Two double-blind human pharmacological studies have shown that stinging nettle root extract BAZ (1,200 mg/day) decreases levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), compared with placebo. Two studies on stinging nettle root extracts demonstrated conflicting results on its hormonal effects. One showed an increase in levels of testosterone, 5-alpha-dehydroxytestosterone, and estradiol over seven months of treatment. Conversely, a 9-week trial on the BAZ extract (600 mg/day) showed no difference in levels of testosterone, androstandiol, and acid phosphatase. Open uncontrolled clinical trials provide conflicting evidence on the effects of stinging nettle root extract on sex hormone, and more research is needed.

Insulin Signaling in Osteoblasts Integrates Bone Remodeling and Energy Metabolism

Osteocalcin acts as a hormone in the body, causing beta cells in the pancreas to release more insulin, and at the same time directing fat cells to release the hormone adiponectin, which increases sensitivity to insulin (R).

Caffeine, Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, Temperature Regulation,... : Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews

«Dietitians, exercise physiologists, athletic trainers, and other sports medicine personnel commonly recommend that exercising adults and athletes refrain from caffeine use because it is a diuretic, and it may exacerbate dehydration and hyperthermia. This review, contrary to popular beliefs, proposes that caffeine consumption does not result in the following: (a) water-electrolyte imbalances or hyperthermia and (b) reduced exercise-heat tolerance.»

Витамины и продолжительность жизни — Остановить старение человека

«Пожизненное употребление некоторых витаминов помогает предупредить рак, болезни сердца и увеличить продолжительность жизни человека»

2014 Regulation of male fertility by the bone-derived hormone osteocalcin

Osteocalcin acts on Leydig cells of the testis to stimulate testosterone biosynthesis and therefore affect male fertility (R).

2014 Recent Progress on Nutraceutical Research in Prostate Cancer

Experimental studies have revealed that lycopene could down-regulate the expression of Ras, NF-κB, cyclin D, p-Akt, and Bcl-2, and up-regulate the expression of p21, p27, p53, and Bax in PCa cells [74], demonstrating that lycopene modulates the signaling that controls cell growth and apoptotic cell death pathways. Lycopene also inhibited IGF-I signal transduction in normal prostate epithelial cells through down-regulation of DHT-stimulated IGF-1 production [75]. Lycopene also showed the inhibitory effects on AR signaling in PCa. One study showed that lycopene could inhibit the activity of AR gene element and the AR expression in a dose-dependent manner [76]. Consistent with AR inhibition, the suppression of PSA expression by lycopene was also observed, suggesting that dietary lycopene could have clinical impact in PCa.

2014 Dietary tomato and lycopene impact androgen signaling- and carcinogenesis-related gene expression during early TRAMP prostate carcinogenesis

Consumption of tomato products containing the carotenoid lycopene is associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer.

Expression of genes involved in androgen metabolism/signaling pathways are reduced by lycopene feeding (Srd5a1) and by tomato-feeding (Srd5a2, Pxn, and Srebf1). Additionally, tomato-feeding significantly reduced expression of genes associated with stem cell features, Aldh1a and Ly6a, while lycopene-feeding significantly reduced expression of neuroendocrine differentiation-related genes, Ngfr and Syp. Collectively, these studies demonstrate a profile of testosterone-regulated genes associated with early stages of prostate carcinogenesis that are potential mechanistic targets of dietary tomato components.

2015 The histological and histometrical effects of Urtica dioica extract on rat’s prostate hyperplasia

Serum testosterone levels were more significant in the nettle root extract and testosterone plus nettle groups than other groups. The change of testosterone serum levels confirmed the nettle root extract effects. These results confirmed Chrubasik et al.26 They showed that the nettle root extract blocked 5α–reductase enzyme activity and prevented the conversion of testosterone to dihydro-testosterone (DHT). Therefore, the serum testosterone level was increased by nettle, thus blood DHT levels were decreased and cell proliferation in the prostate tissue was reduced subsequently. Results of present study showed that nettle had similar effect of finasteride which is used for treatment of prostatic hyperplasia widely.

2015 A Phase II Randomized Trial Of Lycopene-Rich Tomato Extract Among Men With High-Grade Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia

Participants consumed placebo or tomato extract capsules containing 30 mg/day lycopene.

Results
58 men completed the trial. Serum lycopene increased 0.55 μmol/L with treatment and declined 0.29 μmol/L with placebo. We observed no meaningful differences in PSA, IGF-1 or IGFBP3 concentration between groups, nor any differences in expression of MCM-2 or p27 in epithelial nuclei. Prevalences of cancer, HGPIN, atrophy or inflammation post-treatment were similar; however, more extensive atrophy and less extensive HGPIN was more common in the lycopene group.

2016 Osteocalcin signaling in myofibers is necessary and sufficient for optimum adaptation to exercise

«The growing number of functions ascribed to osteocalcin (Karsenty and Olson, 2016) raises the question of whether the circulating levels of this hormone change in various physiological situations. This analysis revealed that a single bout of endurance aerobic-based exercise (40 minutes run on a treadmill at 30cm/s, 80% VO₂ max, thereafter referred to as exercise) increased circulating osteocalcin levels of total and undercarboxylated and bioactive two-fold in 3 month-old wild-type (WT) mice while at same time the circulating levels of insulin decreased. This increase in the circulating levels of bioactive osteocalcin was due in part to an increase in bone resorption, the arm of bone remodeling that is responsible of osteocalcin decarboxylation and activation (Ferron et al., 2010) (Figure 1A–C). Circulating osteocalcin levels also significantly increased in young women after a 45 minute-long exercise (Figure 1D).»

2002 Inhibition of aromatase activity by green tea extract catechins and their endocrinological effects of oral administration in rats.

Food Chem Toxicol. 2002 Jul;40(7):925-33.

2006 Challenging sleep in aging: the effects of 200 mg of caffeine during the evening in young and middle-aged moderate caffeine consumers.

«The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 200-mg administration of caffeine on polysomnographic sleep variables and quantitative sleep electroencephalography (EEG) in 12 young (20-30 years) and 12 middle-aged (40-60 years) moderate caffeine consumers (one to three cups of coffee per day). All subjects were submitted to both a caffeine (200 mg) and placebo (lactose) condition in a double-blind cross-over design. The conditions were separated by 1 week. Compared with the placebo condition, the evening ingestion of caffeine lengthened sleep latency, reduced sleep efficiency, and decreased sleep duration and amount of stage 2 sleep in both age groups. Caffeine also reduced spectral power in delta frequencies in frontal, central and parietal brain areas, but not in prefrontal (PF) and occipital regions. Moreover, caffeine increased spectral power in beta frequencies in frontal and central brain areas in both age groups. A suppression of spectral power in the PF area in low delta frequencies (0.5-1.00 Hz) and a rise in spectral power in the parietal region in high alpha (10.00-12.00 Hz) and beta frequencies (17.00-21.00, 23.00-25.00, 27.00-29.00 Hz) occurred solely in middle-aged subjects. No such changes were noticeable in young subjects. Generally, caffeine produced similar effects in young and middle-aged subjects. Only a few frequency bins showed more effects of caffeine in middle-aged subjects compared with young subjects. Furthermore, sleep EEG results do not entirely support the hypothesis that caffeine fully mimics the effects of a reduction of homeostatic sleep propensity when following a normal sleep-wake cycle.»

2006 Serum testosterone is reduced following short-term phytofluene, lycopene, or tomato powder consumption in F344 rats.

Sham-operated rats provided with either phytofluene, lycopene, or tomato powder had approximately 40-50% lower serum testosterone concentration than the sham-operated, control-fed group. Tissue and serum phytofluene and lycopene concentration were greater in castrated rats than in sham-operated rats, which may have been due in part to a decrease of hepatic CYP 3A1 mRNA expression and benzyloxyresorufin-O-dealkylase activity.

Keywords: 17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases;Animals;Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases;Carotenoids;Cytochrome P-450 CYP2B1;Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A;Dihydrotestosterone;Fatty Acid Binding Protein 3;Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins;Male;PPAR gamma;Prostate;RNA, Messenger;Rats;Rats, Inbred F344;Testis;Testosterone

2007 A comprehensive review on the stinging nettle effect and efficacy profiles. Part II: urticae radix.

. In open uncontrolled studies, findings on nettle extract induced changes on serum sex
hormone (SHBG, DHT, testosterone, prolactin) were not uniform, suggesting that estradiol and estron rather than DHT and testosterone are involved in the mechanism of the nettle root effect. The extracts investigated included up to 1200 mg BAZ/day

Keywords: Animals;Humans;Male;Phytotherapy;Plant Extracts;Plant Roots;Prostatic Hyperplasia;Urtica dioica

2008 Lycopene inhibits IGF-I signal transduction and growth in normal prostate epithelial cells by decreasing DHT-modulated IGF-I production in co-cultu...

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) stimulates insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) production.

Lycopene consumption is inversely related to human prostate cancer risk and inhibits IGF-I and androgen signaling in rat prostate cancer. In this study, lycopene, in dietary concentration, reversed DHT effects of 6S cells on NPE cell death, decreased 6S cell IGF-I production by reducing AR and beta-catenin nuclear localization and inhibited IGF-I-stimulated NPE and PREC growth, perhaps by attenuating IGF-I's effects on serine phosphorylation of Akt and GSK3beta and tyrosine phosphorylation of GSK3. T

Keywords: Adult;Carotenoids;Cell Division;Cells, Cultured;Coculture Techniques;Epithelial Cells;Humans;Insulin-Like Growth Factor I;Male;Prostate;Prostatic Neoplasms;Signal Transduction;Stromal Cells;Tumor Cells, Cultured

2010 Effect of lycopene on androgen receptor and prostate-specific antigen velocity.

The addition of 0.5 micromol/L, 5 micromol/L, 10 micromol/L and 15 micromol/L of lycopene was shown to inhibit cell growth by 2.66%, 4.29%, 3.73% and 13.66%, respectively, compared with the THF solvent control samples (P=0.015). As compared with the RPMI1640 medium group, cell proliferation in the presence of 5 micromol/L, 10 micromol/L, and 15 micromol/L lycopene was inhibited by 8.12%, 6.33% and 12.00%, respectively (P=0.024). We showed for the first time that lycopene inhibited the activity of the androgen receptor gene element in a dose-related manner. Inhibition was seen in the transcription of the luciferase construct and confirmed by androgen receptor element expression assayed by Western blotting. Regression slopes of (log) PSA vs. time decreased in 26/37 (70%, 95%CI 53%-84%) of the patients after supplementation and in eight cases (21%) the post-treatment slope was negative. For these eight patients, the average fall in PSA was equivalent to 2% over 28 days (i.e. an average slope/d of -0.000713). The Wilcoxon rank-sum test showed an overall statistically significant decrease in slope (P=0.0007). Analysis of the PSA doubling time (pretreatment vs. posttreatment) showed a median increase after supplementation for 174 days; however, this was not statistically significant (P=0.18).

Keywords: Aged;Aged, 80 and over;Antioxidant;Blotting, Western;Carotenoids;Cell Line, Tumor;Dietary Supplements;Furans;Gene Expression Regulation;Humans;Male;Microscopy, Fluorescence;Middle Aged;Pilot Projects;Prostate-Specific Antigen;Prostatic Neoplasms;Receptors, Androgen

2010 Anabolic processes in human skeletal muscle: restoring the identities of growth hormone and testosterone.

«Testosterone supplementation acts via numerous mechanisms as a highly potent anabolic agent to skeletal muscle. Although growth hormone (GH) strongly affects collagen synthesis and lipolysis, as well as increasing lean body mass, it is not anabolic toward the contractile (ie, myofibrillar) muscle tissue in healthy individuals. However, there is a persistent belief (both in scientific literature and among recreational weightlifters) that exercise-induced release of GH and testosterone underpins muscular hypertrophy with resistance training. This is a premature assumption because although pharmacological GH supplementation can increase muscle strength or size in individuals with clinical GH deficiency, there is no evidence that transient exercise-induced changes in GH have the same effects in individuals with normal GH levels. Exercise paradigms are designed based on the assumption (not necessarily evidenced-based mechanisms) that GH and testosterone facilitate anabolic processes that lead to skeletal muscle protein accretion and hypertrophy. Our recent work disputes this assumption. Instead, our data indicate that exercise-induced hormonal elevations do not enhance intracellular markers of anabolic signaling or the acute postexercise elevation of myofibrillar protein synthesis. Furthermore, data from our training study demonstrate that exercise-induced increases in GH and testosterone availability are not necessary for and do not enhance strength and hypertrophy adaptations. Instead, our data lead us to conclude that local mechanisms that are intrinsic to the skeletal muscle tissue performing the resistive contractions (ie, weightlifting) are predominant in stimulating anabolism. The purpose of this article is 1) to provide a brief overview of the mechanisms of action of testosterone and GH; 2) to discuss the inability of physiological exercise-induced elevations in these hormone to have a measurable impact on skeletal muscle anabolism; and 3) to describe factors that we believe are more important for stimulating hypertrophy in human skeletal muscle. Clarifying both the role of hormone in regulating muscle mass as well as the underlying basis for adaptation of skeletal muscle to resistance exercise will hopefully enhance and support the prescription of resistance exercise as an integral component of a healthy lifestyle.»

2011 Ameliorative effects of curcumin on the spermatozoon tail length, count, motility and testosterone serum level in metronidazole-treated mice.

«Metronidazole (MTZ) is used as an antiparasitic drug. Curcumin is considered as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. The ameliorative effects of curcumin on MTZ induced toxicity on mice spermatozoon tail length, count, motility and testosterone level were investigated. MTZ was administered in 500 and 165 (high and therapeutic doses) mg/kg/day, with and without curcumin (100 mg/kg/day). After 16 days the above parameters were assessed. Spermatozoon count and motility and serum testosterone level MTZ-treated (500 and 165) mice were reduced. In the mice treated with MTZ+curcumin these parameters decreased but in a lesser extent than the MTZ-treated animals. Mid-piece and total lengths of the spermatozoon tail in control animals were 31.6 ± 9.0 μm and 100.3 ± 15.0 μm and in the mice treated with high doses (500) of MTZ were reduced. The mid-piece and total spermatozoon tail length has been decreased in a lesser extent in the mice treated with high dose MTZ+curcumin than the mice treated with high dose MTZ (p<0.01). But the length was not changed in animals treated with therapeutic dose of MTZ. It means curcumin treated animals had ~52% and ~39% average increase in mid-piece and total lengths in comparison with the MTZ-treated (500) animals. Stereological estimation of the sperm tail length, including sampling of spermatozoa and also counting of the intersections of their tails with the stereological grids was a rapid technique and took only 5-10 minutes. It can be concluded that curcumin has an ameliorative effect on the spermatozoon, testosterone level and tail length in MTZ-treated mice.»

2012 Effect of different doses of metformin on serum testosterone and insulin in non-diabetic women with breast cancer: a randomized study.

A total of 96 women completed the study: 43 women received 1500 mg/d, and 53 women received 1000 mg/d. The women who took 1500 mg/d showed a significant reduction of insulin level, HOMA-IR index (homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index), testosterone level, and free androgen index compared with women treated with 1000 mg/d. After treatment with 1500 mg/d, the insulin level decreased by 25% and the testosterone level decreased by 23%.

2013 Regulation of male fertility by the bone-derived hormone osteocalcin.

Osteocalcin acts on Leydig cells of the testis to stimulate testosterone biosynthesis and therefore affect male fertility (R).

Keywords: Animals;Bone and Bones;Fertility;Hormone;Humans;Male;Osteocalcin;Reproduction;Testosterone

2015 The evaluation of inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers on coffee-diabetes association: results from the 10-year follow-up of the ATTICA Stu...

«During follow-up, 191 incident cases of diabetes were documented (incidence 13.4% in men and 12.4% in women). After various adjustments, individuals who consumed ⩾250 ml of coffee (≈1.5cup) had 54% lower odds of developing diabetes (95% confidence interval: 0.24, 0.90), as compared with abstainers. A dose-response linear trend between coffee drinking and diabetes incidence was also observed (P for trend=0.017). When controlling for several oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers, the inverse association between habitual coffee drinking and diabetes was found to be mediated by serum amyloid-A levels.»

«This work highlights the significance of long-term habitual coffee drinking against diabetes onset. The anti-inflammatory effect of several coffee components may be responsible for this protection.»

«Caffeine has been also found to stimulate pancreatic
insulin secretion and CGA is believed to act as a potent inhibitor of
glucose-6-phosphatase, which releases glucose to circulation, and, when abnormal, disturbs normoglycaemia. Both caffeine and CGA
decrease glucose gastric absorption, modulating GIP and GLP-1 secretion.»

«CGA has been shown to inhibit the activation of NF-κb in cultured cells.»

2017 Calcium and vitamin D in human health: Hype or real?

Vitamin D is essential for gastrointestinal calcium absorption, mineralization of osteoid tissue and maintenance of serum ionized calcium level

2018 The Association between Vitamin D Deficiency and Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

«Epidemiology studies have investigated the association between vitamin D and the risk of sleep disorders, but the results remain controversial. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis with the goal of clarifying the association between vitamin D and sleep disorders risk. All relevant studies were searched using PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from inception to January 2018. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) were calculated using a fixed-effect model A total of nine studies (6 cross-sectional, 2 case-control, and 1 cohort studies) involving 9397 participants were included. By comparing the lowest verse highest levels of serum vitamin D, we found that participants with vitamin D deficiency (VDD) had a significantly increased risk of sleep disorders (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.31, 1.72). Subgroup analysis showed that VDD also was associated with poor sleep quality (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.05), short sleep duration (OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.30, 2.32), and sleepiness (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.65). Subgroup analyses further indicated that serum 25(OH)D <20 ng/mL could significantly increase the risk of unhealthy sleep. This meta-analysis suggest that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher risk of sleep disorders. More high-quality cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to verify this association.»

2018 Metformin inhibits mitochondrial adaptations to aerobic exercise training in older adults.

«Metformin and exercise independently improve insulin sensitivity and decrease the risk of diabetes. Metformin was also recently proposed as a potential therapy to slow aging. However, recent evidence indicates that adding metformin to exercise antagonizes the exercise-induced improvement in insulin sensitivity and cardiorespiratory fitness. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that metformin diminishes the improvement in insulin sensitivity and cardiorespiratory fitness after aerobic exercise training (AET) by inhibiting skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration and protein synthesis in older adults (62 ± 1 years). In a double-blinded fashion, participants were randomized to placebo (n = 26) or metformin (n = 27) treatment during 12 weeks of AET. Independent of treatment, AET decreased fat mass, HbA1c, fasting plasma insulin, 24-hr ambulant mean glucose, and glycemic variability. However, metformin attenuated the increase in whole-body insulin sensitivity and VO₂ max after AET. In the metformin group, there was no overall change in whole-body insulin sensitivity after AET due to positive and negative responders. Metformin also abrogated the exercise-mediated increase in skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration. The change in whole-body insulin sensitivity was correlated to the change in mitochondrial respiration. Mitochondrial protein synthesis rates assessed during AET were not different between treatments. The influence of metformin on AET-induced improvements in physiological function was highly variable and associated with the effect of metformin on the mitochondria. These data suggest that prior to prescribing metformin to slow aging, additional studies are needed to understand the mechanisms that elicit positive and negative responses to metformin with and without exercise.»

All About Testosterone - Selfhacked

Testosterone is the male sex hormone. It serves a variety of functions in the body in both males and females.

Avoid These 3 Things & Boost Low Testosterone - YouTube

«Lower Estrogen Nutrient: https://shop.drberg.com/estrogen-bala... This can be used for men and women. Take Dr. Berg's Advanced Evaluation Quiz: https://shop.drberg.com/estrogen-bala... ...»