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Benefits of prohormones for bodybuilding. Are they safer than anabolic steroids?
The human body is an amazing creation that is full of secrets of which we have not fully unlocked. One topic that is still unfolding deals with how our body uses hormones.
We know what many of them do, but we do not fully understand their role. In this blog, we take a closer look at the benefits of prohormones for bodybuilding.
What Are Prohormones?
At their simplest, prohormones are a stepping stone or set of ingredients that our body can use to make stronger anabolic steroids such as testosterone or estrogen. In fact, part of the problem and the confusion has to do with all the terminology. Think of this as follows:
Testosterone – Is the king of all hormones Anabolic steroids are man's attempt at recreating and harnessing the power of testosterone – Anabolic steroids are synthetic variations of testosterone.
Anabolic steroids are what methadone is to heroin – a substitute. No, they don't make you high, but they attach to the same receptors that testosterone does and as they do so your body begins to make less naturally produced testosterone. In short, they are a false replacement.
Prohormones – These are the ingredients that your body needs to produce natural testosterone and other hormones. They work much the same way that amino acids work when it comes to building proteins. Amino acids are the buildings blocks of proteins and prohormones are the building blocks of hormones.
What Are the Benefits of Prohormones for bodybuilding
1. One of the first benefits of prohormones is that they do not block the receptors that testosterone or other hormones use. That means that you avoid most of the decrease in the production of natural hormones. However, what they convert to might impact testosterone levels. That is a key distinction and one that readers need to understand.
2. Less Adverse Health Risks – One of the big problems with anabolic steroids is that can cause health issues such as kidney damage, liver damage, etc. if used long-term. If used incorrectly they can even cause death. Because prohormones are not anabolic steroids they carry less risk. Yes, there is still a risk, but because these are not anabolic there is less risk but their use is still risky.
3. Not all prohormones are illegal to use or to buy. However, all anabolic steroids are illegal to use and to purchase.
4. They pair well with PCT to offset any decrease in natural testosterone production.
Using Prohormones – the Catch
When you talk about prohormones you are talking about the precursor to testosterone. Whichever prohormone you take it will convert to a more powerful hormone and that conversion is where the danger lies.
While we talk about how prohormones are safer, and they are, they are also just as risky because of what they convert to in the body.
For example, Androtest converts directly to testosterone. So, while Androtest is not that dangerous to consume it brings the added danger of testosterone with it.
Part of that danger is that forced conversion can dampen the body's “desire” to produce testosterone without the help of the prohormone.
The way that some prohormones are legal and some are not, brings a whole other set of risks. Because those prohormones that convert to the methylated hormones are mostly legal there is the implied sense that they are safe.
They are perhaps the worst as methylated hormones are those that bring the higher risks of liver damage. Yet, as a prohormone the damage is minimal.
That relationship is sort of like the reasoning of mixing Tylenol with prescription codeine or Vicodin. The Tylenol will destroy your liver before the drugs do.
The idea that prohormones are not anabolic hormones and that makes them safer is a misnomer as you still should watch out for whatever they convert to in your body.
The alternative is by far much worse. Anabolic steroids have a much more direct response and there seems to be this idea in bodybuilding that because there is less risk with one anabolic steroid that it's safe to use.
Just because prohormones are less risky than anabolic steroids do not make them safe.
As you venture into supplements for bodybuilding be cognoscente of those risk and weigh them individually.
