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.
