TexSon
MuscleHead
- Feb 15, 2013
- 1,597
- 154
Probably nothing, and for good reason. In terms of bodybuilding, it is a fairly useless compound. Still, in its own right, it is a powerful anabolic/androgen that plays a major role in your everyday life. It is also an interesting hormone and one worth reading about, escpecially if you are prone to using DHT blockers.
I know all about DHT because I am a dumb ass. I got my hands on some in my early bb days and used it not knowing better. After the immediate hair loss i experienced, I decided to research this hormone. The following information stems from those efforts.
Dihydrotestosterone
Except for matters concerning hair loss, you really don’t hear much about DHT. Especially in the bodybuilding world. And for good reason. As an AAS, DHT just doesn’t get the job done. No fault of it’s own, though. As and AAS, it is much more anabolic and androgenic that testosterone, but this fact is neither here nor there, for reasons I will explain in a minute.
I say that DHT is more anabolic than testosterone because it has a 3-5 times greater affinity for binding to the androgen receptors than regular test. The problem is, is that very little DHT ever reaches muscle tissue and what little bit that does manage to find its way there is quickly deactivated by the 3a-HSD enzyme.
DHT is product of testosterone, which serves as a prohormone in this case. Approx. 5% of your testosterone is converted into DHT via the 5alpha reductase enzyme (5-AR). The 5-AR enzyme is found in heavy concentrations over the entire span of the body EXCEPT skeletal muscle, which is why DHT is a poor AAS for bodybuilding. And, the fact is, outside of muscle tissue, testosterone has very little effect on the rest of the body. Whereas testosterone is limited mainly to muscle and tissue, DHT is distributed to everything else – skin, brain, genitals, skeleton – in fact, the majority or the body, which makes DHT is the primary androgenic signal.
Effects of DHT
The two most commonly know side effects of DHT is hair loss and prostate enlargement. For whatever reason, DHT had the tendency to collect in the hair follicles, causing the disfunction to hair growth. And this is the reason steroids accelerate hair loss in those individuals prone to the condition. It only stands to reason that the more testosterone you have circulating, the more DHT that will be produced. The more DHT produced, the greater the probability of suffering hair loss.
DHT also serves as the primary factor in genital development during the embryonic stage. Having a 5-AR deficiency from birth will actually inhibit the development of the male genitalia, in which case, the baby is raised as a female. Also, a complete absence of DHT inhibits the development of both body and pubic hair, which effectively amplifies the femininity perspective.
There are actually regions in the world, most notably the Dominican Republic, that for some unknown reason, produce an unusually large number of children with 5-AR deficiencies. The reasons for this condition, other than heredity, are still a mystery to science and the societies resulting from the malady harbor a large number of females who are biological males.
DHT Blockers
DHT blockers such as Proscar work to inhibit the 5-AR enzyme needed to convert testosterone into DHT. If you are into bodybuilding, this should be highly discouraged for a couple of reasons. First being DHT’s significance as the dominant male androgen in your body. Decreasing the DHT volume would adversely effect the anabolic process produced by testosterone. Secondly, DHT plays a significant role in the management of estrogen production and control in the male body. Reducing DHT levels would cause an increase in estrogen levels thus increasing the risk of contracting gyno.
I know all about DHT because I am a dumb ass. I got my hands on some in my early bb days and used it not knowing better. After the immediate hair loss i experienced, I decided to research this hormone. The following information stems from those efforts.
Dihydrotestosterone
Except for matters concerning hair loss, you really don’t hear much about DHT. Especially in the bodybuilding world. And for good reason. As an AAS, DHT just doesn’t get the job done. No fault of it’s own, though. As and AAS, it is much more anabolic and androgenic that testosterone, but this fact is neither here nor there, for reasons I will explain in a minute.
I say that DHT is more anabolic than testosterone because it has a 3-5 times greater affinity for binding to the androgen receptors than regular test. The problem is, is that very little DHT ever reaches muscle tissue and what little bit that does manage to find its way there is quickly deactivated by the 3a-HSD enzyme.
DHT is product of testosterone, which serves as a prohormone in this case. Approx. 5% of your testosterone is converted into DHT via the 5alpha reductase enzyme (5-AR). The 5-AR enzyme is found in heavy concentrations over the entire span of the body EXCEPT skeletal muscle, which is why DHT is a poor AAS for bodybuilding. And, the fact is, outside of muscle tissue, testosterone has very little effect on the rest of the body. Whereas testosterone is limited mainly to muscle and tissue, DHT is distributed to everything else – skin, brain, genitals, skeleton – in fact, the majority or the body, which makes DHT is the primary androgenic signal.
Effects of DHT
The two most commonly know side effects of DHT is hair loss and prostate enlargement. For whatever reason, DHT had the tendency to collect in the hair follicles, causing the disfunction to hair growth. And this is the reason steroids accelerate hair loss in those individuals prone to the condition. It only stands to reason that the more testosterone you have circulating, the more DHT that will be produced. The more DHT produced, the greater the probability of suffering hair loss.
DHT also serves as the primary factor in genital development during the embryonic stage. Having a 5-AR deficiency from birth will actually inhibit the development of the male genitalia, in which case, the baby is raised as a female. Also, a complete absence of DHT inhibits the development of both body and pubic hair, which effectively amplifies the femininity perspective.
There are actually regions in the world, most notably the Dominican Republic, that for some unknown reason, produce an unusually large number of children with 5-AR deficiencies. The reasons for this condition, other than heredity, are still a mystery to science and the societies resulting from the malady harbor a large number of females who are biological males.
DHT Blockers
DHT blockers such as Proscar work to inhibit the 5-AR enzyme needed to convert testosterone into DHT. If you are into bodybuilding, this should be highly discouraged for a couple of reasons. First being DHT’s significance as the dominant male androgen in your body. Decreasing the DHT volume would adversely effect the anabolic process produced by testosterone. Secondly, DHT plays a significant role in the management of estrogen production and control in the male body. Reducing DHT levels would cause an increase in estrogen levels thus increasing the risk of contracting gyno.
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