Medical

Distrust

• The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness.
  -  Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet (top 5 most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals in the world), worked in various roles at the World Health Organization, highly decorated in awards
• It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as editor of The New England Journal of Medicine.
  -  Dr. Marcia Angell, physician and longtime editor-in-chief of the New England Medical Journal (NEMJ) (top 5 most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals in the world)
• The medical profession is being bought by the pharmaceutical industry, not only in terms of the practice of medicine, but also in terms of teaching and research. The academic institutions of this country are allowing themselves to be the paid agents of the pharmaceutical industry. I think it’s disgraceful.
  - Professor Arnold Relman, editor-in-chief of the New England Medical Journal (NEMJ) (top 5 most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals in the world), and Harvard professor of Medicine

Hormonal

• Gonad / reproductive gland:
  • For males: testicles
  • For females: ovaries

Hormones: Women

• Women that are not ovulating (e.g. when they are on hormonal birth control) prefer less masculine men (facial structure, facial hair, voice deepness), compared to when they are ovulating. Men prefer women that are ovulating.
  • - Study Alvergne, Alexandra, and Virpi Lummaa. “Does the contraceptive pill alter mate choice in humans?.” Trends in ecology & evolution vol. 25,3 (2010): 171-9. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2009.08.003
  • Consider that said ovulation is prevented by hormonal birth control (which ~14% of American women use).
• Tampons contain lead, arsenic, cadmium, and other toxic metals, which presumably are absorbed by the vagina’s highly absorptive tissue, resulting in systemic exposure. Of the women and girls that menstruate, the majority use tampons to absorb menstrual blood, thus many people are affected. Of the different tampons that were tested (n=60), none had consistently lower concentrations of all or most metals, thus there are no safe tampons. Thus, I presume that menstrual-pads would reduce this threat.
  • - Study Shearston, Jenni A et al. “Tampons as a source of exposure to metal(loid)s.” Environment international vol. 190 (2024): 108849. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2024.108849

Hormones: Men

• Hormones:
  • Testosterone
    • 👍 Male musculoskeletal development
    • 👍 Spermatogenesis & fertility
    • 👍 Voice deepening
    • 👍 Increased sex drive & erections
    • Testosterone Administration Induces A Red Shift in Weakly Affiliated Democrats (and improved mood)
    • 💩 Increased sebum production & acne
  • DHT
    • 👍 2 to 10 times better agonist of the androgen receptor (AR), which is responsible for musculoskeletal growth, compared to testosterone
    • 👍 Phallus length
    • 🪒 Facial, axillary, pubic, & body hair growth
    • 💩 Prostate enlargement & prostate cancer risk
    • 💩 Scalp temporal recession & pattern hair loss
    • 💩 Probably enhanced sebum production
  • Gonadotropins: Hormones secreted by the brain's pituitary's front.
    • LH/ICSH: For testosterone production
    • FSH: For spermatogenesis (sperm production)
    • hCG: Mimics LH
• Declines
  • It's Not Just Sperm Quality Declining: Including rebuttals to claims that testosterone isn't decreasing
    • Sperm quality is declining
    • Self-rated masculinity is declining
    • Maaaybe hand grip strength is declining
    • Testicular cancer is increasing
    • And of course, male social power compared to women is on the decline
    and an addendum
  • Study: Testosterone levels in young American males are decreasing with each generation
  • American male testosterone levels, at least since the 198Xs, have been dropping at a rate of 1% per year "that does not appear to be attributable to observed changes in explanatory factors, including health and lifestyle characteristics such as smoking and obesity".
    • - Study Travison, Thomas G et al. “A population-level decline in serum testosterone levels in American men.” The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism vol. 92,1 (2007): 196-202. doi:10.1210/jc.2006-1375 (n=1532)
• Anabolic family tree

Things to possibly avoid

• Micro-plastics
  • Report of a way to use ultrasound waves to remove microplastics from water
• PFAS chemicals
  • Trojan condoms contain 'forever chemicals,' lawsuit claims
• Iron overload can increase SHBG which binds to testosterone causing lower free-testosterone (free-testosterone is what builds muscle)
• Soy (uncertain)
  • Researchers in Japan use soybean compound to make catfish 100% female
  • Neither soy nor isoflavone intake affects male reproductive hormones: An expanded and updated meta-analysis of clinical studies
  • Clinical studies show no effects of soy protein or isoflavones on reproductive hormones in men: results of a meta-analysis
•  

  Consumables containing many phytoestrogens

  Consumable	Phytoestrogen Content (μg / 100g wet)
  Instant coffee caffeinated	1833
  Brazil nuts	887
  Instant coffee decaffeinated	647
  Pumpkin seeds	539
  Peanuts	427

  - Study Kuhnle, Gunter G C et al. “Phytoestrogen content of beverages, nuts, seeds, and oils.” Journal of agricultural and food chemistry vol. 56,16 (2008): 7311-5. doi:10.1021/jf801534g

Things to possibly seek

• Garlic
  • Rana, Md Masud et al. “S-allyl Cysteine Enhances Testosterone Production in Mice and Mouse Testis-Derived I-10 Cells.” Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 26,6 1697. 18 Mar. 2021, doi:10.3390/molecules26061697
• Ashwagandha Extract
• Tongkat ali
• Fadogia Agrestis Extract
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16281088/
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35969364/
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18023305/
  • However, it is slightly toxic to normal testicular function, so if using this then cycle it.
    • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18023305/
    • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874107005296
    • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19755438/
• Deer antler velvet extract as legal IGF-1 booster
  • https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/health-facts-deer-antler-velvet.html
  • Though I have a friend of a friend with anecdotal experience claiming their efficacy, many studies find none.
• Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) agonists
  • Turkesterone
  • Ecdysterone
    • Turkesterone is preferred over this, due to higher potency.
• Onions
  • Onions have significant quantities of the molecule "Quercetin", which is a "5-Alpha Reductase inhibitor" (i.e. an inhibitor of enzyme "5-Alpha Reductase"). Said enzyme, "5α Reductase", converts Testosterone to DiHydroTestosterone/DHT/androstanolone/stanolone.
    Thus, onions increase testosterone but reduce DHT, by preventing the former from converting into the latter.
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatase_inhibitor#Natural_aromatase_inhibitors
      • which sources https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074486/
        which sources onions from:
        • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11739882
        • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2098524
    
    
  • Quercetin can also be purchased in pill form, rather than obtained through onion consumption (onions cause bad breath).
  • Meta-Analysis: There is evidence that onions enhance testosterone level in males. Note that the only human study that directly link between onion & testosterone reveal a positive effect of onion extracts on testosterone.
  • Quercetin is a "5-alpha reductase" inhibitor
    • Source 1: Youngrong Park, Yong-ung Kim, and Jaehong Han. Synthesis and Rat Prostate 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitions of Methylated Quercetin Derivatives 2014
    • Source 2: Azizi A, Mumin NH, Shafqat N. Phytochemicals With Anti 5-alpha-reductase Activity: A Prospective For Prostate Cancer Treatment. F1000Res. 2021 Jul 6;10:221. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.51066.3. PMCID: PMC8276191.
  • Rat study Khaki, A et al. “Evaluation of androgenic activity of allium cepa on spermatogenesis in the rat.” Folia morphologica vol. 68,1 (2009): 45-51. found it increases testosterone and luteinizing hormone "LH", but no change to follicle-stimulating hormone "FSH".
  • Rat study

    Jamshid Ghiasi Ghalehkandi, Ahmad Asghari, Rahim Beheshti, Mohammadreza Valilu and Abdolreaz Yeghaneh, 2012. Effect of Onion (Allium cepa. Linn) Aqueous Extract on Serum Concentration of LH, FSH and Testosterone Compared with Zinc Sulfate Supplementation in the Rats. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 11: 3346-3349.

    
    

    Ghalehkandi, Jamshid & Sadaghian, Mohammad & Ghaemmaghami, Saeid & R, DIYANAT. (2014). EFFECTS OF ONION (ALLIUM CEPA. LINN) JUICE ON SERUM VALUES OF TOTAL PROTEIN, ALBUMIN AND GLOBULIN COMPARED WITH ZINC SULFATE IN MALE RATS. International Journal of Biology, Pharmacy and Allied Sciences 2277-4998. 3. 661-671.

    doi:10.3923/javaa.2012.3346.3349 found it increases both LH and FSH, but not testosterone.
  • Rat study Khaki, Arash et al. “Treatment Effects of Onion (Allium cepa) and Ginger (Zingiber officinale) on Sexual Behavior of Rat after Inducing an Antiepileptic Drug (lamotrigine).” Balkan medical journal vol. 29,3 (2012): 236-42. doi:10.5152/balkanmedj.2012.045 found it increases testosterone.