of abdominal and femoral adipose tissue. Ramirez ME, McMurry MP, Wiebke GA, Felten KJ, Ren K, Meikle AW, Iverius PH
(3) Metabolism 1993 Apr;42(4):446-50 The effect of testosterone aromatization on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and post heparin lipolytic activity. Zmuda JM, Fahrenbach MC, Younkin BT, Bausserman LL, Terry RB, Catlin DH, Thompson PD. Department of Medicine, Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI.
(4) Androgen hormone binding to adipose tissue in rats. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1995 May 11;1244(1):117-20.