Hey!
Bros!
You wanna get huge!?
Maybe try bulking up without supplements, because those little muscle building pills
could increase your risk of developing testicular cancer.
Hey guys, Amy here for DNews bringing you weight lifters out there some news you might
not want to hear.
From fat burners to muscle-building protein powder, supplements are extremely common in
the fitness industry.
But a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer has found a link between certain
kinds of muscle supplements and an increase of testicular cancer.
Incidence of testicular cancer rose to 5.9 cases in 100,000 men in 2011 from 3.7 cases
in 100,000 men in 1975.
Researchers aren’t entirely sure why.
Testicular cancer is one of the lesser understood cancers in terms of causes.
Our current understand is that contributing factors include undescended testicles, a family
history of the disease, an HIV infection, race, ethnicity, and body size.
But there’s been some evidence linking muscle building supplements to the rise in this disease.
For this analytical study, the research team interviewed 900 men from Massachusetts and
Connecticut.
More than a third of these subjects had been diagnosed with testicular germ cell cancer
while the rest had not.
The researchers asked detailed questions about the mens’ supplement usage as well as other
common cancer-related factors like drinking, exercise habits, family history of the cancer,
and prior injury to their groin area.
The team focused on two common supplements.
The first was creatine, a nitrogenous acid that our bodies naturally produce that supplies
our cells, including muscle cells, with energy.
A creatine supplement, then, increases the body’s ability to work, promoting longer
and more explosive workouts, which will help you build more muscle.
That extra set of squats will only help your glutes.
The second compound the researchers looked at was androstenedione, a naturally occurring
hormone.
Alone, its effects are negligible, but it promotes the production of testoterone and
estrogen in other parts of the body, which as we know are responsible for our secondary
sex characteristics like hair growth, fat deposits, and facial features.
Taken as a supplement, androstenedione is, in essence, a steroid hormone that will promote
higher testosterone and estrogen production in the body.
It can help build muscle, but in it can also lead to shrinking testicles.
The researchers found that men who used supplements with creatine and androstenedione had a 65
percent higher risk of developing testicular cancer compared to men who didn’t take supplements.
And you don’t have to use a lot to see your risk increase.
The team defined "use" as consuming at least one supplement once a week for a month.
And the risks increase among men who take multiple supplements; they have a 177 percent
greater risk of developing testicular cancer.
Men who use supplements for three or more years had an increased risk of 256 percent.
And the risk was highest for men who started using supplements before the age of 25.
But to be clear, this study was analytic.
To find a hard link between supplements and testicular cancer scientists will need to
run more detailed studies and experiments.
So, you gym rats out there, will you be curbing your supplement usage or are you going to
wait for some harder evidence before taking the all natural approach to bodybuilding?
Let us know in the comments below or you can tell me on Twitter, I’m @astVintageSpace.
And don’t forget to subscribe for more DNews every day of the week.