Things that Damage your Hormones

DO NOT POST YOUR CASE AND PERSONAL DETAILS HERE.
CREATE YOUR OWN THREAD.

This thread discusses things that cause hormone problems. This should be a “read the stickies” resource so we do not need to state the same things over and over in individual posts.

See post on PCT or HPTA restart basics here: HPTA Restart Protocol - Testosterone Replacement - Forums - T Nation

I will maintain this leading post by editing it. Additional material will be added to this leading post, not in posts that discuss these issues. This will keep chatter out of the sticky and this lead post is the sticky. Changes and corrections will be made as needed.

Please keep posts/comments/suggestions/contributions on topic. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DISCUSS YOUR OWN PROBLEMS HERE! This post is meant to be a technical resource. Some things might be better sentas PM’s to KSman.


Things that damage your hormones -list of topics:

Pituitary damage: ref Pituitary gland - Wikipedia
-blows to the head or whiplash Whiplash (medicine) - Wikipedia
-adinomas Pituitary adenoma - Wikipedia

Drugs and chemicals:
-Rx drugs
-OTC drugs
-hair loss drugs
-alcohol
-other chemicals, toxins, pollution
-heavy metals
-fire retardants in furniture or fire fighter’s fire retardant clothes
-smoking

Effects of other reproductive and related hormones:
-Estradiol Estradiol - Wikipedia
-Prolactin Prolactin - Wikipedia
-Xeno estrogens Xenoestrogen - Wikipedia
–lavender
-Xeno testosterone: The Dangers of 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitors - Testosterone Replacement - Forums - T Nation
–hair loss drugs 5-alpha reductase inhibitors -extremely dangerous for a few - see above
-Prohormones [PH] Prohormone - Wikipedia -extremely dangerous for a few
-Deca Nandrolone - Wikipedia - see xeno-testosterone above

Damage to the testicles [testes] ref Testicle - Wikipedia
-cancer Testicular cancer - Wikipedia
-Varicocele [blood supply] Varicocele - Wikipedia
-Torsion [Physical damage] Testicular torsion - Wikipedia
-Trauma Testicular trauma - Wikipedia
-Fever: If you have a fever and your testes hurt, they may be damaged

Damage to the pituitary gland:
-head trauma, blow to the head or whip lash can scar the pituitary gland
-a pituitary adenoma Pituitary adenoma - Wikipedia
–can decrease LH and/or increase prolactin
–may press in optic nerves, reducing peripheral vision in one or both eyes
—could create other visual field disturbances [not vision correction issue]
–can results in other hormone problems
-watch for multiple pituitary hormone problems

Comorbidies: Comorbidity - Wikipedia
-hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism - Wikipedia
-adrenal fatigue Adrenal fatigue - Wikipedia
–watch DHEA-S levels
-syndrome X aka metabolic disorder Metabolic syndrome - Wikipedia
-insulin resistance [and diabetes] Insulin resistance - Wikipedia
-influences of the digestive system
-arterial disease and high blood pressure [BP]
-poor cell wall permeability

Deficiencies:
-low cholesterol, natural, diet induced, result of statin drugs
-low CoQ10, age related, induced by statin drugs
-low dietary EFA’s [essential fatty acids]
-low iodine KSMan? - Testosterone Replacement - Forums - T Nation
-other low trace minerals
-sub optimal vitamin D
-anti oxidants

Supplements, when more might be better:


01/04/2010, created a post on dangers of 5-alpha reductase drugs, linked above under zeno-testosterone

1 Like

Lifestyle:
Overtraining
Insufficient caloric intake

Diseases:
Anorexia
Anxiety disorders

Drugs:
Artificial anabolic steroids

Awesome Thread!

  • Autoimmune Disorders

Low Cortisol (morning levels <20?)
Low Ferritin
Low HGH

High Reverse T3 can lead to hypothyroidism even when blood test results show good Free T3 and TSH levels. Hypothyroidism can then continue to cause hormone balance problems.

Low Pregnenelone can lead to low DHEA, low cortisol, and low progesterone.

Low DHEA can lead to low Testosterone.

Heavy Metal poisoning (lead, mercury, arsenic) can cause all sorts of endocrine disruptions.

good websites:

male hormone replacement per LEF: lef.org/protocols/male_reproductive /male_hormone_restoration_02.htm

great general information of Thyroid problems: 18 Summaries of Things We Have Learned - Stop The Thyroid Madness

seems like a pretty good site with information on supplements/vitamins in general: Food Supplements: Their Effects on the Body

[quote]PureChance wrote:
great general information of Thyroid problems: 18 Summaries of Things We Have Learned - Stop The Thyroid Madness
[/quote]

An addendum to the website link above to stopthethyroidmadness is this site which has what appears to be very good information, diagnostic tools and treatment options for thyroid and adrenal issues as well: http://www.drrind.com/Home.htm

As substance p mentioned, autoimmune diseases can definitely be a cause of hormone problems. Conversely, men with hypogonadism are at an increased risk of developing autoimmune problems. In general, 1 in 3 men with an autoimmune disease have low testosterone.

Another very big one: Hemochromatosis (iron overload). High iron levels can destroy the endocrine system.

This is Heaven. Great post!

This is getting to be a tangent.

Lets stay on topic: Things that Damage your Hormones

Whats everyones take on soy lecithin? I know its used in so many products and i usually avoid it but there are some that say it causes problems with estrogen and others say that the way its heated and used it doesnt have the properties of soy and the problems with estrogen once treated.

If it contains Phytoestrogens Phytoestrogen - Wikipedia, there is the potential that these will block androgen receptors as do estrogens. We do know that these are rather weak estrogens and when women take them, they have some blocking effects of estrogens.

Also note: Phytoestrogen - Wikipedia

So the evidence is sparse and not conclusive. But we do know that some guys are going to be hyper responsive to these things and might suffer negative effects and because they are rare, they will not affect statistics or conclusions.

This is part of a wider concern about xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogen - Wikipedia

We also know that xenotestosterones can have devastating effects. These happen to a very few number of men. The worse known offenders for this are deca [only cycles], some pro-hormones and other internet junk and 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors. When the effects are transient, no one connects the dots. When the harm is permanent, the effect seems to be like an epigenetic change. Epigenetics - Wikipedia

There are good bits of info about how lethicin has health benefits, but those studies would have not been looking for any negative libido effects. Most research has tunnel vision.

We get some guys who are totally freaked out about phytoestrogens and soy, who purchase bogus “legal steroids” on the WWW. These things all alter gene expression and some of those changes can go very very wrong.

wow…good info as always. Its just tough to find protein powders without it. Usually I dont drink protein powder but in a pinch I always get bummed when I see it. I try and cut out all things containing soy. The Estrogen (Or Testosterone) War rages on. So many things inflicting, impacting hormones…do out balls stand a chance???

You can edit your duplicate post to read ‘duplicate, please remove’ and mods will take it out.

There is a huge market of products that are whey protein based, driven by soy avoidance. In many ways, the issue with estrogens is a level that allows for the greatest benefits of one’s T levels. Most of the concerns are driven by unknowns more than facts.

[You need to have lots of amino acids in your blood stream with low glucose levels and falling or low insulin to have a good GH feeding response; but that is another story. You do not want to have a lot of protein plus carbs after resistance training. But we cannot discuss that further here - off topic.]

Opiates and in particular opiates that have a long half-life like Methadone. They downregulate/alter your neurotransmitter function and hormone production. They also slow down metabolic rate leading to increased fat storage and thus aramatase. Longterm opiate use can cause permanent endocrinal damage.

Marijuana. Although there are contradictory studies(as if there wouldn’t be with marijuana!), several studies indicate lowering of testosterone in men who smoke marijuana.

Benzodiazapines. These also slow metabolic rate leading to bodyfat% increase and thus aramatase levels. Studies also show a rise in estrogen from chronic benzodiazapine use.

Dont forget about Hereditary Hemochromatosis often forgotten about when working up Low T

Can hormones in animal food sources effect T? Specifically, chicken? Does anyone have a Do/Don’t Eat list for people with low T?

BTW - Can’t we just have T-Nation turn KSman into a moderator? That guy works so hard trying to keep the stickies clean, etc.

3 Likes

Roundup (Monsanto) lowers testosterone

Anyone used or know of any clinical findings that support the use of DIM (diindolylmethane) to help promote more favorable Estrogen profiles?

I seem to find many sites with summaries much like this one. (best one I have found so far…)

http://www.dimfaq.com/

It would be taking a knife to a gun fight in the context of typical TRT outcomes.

Amalgams fillings can be bad to hormones and neurotransmissor because it can lead to mercury intoxication