hardasnails1973

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Reason juicer suffer from post cycle depression could
be due to slight iron and vitman A deficiencies. Did you know that
steroids strip your iron storage and most people
dieting are deficient in iron becuase of how your body
uses it to fight stress. After dieting your iron and
vitamin A storages are drained resulting in lower
thyroid out put, muscle weakness, depression, joint
pains, low lidido. Also if you are finishing contest in the winter time you may be also vulnerable to vitamin D deficiencie from lack of sunligh. I beleive this could be prevented by increasing iron and vitamin A,d post cycle to ellicit
a faster rebound helping to alleviate the post cycle blues
Vitamin A:
The Forgotten Bodybuilding Nutrient
By Chris Masterjohn

The dense forest of bodybuilding nutrition contains a
paradox: the quantity of information available is
abundant, but the wisdom of traditional diets to
satisfy the primary concerns of bodybuilders is sparse
and hard to find. Typical recommendations include very
low-fat diets rich in protein foods like salmon and
chicken.

You will search in vain through mainstream men's
health magazines to find so much as a mention of the
importance of vitamin A to bodybuilding. Yet this
nutrient is essential to muscle-building and may be
the bodybuilder's most potent weapon. Vitamin A is
necessary for the utilization of protein and the
production of testosterone and other growth factors.
In fact, one human study, discussed below, found the
administration of vitamin A and iron to have results
equivalent to the administration of testosterone
itself. Rather than advocating the consumption of
vitamin-A rich foods such as liver and natural
food-based supplements such as cod liver oil,
mainstream men's health writers are advocating diets
very high in protein, which deplete vitamin A
reserves, leaving one to wonder whether the athletes
who resort to over-the-counter steroid supplements
might be able to achieve similar results by consuming
a traditional diet, rich in vitamin A.

Vitamin A and Testosterone
Abundant animal research indicates the importance of
vitamin A to the production of testosterone. Vitamin A
crosses the blood-testis barrier in its alcohol form
as retinol, where it is stored in the Sertoli cells
and converted as needed to its more biologically
active form, retinoic acid. Experiments with rats show
that greater concentrations of vitamin A in the testes
increase basal testosterone secretion, as well as
transferrin, which is responsible for the transport of
iron; and a variety of growth factors including
IGF-binding protein 4 (which transports IGF),
androgen-binding protein (which transports androgens),
transforming growth factor-beta (which causes cell
growth but suppresses cancer) and steroidogenic acute
regulatory protein (which is responsible for the
transport of cholesterol into the mitochondria for its
conversion to steroids). Vitamin A also decreases
estrogen production in the male testes. Rats that are
deficient in vitamin A experience decreased
testosterone until the accessory sex organs atrophy,
indicating that vitamin A not only aids in, but is
essential to, testosterone production.1

One experiment using guinea pigs, which corroborates
the many experiments done with rats, found a decrease
in plasma testosterone associated with a deficiency in
vitamin A.2 A human study comparing the dietary
intakes of 155 pairs of male twins found a correlation
between testosterone levels and vitamin A intake.3

The most compelling study is one that assigned 102
teenage boys with short stature and delayed puberty
into four groups: a control, a
testosterone-supplemented group, a vitamin A- and
iron-supplemented group, and a group that received
both testosterone and the nutritional supplementation.
All treatments were effective in inducing growth and
puberty, whereas the control group did not gain weight
or begin puberty in the same period of time. What is
most amazing is that the degree of growth acceleration
was similar in the testosterone-treated group and the
vitamin A-treated group. Pubertal onset occurred in
9-12 months in the testosterone group, and by 12
months in the vitamin-A group.4

This study suggests two things. The first is that the
growth problems these boys experienced could have been
avoided if their parents only had known the importance
of serving a meal with liver on a weekly basis, as
liver is very rich in both vitamin A and iron. The
second is that, with equivalent hard work and
dedication, athletes and body builders may be able to
achieve similar results from their training by taking
high-vitamin cod liver oil and eating foods rich in
vitamin A on a regular basis as others receive from
the common practice of supplementing with testosterone
precursors.

Mudge

Beta Carotene is better to supplement with than Vitamin A, and Iron should not be overdone as it builds in the blood.

Kinesiology Vote @ Top 25 Deads Comp Bench
Motivation Bench form MaxCalc Charles Poliquin
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Lao-Tzu
I don't know any sources so don't ask - thanks

hardasnails1973

I agree there must be a fine balance with nutrients and this should be verified with proper blood tests for iron storages. People with hypothyroidism have difficulty converting betacarotine to vitamin A as well.