The only reason the supplement industry is booming is because of the lack of accessibility to performance-enhancing meds. The reasons for reduced accessibility: prescription only; lack of educated docs to prescribe; docs focusing on diseases rather than prevention; lack of research accepted by the USA medical establishment (docs, pharmaceutical companies, government). Interestingly, price is in favor of the meds. Pound for pound, Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) is much cheaper than pro-hormones. I will grant the fact that there are some supplements that actually work, but there is probably a prescription med that does the same thing at lower cost.
Now, we have people on the boards that either own or represent interests in companies that produce supplements. It is obvious that the reasons they post at all is to educate the public and encourage the purchase of their products. Then, you have the vets/mods that bring experience to the table. Because of a lack of "bonafide" research, we need to examine the vets/mod's anecdotal evidence (experience). Many have tried the supplements and many have tried meds. It is their writings that also educate us and help us choose our paths. Lastly, you have people like myself with experience and basic medical science knowledge (biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, pathology). All of us try to put medical science together with anecdotal evidence to try to advise the BB'er on how to proceed with enhancement programs safely and efficiently.
One thing that I have noticed over the years is a lack of agreement on many issues. This brings me to the all-important variables--lack of basic medical knowledge and genetics. The 'ol "what works for me should work for you" isn't always true because of variable genetics. We, as a group, try to establish safe and efficient guidelines for all (goal setting; blood testing; cycle planning; obtaining legitimate, high quality meds; execution and tweaking of the cycles). Because of genetic variables, tweaking must be done. But, we must always remember certain medical facts (like all Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) suppresses the HPTA; testosterone is converted to estrogen; nandrolones can elevate prolactin levels; etc.) We must always keep these facts in mind, for the bottom line is our health and safety.
Now, we have people on the boards that either own or represent interests in companies that produce supplements. It is obvious that the reasons they post at all is to educate the public and encourage the purchase of their products. Then, you have the vets/mods that bring experience to the table. Because of a lack of "bonafide" research, we need to examine the vets/mod's anecdotal evidence (experience). Many have tried the supplements and many have tried meds. It is their writings that also educate us and help us choose our paths. Lastly, you have people like myself with experience and basic medical science knowledge (biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, pathology). All of us try to put medical science together with anecdotal evidence to try to advise the BB'er on how to proceed with enhancement programs safely and efficiently.
One thing that I have noticed over the years is a lack of agreement on many issues. This brings me to the all-important variables--lack of basic medical knowledge and genetics. The 'ol "what works for me should work for you" isn't always true because of variable genetics. We, as a group, try to establish safe and efficient guidelines for all (goal setting; blood testing; cycle planning; obtaining legitimate, high quality meds; execution and tweaking of the cycles). Because of genetic variables, tweaking must be done. But, we must always remember certain medical facts (like all Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) suppresses the HPTA; testosterone is converted to estrogen; nandrolones can elevate prolactin levels; etc.) We must always keep these facts in mind, for the bottom line is our health and safety.
