1-androsterone is a chemical that is found in the body and may be changed to other chemicals, such as testosterone. It’s not known how safe or unsafe 1-androsterone is for your health. There are concerns it may cause side effects similar to those caused by other “muscle-building” hormones.
The US is the most fluid market for this type of product and they will likely not be available anywhere else, legally or not.
This article is intended for people looking to get some information and perhaps a direction to go thereafter.
Content Table
Introduction to 1-Andro
Also Known as 1-Andro, this is a precursor to 1-Testosterone. It is currently being sold on the US market as a preprohormone due to its 2-step conversion to 1-Testosterone.
1-Testosterone is the prohormone to Testosterone.
The idea behind the preprohormone is to get around the sticky legal problem of manufacturing a prohormone (made illegal now under the 2004 Anabolic Steroid Control Act) by creating something which is itself removed.
It’s currently legal in 2016, we will have to wait and see whether its status changes!
NOTE: when we talk about the US market and FDA, the information can still be used by people from many different countries.
Who Is 1-Andro Intended For?
The people who will use 1-Andro (1-DHEA) is the INTERMEDIATE group. Not beginners, but not hardcore yet.
Serious amateurs and professionals use steroids and other hormone like products. If you’re already into ‘roids, SARMs and/or prohormones then a preprohormone like this is not going to light your fire. Personally I would use OstaBulk instead!
(…unless you are in an off-season light cycle or otherwise taking a break from steroids)
The beginner, on the other hand, needs to get through a whole bunch of excellent supplements and more serious workouts before their gains will plateau.
Noobs out there…start with Creatine, Protein, Beta Alanine, Betaine, Phosphatidic acid, Natural GH and Test Boosters etc. and go from there.
Intermediates may have reached their first or second plateau and want something other than a training boost or diet change to kick things back into gear.
1 Andro is what some of them will be looking at…
Some background on the matter
A steroid known as Boldenone converts to dihydroboldenone (aka 1-Testosterone) when it reacts with the enzyme 5AR (5 Alpha Reductase).
This is a lot like the way Testosterone converts to DHT (dihydrotestoterone).
The big difference is that 1-Testosterone does not aromatize (convert) to estrogen, where Testosterone does.
Estrogenic side effects like gynecomastia and water retention are examples of the major drawback of testosterone and other similar structured steroids.
Even our own natural testosterone converts a little to estrogen.
That’s the advantage of the prohormone 1-Testosterone: minimal estrogenic feedback effects.
Also, with less conversion to DHT, acne and baldness are less of a concern, though it is still highly androgenic so there will be some of those side effects for the predispose individual.
1-Testosterone had benefits but also side effects, such as extreme tiredness and potential loss of sex drive.
All of this is moot in a way as it was banned alongside most other primary prohormones.
Then came 1-Testosterone’s Precursor 1-AD (1Androstenediol)
We’re not quite on to 1-Andro yet so hang in there.
Confusingly the 1-AD in the product 1-AD from Hi Tech Pharmaceuticals is indeed 1-Andro…NOT, 1-Androstenediol.
The latter is a 1-step conversion to 1-Testosterone (the prohormone discussed above). In this way it was one of the earlier preprohormones.
1-Androstenediol suffered the same fate as the prohormone group by way of the 2004 Anabolic Steroids Control Act courtesy of the FDA.
Enter 1-Andro
Finally, we get to the point.
With 1-Testosterone and 1-Androstenediol out of the picture (in a legal sense), the next logical step is, in fact, what has materialized.
It seems the closer you are to a full bore anabolic steroid – in terms of biochemical steps in the body – the shakier the legal ground.
That’s why the newest preprohormone to be flogged on the market is 2 steps away from 1-Testosterone.
Remembering of course that 1-Testosterone is itself the precursor to Testosterone, that’s quite a few steps.
Nonetheless, the only study (as of 2016) involving men using 1-Andro, is highly promising.
The Major Problem
The US legal status of anabolic steroids means they are very under-studied for the purposes of bodybuilding in particular.
The same can be said for prohormones. And any product like 1-Andro – a pre-prohormone – is likely to be taken off the market before it can get any real scientific traction.
This is problematic for potential users because they won’t get a proper perspective on the benefits or the negatives without controlled human studies.
Furthermore, optimal dosage is only really discovered through repetitive trials (that’s why we know pretty darn well how much creatine, caffeine and protein should be taken).
This is an issue pervasive across the supplement industry. Lack of sports-applied research means that we may have a promising ingredient, but not enough knowledge of how to apply it.
1-Androsterone – Bottom Line
The chemical form of the hormone is known as a prohormone, which are converted to other chemicals in your body. These types of hormones include testosterone and estrogen.
There are Potential Side Effects
There are concerns that this steroid may cause serious side effects similar to those caused by other “muscle-building” hormones such as decreased sperm count, problems with fertility, enlarged prostate, bladder cancer or liver damage.
There’s also concern it might increase cholesterol levels leading to heart disease (heart attack). Some men who use steroids become violent or aggressive.
They can even develop mania where they feel like they have superhuman strength or are invincible. This has led them into dangerous situations involving fights or car accidents while driving under the influence of these drugs!
