Pregnenolone

[4peatssake]

I quit playing with it too, especially after reading about hirsutism issues and not seeing any guarantee that those problems would go away easily. But maybe simply not taking pregnenolone anymore will do it -- not immediately, because that stuff will linger in the system for a while and get recycled, but in time... Supplementing with estrogen is surely not something you would consider... Progesterone also can turn into testosterone, so try to stay away from that one too if your body is taking that route with precursor hormones... Do everything Peat says not to do because it would increase estrogen, reverse engineer for a bit. And if you find a good way to get rid of the annoyances, please keep us posted!

I dont see that conversion on pathway chart, nor on say this one.http://metabolichealing.com/assets/_res ... rmones.jpg

please explain....

Hi inatic,

personally, I would be dubious of this information and this individual is not longer a member of the forum so cannot explain it to you. :2cents

 

[kiran]

I dont see that conversion on pathway chart, nor on say this one.http://metabolichealing.com/assets/_res ... rmones.jpg

This chart claims it is possible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Steroidogenesis.svg

It's on your chart too, via 17-OH-progesterone and androstenedione, there's an arrow across if you look carefully.

 

[jaa]

Danny Roddy article on Pregnenolone Steal Theory

http://www.dannyroddy.com/main/pregneno ... ice-theory

 

[jaketthomas]

Pregnenolone is great for anxiety/adrenaline/cortisol issues, often called adrenal insufficiency/exhaustion. I've used it with tremendous success. I take it on as "as needed" basis. When I feel anxious or stressed, I take about 100mg of pregnenolone and within 5-15 minutes, I'm as calm as they come.

Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem to make much sense to take it on a daily basis, if you're not feeling any stress in your body. Maybe 100-300mg per week, as a maintenance dosage, but I don't see the value in taking it every day if you don't need it. I don't think flooding your body with any hormone is appropriate.

Now, Vitamin E, niacinamide, calcium, magnesium, and such supplements, should probably be taken on a daily basis, or at least regularly. Pregnenolone is a different story. Those of you who have perhaps run into some trouble with it have likely taken way too much.

 

[bradley]

Even at smallish doses of around 40mg, pregnenolone makes me feel really tired and run down..like my body is undergoing stress. Does anyone know the physiological reasons i may be experiencing this?

 

[jyb]

Notice that 40mg is not a small dose, that's like what some produce in a whole day, but it does seem like a standard dose to supplement on.

 

[j.]

I thought that the human body produced only 25mg per day.

 

[jaketthomas]

Bradley, what do you mean by 'run down'? For me, pregnenolone relaxes me big time. If I need sleep, I'll get sleepy. If I don't, it'll just make me feel as calm as could be. But, I only take it when I feel like I need it.

 

[flaviom]

FWIW I mailed Ray about the issues I was having with pregnenolone, namely sadness, irritability, major hair loss, insomnia, weight gain and here's his reply:

Excipients or impurities in capsules can cause symptoms, by irritating the intestine. In animal studies (and in myself), extremely large doses didn't have any more effects than minimal doses. It's possible to eliminate some of the impurities by mixing it with warm vitamin E, and after stirring it, allowing it to settle, and using only what dissolved in the vitamin E.

Then I asked if there's no way it can convert to excess estrogen or some other stress related hormone, under certain circumstances, like not getting enough protein or sugar, or some other nutrient, or adequate light. Also asked if someone is running on stress hormones from low thyroid and pregnenolone lowers those hormones, would it make things worse by lowering the metabolism even further.

His answer:

I haven't heard of a situation like that; I'll see if I can find any information relating to that possibility.

I have no idea what to make of it; all the symptoms I got sure resemble high estrogen or cortisol or whatever stress hormone causes all the symptoms I was having. I really have a hard time believing that it all comes down to impurities. Btw, I was using LEF's pregnenolone 100mg a few times a week.

Sorry for double post. Someone please remove the second one :P

 

[Stunning4keke]

i am going to start some pregnenlalone and all the links that are supplied in this thread are not working for me. so i am hoping someone can direct me to a high quality pregnenlalone without any impurities.

i was thinking of trying this brand:

http://www.qnhshop.com/Pregnenolone-Pre ... Vcaps.html

i may also email Ray and ask him about this brand. after reading this whole thread i am definitely not sure of how much i should start with? i am not able to use the progest+E right now because i think my liver may not be able to handle it right now. i am in my 40's. i am also recovering from benzodiazepine exposure and in a lot of withdrawals so stress is pretty paramount right now

also, i think pregnenlalone acts on the same GABA-A receptor's that are trying very hard to upregulate after benzodiazepine exposure. so this will be a trial and error type thing along with all of you.
thanks for any response's, i really would like to find a good and clean quality pregnenlalone. again the links everyone provided are not working for some reason.

 

[4peatssake]

i am going to start some pregnenlalone and all the links that are supplied in this thread are not working for me. so i am hoping someone can direct me to a high quality pregnenlalone without any impurities.

Hi keke,

Dan Wich, who is a member of the forum, has a terrific web site providing a comprehensive listing of many of the supplements that many of us using.

The main page is here: http://www.toxinless.com/
The specific link to the listing for pregnenolone is here: http://www.toxinless.com/pregnenolone

A number of us have been using Beyond A Century pregnenolone powder with great success but Beyond A Century is phasing this out. I prefer the powder and Dan has found some replacements that look pretty good.

Suggested dose for pregnenolone is 50 mg 1 to 3 times a day. I'm currently taking 100 mg a day (two doses of 50 mg)

I'm not familiar with the pregnenolone you mention and when I clicked on the link I got an error page.

 

[Stunning4keke]

thanks 4peatssake!

 

[Dan W]

i was thinking of trying this brand:

http://www.qnhshop.com/Pregnenolone-Pre ... Vcaps.html

Besides 4peatssake's excellent site recommendation ( ), I think the Swanson Ultra Super-Strength is a little nicer than Premier Research if you want capsules: it uses gelatin instead of "vegetable cellulose" (which probably means hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, something Peat dislikes), and is also much cheaper.

Even better (excipient-wise) would be the Health Natura powder, although that requires a scale or tiny measuring spoons.

 

[mcconte75]

The question that comes to my mind about all supplements is not only whether it has a particular excipient but whether it contains everything you expect it to contain also.

Everything that Dan Wich has kindly stated is in the products he is probably taking this information by faith alone from the maker of it.

Excuse me for being cynical but I have doubts for a moment about what's in all these supplements which is what Ray Peat has told me in response to an email about carageenan.
I think its a good idea to be a very cynical and personally have a few capsules tested ourselves, I think it maybe wise to find out this first before you part with quite a lot of money over time.
Again it's all by faith. Do you trust any of these companies.

The marketing of one progesterone (oil) tells us that "Progest" cream has been analysed and found to contain less than 0.1% progesterone. If this is correct then I could have been wasting my money for some time on that particular cream.

 

[Dan W]

I think your cynicism is justified, and I'd like to include such independent information on the site. For example, I'm going to update the halibut liver oil page with my suspicion (shared by at least one other person), that NOW Foods is overstating the Vitamin A content of its capsules.

And once I learn more about pregnenolone manufacturing, I'll be pestering the manufacturers with more questions. I'll have to track down my notes, but at least one of them also offers "Certificates of Analysis", which would give a little peace of mind.

Anyone know anything about lab-testing of supplements? I hadn't even considered it, assuming it to be prohibitively expensive.

 

[4peatssake]

I think your cynicism is justified, and I'd like to include such independent information on the site. For example, I'm going to update the halibut liver oil page with my suspicion (shared by at least one other person), that NOW Foods is overstating the Vitamin A content of its capsules.

And once I learn more about pregnenolone manufacturing, I'll be pestering the manufacturers with more questions. I'll have to track down my notes, but at least one of them also offers "Certificates of Analysis", which would give a little peace of mind.

Anyone know anything about lab-testing of supplements? I hadn't even considered it, assuming it to be prohibitively expensive.

Dan,

I came across this info on this diabete website: http://www.diabetes.org/living-with...icines/independent-testing-organizations.html

Luckily, a handful of independent organizations test the accuracy of the labels and contents of dietary supplements.

They offer “seals of approval” that you may want to look for when shopping for supplements.

However, keep in mind that these organizations do not test the effectiveness of products. In other words, they do not verify if the supplement does for you what the label says it will.

U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) Dietary Supplement Verification Program http://www.usp.org
NSF International http://www.nsf.org
Consumer Lab http://www.consumerlab.com
The Consumers Union http://www.consumerreports.com
The Natural Products Association http://www.naturalproductsassoc.org

HUH, this information needs to be well researched I think.
I just came across this criticism of one of the so called independent test labs - http://www.consumerlab.com

http://www.anh-usa.org/what-you-need-to-know-about-consumerlab-com/
Looks like "independent lab" may be a bit of a misnomer.
I read about some independent testing being done on thyroid supplements but I'd prefer to PM that info rather than post it publicly if you're interested.

Too tired now to do further digging. But worth looking into further tomorrow perhaps.

 

[BaconBits]

Could someone recomend a alternative brand of pregnenolone, which is available on iherb.com besides source naturals because source naturals is not in stock?

 

[4peatssake]

Could someone recomend a alternative brand of pregnenolone, which is available on iherb.com besides source naturals because source naturals is not in stock?

These are the ones on Dan's website that are available at iherb. Do note that they contain some excipients considered less than ideal.

Nature's Plus Ultra Pregnenolone
Available on iHerb
Positives:
stearic acid-free / magnesium stearate-free
hypromellose-free / hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-free
lecithin-free
Negatives:
contains silica / silicon dioxide
All ingredients:
Pregnenolone, bioperine (bioavailability-enhancing phytonutrient) (from Piper nigrum fruit), silica, vegetable cellulose (USP) and purified water.

Nutri-Meds Pregnenolone
Available on iHerb
Positives:
silica-free / silicon-dioxide-free
hypromellose-free / hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-free
lecithin-free
Negatives:
contains stearic acid / magnesium stearate
All ingredients:
Pregnenolone, magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, pharmaceutical glaze.

Nutricology/Allergy Research Group Pregnenolone
Available on iHerb
Positives
silica-free / silicon-dioxide-free
hypromellose-free / hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-free
lecithin-free
Negatives:
contains stearic acid / magnesium stearate
All ingredients:
Pregnenolone, Micosolle™, microcrystalline cellulose, vegetable oil, vegetable wax, Cab-o-sil®, magnesium stearate.

Dan's website

Can you not order from Amazon?

 

[kiran]

IFor example, I'm going to update the halibut liver oil page with my suspicion (shared by at least one other person), that NOW Foods is overstating the Vitamin A content of its capsules.

What makes you suspect that, Dan? I'm pretty sure i don't benefit that much from it, but I always suspected some sort of toxin, rather than low vit A content.

 

[BaconBits]

Could someone recomend a alternative brand of pregnenolone, which is available on iherb.com besides source naturals because source naturals is not in stock?

These are the ones on Dan's website that are available at iherb. Do note that they contain some excipients considered less than ideal.

Nature's Plus Ultra Pregnenolone
Available on iHerb
Positives:
stearic acid-free / magnesium stearate-free
hypromellose-free / hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-free
lecithin-free
Negatives:
contains silica / silicon dioxide
All ingredients:
Pregnenolone, bioperine (bioavailability-enhancing phytonutrient) (from Piper nigrum fruit), silica, vegetable cellulose (USP) and purified water.

Nutri-Meds Pregnenolone
Available on iHerb
Positives:
silica-free / silicon-dioxide-free
hypromellose-free / hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-free
lecithin-free
Negatives:
contains stearic acid / magnesium stearate
All ingredients:
Pregnenolone, magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, pharmaceutical glaze.

Nutricology/Allergy Research Group Pregnenolone
Available on iHerb
Positives
silica-free / silicon-dioxide-free
hypromellose-free / hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-free
lecithin-free
Negatives:
contains stearic acid / magnesium stearate
All ingredients:
Pregnenolone, Micosolle™, microcrystalline cellulose, vegetable oil, vegetable wax, Cab-o-sil®, magnesium stearate.

Dan's website

Can you not order from Amazon?

Are all those Dans sugestions just based on ingredients that they dont contain any "contaminats". What I am looking at is that is that the pregnenolone is of high quality, that supplements contains exactly what it says.

Has the Consumer Labs tested any pregnenolone supplements?