Cholesterol And SFA Are Anabolic; PUFA/MUFA Akin To Chemical Castration

haidut

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A pair of interesting study and a commentary in the highly respected Journals of Gerontology. Namely, higher cholesterol intake is associated with much higher lean muscle mass accrual as a result of weight lifting. Interestingly, higher protein intake was not. Even more interestingly, and much to the chagrin of the medical industry, the increased dietary cholesterol did NOT increase biomarkers of CVD. While the study that found this association did not provide an explanation of the mechanism, the commentary in the same journal did. Namely, dietary saturated fat increases androgens - both by stimulating sterodogenic enzymes (as I have discussed in other posts) and by increasing cholesterol levels. In contrast, PUFA (and to a lesser degree MUFA) decrease synthesis and subsequently blood levels of androgen such as T, DHT, DHEA, androstenedione, etc and even of some of their precursors such as pregnenolone. Famous US bodybuilder Vince Gironda, whose career began before AAS were widely available, often said something along the lines of "consuming 2-3 dozens of eggs daily has the same effects as AAS". Considering that amounts to ingesting 5g-7g cholesterol daily, the "Iron Guru" was probably right on the money with his statement.

On a more sinister note, I do remember reading studies from the first half of the 20th century that suggested subjecting prostate cancer patients to a high-PUFA diet as a form of androgen deprivation therapy. Those studies made it quite clear that eating PUFA was akin to the "chemical castration" to which men continue to be subjected even today as "treatment" for their prostate cancer. The commentary to the cholesterol article also mentions the testosterone-decimating effects of PUFA, which makes me think that this castration effect of PUFA is well known among the medical professionals. On that note, the last two studies in this post are quite relevant. One of the studies found that PUFA-rich oils widely used in the food supply have a potent DHT lowering effects. The other study found that even the relatively "benign" oleic acid (a MUFA) exhibits strong estrogenic and anti-androgenic effects on offspring when fed to the mother in HED doses of 10g-15g daily, which is quite in line with what most consumers of Western diets are exposed to on a daily basis.

In light of the recent studies showing men's T levels and sperm counts have plummeted over the last 2-3 decades maybe the infertility epidemic has a very easy explanation - deliberate chemical castration of men through their PUFA-loaded (even MUFA-loaded) food supply.

Statins and Dietary and Serum Cholesterol Are Associated With Increased Lean Mass Following Resistance Training
"...The average dietary cholesterol consumption was strongly associated (r = 0.448, p =.001) with the change in lean mass, which was further strengthened by adjustments for body mass (r = 0.467, p =.001) and lean mass (r = 0.512, p <.001) (Figure 1A). Although dietary protein (g/kg lean mass/d) was significantly correlated with dietary cholesterol (r = 0.387, p =.004), protein was not significantly correlated with change in lean mass (r = −0.034, p =.802). Other dietary factors, kcal/kg lean mass/d, and mean kilocalories consumed per kilocalories of resting energy expenditure were not significantly correlated with the change in lean mass (18). Only dietary cholesterol entered a stepwise linear regression model (R2 = 0.27, p <.001), which evaluated the independent association of major dietary constituents to change in lean mass."

"...The direct association between dietary cholesterol and changes in strength further supports the potential anabolic role of cholesterol. Moreover, the significant indirect association of HDL cholesterol with absolute strength both before and after training highlights the potential role of subfractions in the physiology of this response. Whereas the LDL subfraction delivers cholesterol to tissues and is strongly associated with muscle gain, the HDL subfraction delivers cholesterol away from tissues to be metabolized. Previous studies on cholesterol and muscle characteristics are quite limited; however, Kohl and colleagues (34) reported a strong inverse association, consistent with our findings, between HDL and 1 RM strength for chest and leg press (same as in the present report) in 5460 men."

Effects of dietary fat and fiber on plasma and urine androgens and estrogens in men: a controlled feeding study. - PubMed - NCBI
SATURATED FAT INGESTION REGULATES ANDROGEN CONCENTRATIONS AND MAY INFLUENCE LEAN BODY MASS ACCRUAL

"...Riechman and colleagues (1) have published an excellent article in this Journal examining the relationship between dietary and serum cholesterol and the accrual of lean body mass with resistance exercise training. Omitted from this article, however, was a possible mechanism that I believe could assist in explaining their results. That is, the effects of dietary saturated fats and/or cholesterol on circulating androgen concentrations. A number of studies (2–5) have shown that reducing saturated fat in the diet, and/or replacing saturated fat with what are considered more healthy fats (polyunsaturated and/or monounsaturated fats), results in significant decline in the circulating testosterone concentration. With the well-known anabolic effects of androgens on skeletal muscle, this potentially could provide an additional link between saturated fats and/or cholesterol, resistance exercise, and lean body mass accrual. Further, if the authors have not already done so, and samples are available, I believe they should consider assessing circulating androgen concentrations and relating them to the amount of dietary cholesterol/saturated fat ingested, circulating cholesterol, and lean body mass accrual resulting from resistance exercise."

Fatty Acids in Some Cooking Oils as Agents of Hormonal Manipulation in a Rat Model of Benign... - Abstract - Europe PMC

"...Anti-androgenic substances, mainly prostate 5α-reductase inhibitors, used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) have been associated with side effects in man and animals. To reduce these side effects as well as suppress BPH development, the management of the condition has come to include dietary interventions. This study investigated the effect of some cooking oils on testosterone-induced hyperplasia of the prostate in rats. Male Sprague-dawley rats were distributed into eighteen groups (n=6) as A-R. A negative control group was injected subcutaneously with soya oil; while prostatic hyperplasia was induced subcutaneously in groups B-R with 3mg/kg testosterone daily for 14days. Group B was the positive control (BPH group) while groups C-R were also administered orally 800mg/kg of coconut, castor, canola, cottonseed, pomegranate, blackseed, sheabutter, olive oil, codliver, sardine, palm, repeatedly heated palm (RHPO), vegetable, repeatedly-heated vegetable (RHVO), sesame, and groundnut oils respectively, daily, for 14 days. Blood sample was drawn via retro-orbital sinus for the estimation of serum testosterone(T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) level and rats were thereafter euthanized to obtain the prostates for T and DHT determination as well as tissue weights. Data are mean ± SEM, compared by ANOVA. The oils significantly reduced the increase in prostate weight (PW) to body weight (BW) ratio induced by testosterone. Apart from the fact that all the oils reduced the PW:BW ratio, the blackseed, sheabutter, sardine, vegetable and groundnut oils suppressed the DHT level in the serum, while pomegranate, olive, RHPO reduced DHT level in the prostate compared to the BPH rats. This study suggests that blackseed, sheabutter, sardine, vegetable, groundnut, pomegranate, olive, and RHPO oils could inhibit testosterone-induced hyperplasia of the prostate and therefore may be beneficial in the management of BPH."

Elicitation of estrogenic and antiandrogenic mechanisms by oleic acid in pubertal male rats | SFEBES2016

"...This study was designed to determine if prenatal exposure to oleic acid would alter testicular endocrine functions in either an estrogenic or antiandrogenic manner at puberty. Gravid dams were distributed into four groups of five rats each as follows: Control group (1 ml/kg olive oil throughout pregnancy), pre-treatment group (1000 mg/kg of oleic acid for 7 days before mating), preimplantation group (1000 mg/kg of oleic acid for the period of preimplantation), Organogenesis group (1000 mg/kg of oleic acid for the period of organogenesis). Dams delivered naturally and male offspring were studied into puberty. Morphological landmarks, hormone levels and sex accessory gland development were assessed. Estrogenic properties included shortened AGI, decrease in serum LH and T (P<0.001), increase in prolactin level in the organogenesis group. Antiandrogenic properties included delayed pubertal maturation, altered serum LH and T levels (P<0.001), epididymal sperm numbers in all treated groups. The results provide in vivo example of a pronounced degree of target tissue selectivity to an environmental endocrine-disruptor."
 

LeeLemonoil

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Another bunch of massive finds you recently posted, thanks @haidut

The last bit of Oleic acids effect on puberty rats is hard to digest, there is so much conflicting info on OA influence on steroidgenesis
 

Mauritio

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Great studies

But why does the Testosterone not go up with increased protein?a healthy liver is one of the most important organs for metabolism...converting T4 into T3 , detoxing estrogen, which it needs a lot of protein for. Doesn't make sense to me.

Also can somebody see the hormonal values of DHT and T for coconut oil in the Nigerian study ?
 

gabys225

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Cholesterol could be a fascinating supplement, but I don't know if the risk of consuming oxidized cholesterol would be worth it. I wonder if there is a study linking cholesterol ester formation to the consumption of scrambled eggs...

I have heard many anecdotal reports from friends whose grandparents used to live on a farm or own chickens, and I can pretty much bet that if I ask they'll tell me a raw egg story; or if I mention health in proximity to that conversation they'll let me know of a grandpa or a great grandpa that used to start the day with x amount of raw eggs and they were very strong/healthy.

It happens almost every time! Healthy Traditions sells their soy-free eggs but the best deal they offer is 8 dozen for 69.99, roughly 8.75 a dozen. Kinda steep, but I'd be interested in giving it a shot.
 

Tenacity

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Cholesterol is anabolic, PUFA is castrating; eggs contain a lot of both. Seems like a chicken and the egg situation if you wanted to consume a lot of cholesterol that way.
 

Mauritio

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Cholesterol is anabolic, PUFA is castrating; eggs contain a lot of both. Seems like a chicken and the egg situation if you wanted to consume a lot of cholesterol that way.
If you take it with saturated fat and vitamin E the PUFA damage is minimised, but you still get the cholesterol...
 

Broken man

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Still dont understand why african american are gaining muscles more easily and faster even eating ***t.
 

Inaut

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I put lanolin on my gonads..... a couple times a day. With the exception of the smell (it’s not refined), I’m noticing quite a few benefits regarding erections and morning wood.
 

baccheion

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How does this and other Peaty approaches apply to someone with the APOE 4/3 mutation? From what I've read, SFA and PUFAs are both bad in this case.
 
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The part about oleic acid is quite puzzling. I thought Peat had said that oleic acid was a safe fatty acid.

The study was about feeding just oleic acid, right? Maybe the combination of saturated fat+ oleic acid is fine, such as in tallow or butter.

Also, doesn't the liver desaturate stearic acid into oleic acid?
 

redsun

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Still dont understand why african american are gaining muscles more easily and faster even eating ***t.

You can literally gain muscle easily by having a higher protein intake from muscle meats, eggs, dairy, straight up meat will do most of the work though. You can gain some muscle just by protein intake alone if its high enough. Has nothing to do with race, everything to do with diet and protein intake especially meat intake.

This is why some people can literally eat utter garbage and junk foods but still gain muscle and maintain more muscle mass. They have larger intake of protein. You keep thinking its genetics or healthy diet of clean carbs, clean fats, and clean proteins thats going to pack on muscle... the greatest factor is protein intake, protein quantity. Quality protein from animal foods will provide the nutrients with the protein to utilize it best, powders lose nutrients but technically can still work to a degree.
 

Broken man

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You can literally gain muscle easily by having a higher protein intake from muscle meats, eggs, dairy, straight up meat will do most of the work though. You can gain some muscle just by protein intake alone if its high enough. Has nothing to do with race, everything to do with diet and protein intake especially meat intake.

This is why some people can literally eat utter garbage and junk foods but still gain muscle and maintain more muscle mass. They have larger intake of protein. You keep thinking its genetics or healthy diet of clean carbs, clean fats, and clean proteins thats going to pack on muscle... the greatest factor is protein intake, protein quantity. Quality protein from animal foods will provide the nutrients with the protein to utilize it best, powders lose nutrients but technically can still work to a degree.
This is not true .
 

redsun

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This is not true .

Compelling.

Try it yourself and stop believing bullsht about one race being able to build muscle easier then others. Your muscles are not made out of nothing, they are made out of protein. You will gain muscle just by dramatically upping protein intake even without exercise, fact. This is common sense, I dont need a study to confirm basic knowledge but haidut made a thread already about it with a link to a study that I will post just for kicks.

High Protein Intake Increases Muscle Mass Even W/o Training
 

redsun

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So blacks eat more protein?

What's that stereotype about fried chicken? But no there's no data that shows that all blacks eat more protein. Lot of blacks I see can be the exact opposite of muscular, they can be flabby and skinny or obese. Stereotyping and saying blacks build more muscle more easily is nonsense. Any other race can do the same thing, it has nothing to do with race and more to do with the individual male's protein intake for the most part or steroid use. The explanation is that these specific black males that you see that are muscular naturally eat much more protein regardless of the rest of the diet or take steroids or both.
 

baccheion

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The body is said to only synthesize ~0.5 pounds of raw muscle per month. The rest is glycogen/nutrients/water and fat.

On the other hand, protein is associated with increased HGH (which pushes water into muscles IIRC).

More important than protein and even working out are hormone levels. Higher androgenicity:estrogenicity = more nutrients pushed into muscle = larger musculature. I sometimes wonder if it's really due to the HGH/IGF-1 increase associated with testosterone.

Where are studies showing raw muscle synthesis from increased protein, especially a relevant one?

There was another strategy that involved increasing protein every other day (0.75 g/lb for 2 days, 1.0 g/lb for 2 days, 1.25 g/lb for 2 days, and then 1 day without protein to reset). The main point centered around the body habituating to protein intake. There's also another theory that it's associated inflammation that results in muscle synthesis.

20 (-60) minutes of direct sunlight on the scrotum is said to increase testosterone among males.

Africans tend to have less copies of the androgen receptor (more sensitive), increased 5-alpha reductase 2 activity (more DHT), and mixed luteinizing hormone receptor sensitivity (good response to a LH pulse). East Asians have the opposite as the norm.
 
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OiBoy

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I don't know but I grew up in a black neighborhood and while plenty of them were fat or skinny or whatever some of them put on muscle with little to no effort. They weren't eating anything special or particularly high protein. Like at 9 and 10 some of those guys had muscles. I remember one white kid that was close and his brothers had started him lifting weights when he was like 6, he had a full back tattoo when he was 15....

I remember guys saying the secret to putting on muscle was government peanut butter....

Anyway are you going to say we have the same size d**ks too?
 

baccheion

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I don't know but I grew up in a black neighborhood and while plenty of them were fat or skinny or whatever some of them put on muscle with little to no effort. They weren't eating anything special or particularly high protein. Like at 9 and 10 some of those guys had muscles. I remember one white kid that was close and his brothers had started him lifting weights when he was like 6, he had a full back tattoo when he was 15....

I remember guys saying the secret to putting on muscle was government peanut butter....

Anyway are you going to say we have the same size d**ks too?
Were the ones muscular at younger ages shorter?
 

redsun

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More important than protein and even working out are hormone levels. Higher androgenicity:estrogenicity = more nutrients pushed into muscle = larger musculature. I sometimes wonder if it's really due to the HGH/IGF-1 increase associated with testosterone.

Lol how can you say hormones are more important then protein for muscle building? Muscle is made out of protein not hormones. Protein is needed for hormones and vice versa you cannot have one without the other but the raw material is protein. Steroids override this with unnatural amounts of androgens and allow you to build more muscle with less protein.

Where are studies showing raw muscle synthesis from increased protein, especially a relevant one?

There is a limit from building muscle from just protein intake, all I said is you can build some muscle from just more protein. Eventually stimulus needs to be provided for further muscle growth. I already posted a link earlier of haiduts thread that has the study linked. I don't need to provide studies for common sense though. Protein is the main factor in increasing mTOR as well.

There was another strategy that involved increasing protein every other day (0.75 g/lb for 2 days, 1.0 g/lb for 2 days, 1.25 g/lb for 2 days, and then 1 day without protein to reset). The main point centered around the body habituating to protein intake. There's also another theory that it's associated inflammation that results in muscle synthesis.

Would work better just by keeping protein intake higher every day.
 

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