2189 replies to this topic

[niner]

Beachbum,

Can you elaborate on "truly amazing results"?

And for the sake of full disclosure, do you have any connection to the websites that you mention here? From your earlier posts, I've gotten the impression that those sites are yours.

[Quattro64]

I've been doing some research on this topic of bioavailability and googled Cycloastraginol, There was a study by TA Sciences that took test subjects and measured their telomeres and they concluded that TA65 was somewhat effective. TA65 is 5mg of cycloastragenol plus some trace amount of AS4. It seems that those that took more per day say 20-30mg had better results. So the question this raised to me was how much better could astral fruit be if the survivability of the molecule could be improved? Or, Could going back to a AS4 based version with bioperine/chitosan be better as it is aparently more capable of surviving the stomach? But AS4 has its limitations too, it apparently has a threshold amount of absorption after which may actually reverse the telomere activation. I'm sure it would be expensive but how much would a supplement which included the daily 20-30 mg of CAG cost?

Q

[medievil]

Since revgenetics doesnt sell it for a while, can anyone provide me with a link for a worthwhile extract?

Thx

[hamishm00]

Yeah, didn't get a lot of notice that supply would suddenly shut off! Argh.

Looking forward to the new product though, should be interesting.

[Vic-Health]

Anyone know of any economical sources for telomerase activators? (not TA-65 which is not economical nor available that I know of without entering into their protocol paid lab rat situation) To me these have the potential to put Resveratrol to shame with regards to extending lifespan.

Currently I take Astragalus standardized to 4% isoflavones at about a gram a day (though I have no idea how much astragalosides are in this I take it because it is cost effective) Also I take 500 mg of another product Natures Way standardized to 0.5% astragalosides. Alternatively you could get Gaia's product also standardized to 0.5% astragalosides. But both of these have so little astragalosides in them that in order to get 40-50 mg which I read somewhere was effective one would have to take a lot. There are also products standardized to 70% polysaccharides, which from what I have read would include some astragalosides. The whole issue is kind of muddy to me, any clarity would be appreciated.

I use 10:1 astragalus extract and raw astragalus and have gotten truly amazing results with it. I recommend the 10:1 extract, because it is an extract that is made by extracting the astragalus root with alcohol/water and evaporating it to produce a concentrate. 10kg of astragalus are used to make 1kg of concentrate. This type of concentrate contains all the components of natural astragalus, whereas "standardized" concentrates have the composition modified with some constituents reduced or removed in order to produce a concentrate having the specified amount of the target substance. Since it is not entirely clear which substances in natural astragalus are responsible for its beneficial effects or how they interrelate, and raw astragalus contains several compounds known to be telomerase activators, the safer bet is to use an extract that contains all of the constituents of natural astragalus. A discussion of this can be found at http://vidainstitute...php/astragalus.

An economical source of both astragalus extract and raw astragalus is http://astragalus-source.com.

You're promoting your own sites and should disclose such. Post 1259 promoting those two sites you've duplicated verbatim on curezone. In addition 'vida' was just registered in January and that "other" site was just put up a week or two before your post. Also, vida site is advertising the other site, so they're obviously connected. It wouldn't be that big of a deal except you're making claims both here and on curezone of "amazing results".

Beachbum, It takes two full days to read this thread from it's beginnings in 2008 to now. People doing so are trying to learn and get a grasp of a lot of info, and many feel their lives are at stake. Nobody has time for potential false claims by salespeople who don't disclose that they are such.

[hav]

Beachbum, It takes two full days to read this thread from it's beginnings in 2008 to now. People doing so are trying to learn and get a grasp of a lot of info, and many feel their lives are at stake. Nobody has time for potential false claims by salespeople who don't disclose that they are such.

Beachbum's other thread gave me the impression that the Vida site was his and has a little more detail on his "amazing results". Actually, I stumbled onto the very interesting Vida site first and its links and quotes lead me to this thread. Though I felt I had to read this entire thread to put those quotes into proper perspective.

But as for the other site, being an ordinary US consumer myself, I'm not sure I'm up to ordering from Cambodia. In particular, the proviso on their policies page, "Astragalus-source.com is not responsible if a product shipment is detained or confiscated for any reason by any governmental entity or other entity"... just a little more mail-order risk than I'm used to. Perhaps I'll wait till this vendor shows up on Amazon.

Howard

[missminni]

Thanks for the clarification, Niner. I understood the thrust of it all but your posts are particularly dense with references that are very hard to find. I have no background in your area of expertise. Thanks again.
Here is my question: I am currently going the astragalus root and root extract (with half a gram of chitosan) route because I see tangible results from this. A knuckle on my finger that was swollen and painful for a year went to normal after 2 weeks of this routine. My skin has noticeably tightened everywhere. No more ripples on my arms or crepe paper on my hands. My jawline is better than ever. I have had 2 people lately that have said I look like I did 30 years ago. I have only been doing this since January with breaks of a few days or a week after each week long routine. I just finished a 2 week routine and I am thinking about taking 3 days off then back on.(with resveratrol and curcumin during days off) Is there any reason to take days off like Anthony suggests on cyloastragenol and Jim Green also suggests? I know some will think placebo effect as they read this post but I have really tried to be as objective and possibly jaded in my analysis of how this is working. I am currently using the Solgar brand (1gram with chitosan 3 times a day with meals)that Greenpower used when he got the increase in telomere length but have used other brands earlier. Although pricier, the Solgar product seems to have a fair amount of quality control. Any opinions on a good routine? Do you need to take breaks from the routine? Can I use resveratrol and other antioxidants when I am taking astragalus? I am writing this post and still can't quite believe what I am saying. This shit really seems to be working. (Sorry, I sometimes use a curse word for emphasis) Any thoughts or speculation on this post would be welcome.

Hi McQueen...
would you mind telling me how old you are?
also,
what is the name of the Solgar product you are using and does it contain the chitosan or do you take that separately.
thanks

Edited by missminni, 10 June 2011 - 10:42 PM.

[missminni]

public/style_images/master/snapback.pngedward, on 16 January 2008 - 01:17 AM, said:

Anyone know of any economical sources for telomerase activators? (not TA-65 which is not economical nor available that I know of without entering into their protocol paid lab rat situation) To me these have the potential to put Resveratrol to shame with regards to extending lifespan.

Currently I take Astragalus standardized to 4% isoflavones at about a gram a day (though I have no idea how much astragalosides are in this I take it because it is cost effective) Also I take 500 mg of another product Natures Way standardized to 0.5% astragalosides. Alternatively you could get Gaia's product also standardized to 0.5% astragalosides. But both of these have so little astragalosides in them that in order to get 40-50 mg which I read somewhere was effective one would have to take a lot. There are also products standardized to 70% polysaccharides, which from what I have read would include some astragalosides. The whole issue is kind of muddy to me, any clarity would be appreciated.

T.A. Sciences will sell you the TA-65 capsules without having to take part in the expensive Protocol.
I know because I called them, told them there was no way I would go to one of their
doctors or take part in their protocol and they were fine with just selling me the capsules.
In fact, they just sent me three capsules to sample before I buy to make sure it doesn't aggravate my psoriasis.

[Moonlitnight]

New Roots herbal has a supplement called Ageless Telomeres. It has 450mg astragalus root standardized to 3% astragalosides, along with NAC, Myrrh, Goldenseal, D3 and R-alpha lipoic acid. It's $39. in Canada for 60 caps. Obviously it's not one of the big boys, but it's better than 0.5% standardization. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have my finger hovering over the clicker to buy Terraternals' Astragaloside IV with chitosan after reading McQueen's post up there. It's over $140 though. Hope McQueen responds soon.

ETA: I am also wondering if anyone has used an astragalus supplement with AC-11 (which is now sold as a single supplement by Solgar, or with several other ingredients in the original Nuvocare AgeOff formula). I have been taking AC-11 for almost six months now. For those not familiar with it, it's water-extracted carboxy-alkyl-esters from Uncaria tomentosa (NOT the alkaloids from this plant, which are widely available.) In clinical trials at the University of Lund, AC-11 has been shown to activate DNA repair enzymes by "up to" 15%, with the mean being around 10% from what I can gather. These enzymes are not telomerase, but do help prevent mutations and errors in transcribing info.

I have flawless skin on my face - not one wrinkle or sag, but my arms tell a different story. Although well worked out, they are crepey above the crease and look like they don't belong to the rest of me, which is why I am interested in McQueen's experience. I too have finger bumps and Dupuytren's Contracture. It seems she (he?) has experienced something measurable.

Edited by Anisor, 12 June 2011 - 12:44 AM.

[missminni]

Does anyone have any experience using the Chinese "dietary supplement" Extractum Astragali?
It comes 10 vials to a box in little glass 10ML bottles.
The one I got was Royal King brand. The ingredients - "Pure Astragli extract in honey base".
No idea how much astragalus is in it.
1 bottle to be taken twice a day. It tastes great.

Another question:
Anyone doing Astragalus or Anthony's product sublingually and would there be any reason not to?

[McQueen]

I am using Solgar astragalus root extract and I bought some bottles of unextracted root just in case there are elements that I am not getting with the extract. I take my own chitosan with the astragalus. I am 59. I believe I can see tangible results but as to how long or how much further I really don't know. Also, I have gotten comments lately that seem to suggest it might not be just my imagination. But, I don't even know if I'm taking enough. It's all an experimental at this point. No one seems to know exactly how to approach all of this. Technically, I'm not currently taking enough astragalus to get enough concentration of cyloastragenol to make a difference, but, Greenpower seemed to do well with a similar regimen. He also meditated and changed his diet. Jim Green has done well, it seems, with a similar regimen.

A quite remarkable thing is that Anisor, you have Dupuytrens Contracture. So do I. But, that wasn't the cause of my finger problem. It was injured at the middle knuckle by accident. I absolutely think that astragalus is what healed the swelling and pain with my finger but the problem was not do to DC. But, strange that I should run into someone that has what I thought to be a rare condition on a forum like this, out of the blue. Anything you can tell me about DC? I am new to the condition. I am a musician, play woodwinds(sax, flute etc.)and the condition is affecting my little finger on my left hand (crooked, scar tissue around tendons). Any "heads up" advice on what to look out for and preferred treatments?

[GreenPower]

New Roots herbal has a supplement called Ageless Telomeres. It has 450mg astragalus root standardized to 3% astragalosides, along with NAC, Myrrh, Goldenseal, D3 and R-alpha lipoic acid. It's $39. in Canada for 60 caps. Obviously it's not one of the big boys, but it's better than 0.5% standardization. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have my finger hovering over the clicker to buy Terraternals' Astragaloside IV with chitosan after reading McQueen's post up there. It's over $140 though. Hope McQueen responds soon.

ETA: I am also wondering if anyone has used an astragalus supplement with AC-11 (which is now sold as a single supplement by Solgar, or with several other ingredients in the original Nuvocare AgeOff formula). I have been taking AC-11 for almost six months now. For those not familiar with it, it's water-extracted carboxy-alkyl-esters from Uncaria tomentosa (NOT the alkaloids from this plant, which are widely available.) In clinical trials at the University of Lund, AC-11 has been shown to activate DNA repair enzymes by "up to" 15%, with the mean being around 10% from what I can gather. These enzymes are not telomerase, but do help prevent mutations and errors in transcribing info.

I have flawless skin on my face - not one wrinkle or sag, but my arms tell a different story. Although well worked out, they are crepey above the crease and look like they don't belong to the rest of me, which is why I am interested in McQueen's experience. I too have finger bumps and Dupuytren's Contracture. It seems she (he?) has experienced something measurable.

I've never heard of it before, but see that AC-11 is an extract from Uncaria tomentosa also known as Cat's Claw. The wikipedia entry indicates some interesting medicinal uses quite similar to those of Astragalus. I couldn't help but notice your profile says you live in Vancouver, BC, which would mean you probably live within driving distance from one of the few labs in the world which do flow-FISH tests. You didn't happen to do a test before your six month regimen - in order for you to now be able to do a follow up test?

You might have seen earlier in his thread that both me and Anthony used Astragaloside IV with chitosan. Both of us did flow-FISH tests which indicated quite bad results with regards to the telomore lengths in the chromosomes of several important types of immune cells. I would hesitate before trying AIV again and Anthony doesn't seem to promote it no more either.

Btw, just because an extract is standardized with a higher concentration doesn't necessary mean you will get a "better" effect - but it would be interesting to see if it does..

[times_are_changing]

Surprisingly enough all different petri dishes and all flaskes mixed at different level of Cycloastragenol showed that cells were stopped to divide....

Only dishes and flaskes containing only the HAMF12 nutient medium without any trace of Cycloastragenol were prolific with cells.

Perhaps the amount of cycloastragenol was too high and such a mixture prevented cells to divide.

Regarding the ratio of Cycloastragenol per mL in my experiments it leads to a daily amount of 130mg, 680 mg and 1300 mg for a human being.

Did anybody undertake an experiment with some cancerous cells like adenocarcinome cells to know whether Cycloastragenol at high concentration stops cell division ?

I will undertake another experiment but with human cells instead of rodent ones. I will make the mixture very light with Cycloastragenol.

Something like 0.6 mg/kg, 0.06 mg/kg and 0.006 mg/kg equivalent dose for an human being

Is anyone having any idea on the way to improve such an experiment ?

[Moonlitnight]

Thanks McQueen,

You and I must be twins as I'm vintage '52 also. I thought Solgar discontinued their astragalus - at least it says that on iHerb. I will look up Greenpower's results.

I developed DC after having a minor op on the pinkie finger of my left hand as well. Not sure if this was the cause. This was about five years ago and now the fourth and fifth digits cannot be raightened. I also have a HUGE rock-hard lump at the base of the pinkie. I was thinking of the needle aponeurotomy procedure but I am a fibre and glass artist on the side and use my hands all the time. I can't imagine not being able to use one of them for a couple of months. No supplements have, so far, helped. Some people are claiming that topical DMSO helped soften the lumps. I'm thinking of ordering some so will keep you briefed. Rosina

[hav]

New Roots herbal has a supplement called Ageless Telomeres. It has 450mg astragalus root standardized to 3% astragalosides, along with NAC, Myrrh, Goldenseal, D3 and R-alpha lipoic acid. It's $39. in Canada for 60 caps. Obviously it's not one of the big boys, but it's better than 0.5% standardization. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have my finger hovering over the clicker to buy Terraternals' Astragaloside IV with chitosan after reading McQueen's post up there. It's over $140 though. ...

The Ageless Telomeres sounds interesting with its std 3% astragalosides. But couldn't find it available online anywhere. I was looking at bulk at Shamanshop but am a little confused by comparative extract strengths. They have 1% std astragaloside and a 10:1 extract just slightly more expensive. Then there's std 70% polysaccarides which is 4x more expensive. But is it 4x stronger? If so, would that even need to be supplemented with something like Terraternal AS4? Or would, lets say, 500 mg of 70% std polysacccaride taken 3x daily have enough already? I've read here that 30 grams of raw Astragalus has enough AS4 and Cycloastraganol and presume 3 grams of 10:1 extract might equal that. But how does 70% polysaccaride extract figure in?

http://www.shamanshop.com

Related to these questions, I've noticed that Now Foods sells it's 500 mg 90-count bottles of 70% std on Amazon at quite a bit less per 500 mg than Shamanshop sells it 1kg bulk pack. 11 cents per 500 mg compared to 16 cents for Shamanshop.

http://www.amazon.co...duct/B000MGR2EE
http://www.nowfoods....cts/M043754.htm

Is the Now Foods product for real or is Shamanshop (Kalyx) just overpriced for this? I've ordered some of the Now Foods Astragalus to try it out but haven't gotten it yet. I also ordered some bulk Chitosan from Shamanshop at the same time and it arrived pretty quickly from a plant in PA with a COA indicating <10 ppm Heavy Metals and listing Pb, As, and Hg at <1 ppm each for the specified batch with a USA specified crab-shell origin... but apparently done in-house because no lab name or address was specified.

I've only gotten into all this because of the RevGenetics Astragalus supply interruption. Be nice if they considered a potent 100 gm bulk Astragalus extract product to get folks like me by till their new recipe becomes available.

Howard

[Moonlitnight]

I didn't get tested first, GreenPower. The AC-11 seems to have good science behind it but as far as I know, no testing has been done to determine its effects on teleoeres or telomerase. Dr. Ronald Pero is the go-to guy for this.

New Roots herbal has a supplement called Ageless Telomeres. It has 450mg astragalus root standardized to 3% astragalosides, along with NAC, Myrrh, Goldenseal, D3 and R-alpha lipoic acid. It's $39. in Canada for 60 caps. Obviously it's not one of the big boys, but it's better than 0.5% standardization. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have my finger hovering over the clicker to buy Terraternals' Astragaloside IV with chitosan after reading McQueen's post up there. It's over $140 though. Hope McQueen responds soon.

ETA: I am also wondering if anyone has used an astragalus supplement with AC-11 (which is now sold as a single supplement by Solgar, or with several other ingredients in the original Nuvocare AgeOff formula). I have been taking AC-11 for almost six months now. For those not familiar with it, it's water-extracted carboxy-alkyl-esters from Uncaria tomentosa (NOT the alkaloids from this plant, which are widely available.) In clinical trials at the University of Lund, AC-11 has been shown to activate DNA repair enzymes by "up to" 15%, with the mean being around 10% from what I can gather. These enzymes are not telomerase, but do help prevent mutations and errors in transcribing info.

I have flawless skin on my face - not one wrinkle or sag, but my arms tell a different story. Although well worked out, they are crepey above the crease and look like they don't belong to the rest of me, which is why I am interested in McQueen's experience. I too have finger bumps and Dupuytren's Contracture. It seems she (he?) has experienced something measurable.

I've never heard of it before, but see that AC-11 is an extract from Uncaria tomentosa also known as Cat's Claw. The wikipedia entry indicates some interesting medicinal uses quite similar to those of Astragalus. I couldn't help but notice your profile says you live in Vancouver, BC, which would mean you probably live within driving distance from one of the few labs in the world which do flow-FISH tests. You didn't happen to do a test before your six month regimen - in order for you to now be able to do a follow up test?

You might have seen earlier in his thread that both me and Anthony used Astragaloside IV with chitosan. Both of us did flow-FISH tests which indicated quite bad results with regards to the telomore lengths in the chromosomes of several important types of immune cells. I would hesitate before trying AIV again and Anthony doesn't seem to promote it no more either.

Btw, just because an extract is standardized with a higher concentration doesn't necessary mean you will get a "better" effect - but it would be interesting to see if it does..

[michael0505]

I didn't get tested first, GreenPower. The AC-11 seems to have good science behind it but as far as I know, no testing has been done to determine its effects on teleoeres or telomerase. Dr. Ronald Pero is the go-to guy for this.

New Roots herbal has a supplement called Ageless Telomeres. It has 450mg astragalus root standardized to 3% astragalosides, along with NAC, Myrrh, Goldenseal, D3 and R-alpha lipoic acid. It's $39. in Canada for 60 caps. Obviously it's not one of the big boys, but it's better than 0.5% standardization. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have my finger hovering over the clicker to buy Terraternals' Astragaloside IV with chitosan after reading McQueen's post up there. It's over $140 though. Hope McQueen responds soon.

ETA: I am also wondering if anyone has used an astragalus supplement with AC-11 (which is now sold as a single supplement by Solgar, or with several other ingredients in the original Nuvocare AgeOff formula). I have been taking AC-11 for almost six months now. For those not familiar with it, it's water-extracted carboxy-alkyl-esters from Uncaria tomentosa (NOT the alkaloids from this plant, which are widely available.) In clinical trials at the University of Lund, AC-11 has been shown to activate DNA repair enzymes by "up to" 15%, with the mean being around 10% from what I can gather. These enzymes are not telomerase, but do help prevent mutations and errors in transcribing info.

I have flawless skin on my face - not one wrinkle or sag, but my arms tell a different story. Although well worked out, they are crepey above the crease and look like they don't belong to the rest of me, which is why I am interested in McQueen's experience. I too have finger bumps and Dupuytren's Contracture. It seems she (he?) has experienced something measurable.

I've never heard of it before, but see that AC-11 is an extract from Uncaria tomentosa also known as Cat's Claw. The wikipedia entry indicates some interesting medicinal uses quite similar to those of Astragalus. I couldn't help but notice your profile says you live in Vancouver, BC, which would mean you probably live within driving distance from one of the few labs in the world which do flow-FISH tests. You didn't happen to do a test before your six month regimen - in order for you to now be able to do a follow up test?

You might have seen earlier in his thread that both me and Anthony used Astragaloside IV with chitosan. Both of us did flow-FISH tests which indicated quite bad results with regards to the telomore lengths in the chromosomes of several important types of immune cells. I would hesitate before trying AIV again and Anthony doesn't seem to promote it no more either.

Btw, just because an extract is standardized with a higher concentration doesn't necessary mean you will get a "better" effect - but it would be interesting to see if it does..

Does any of this stuff have an effect on hair color? I've followed the astragalus discussion and such for a while now and it would seem if this substance was as promising as made out to be that more than one or two people (anecdotes) would have seen an effect on hair by now? I am 38 and will shell out the money to TA Sciences if it will have an effect on the 10% gray I have, along with the rest of my hair which is lightening with age.

[GreenPower]

Does any of this stuff have an effect on hair color? I've followed the astragalus discussion and such for a while now and it would seem if this substance was as promising as made out to be that more than one or two people (anecdotes) would have seen an effect on hair by now? I am 38 and will shell out the money to TA Sciences if it will have an effect on the 10% gray I have, along with the rest of my hair which is lightening with age.

None of the regimens I've tried this far have affected my hair colour. You might want to look up Jim Green who use astragalus extract in glycerin applied directly to his scalp. I seem to remember he had some positive results, but there might be some problems with the smell...

[GreenPower]

Health Check 4 - Monday, three days after ending six months on "Standardised Astragalus Root Extract" - Melatonin
These are results from December 2010 which I haven't come around to post. In order to be as thorough as possible I post them now.

First some repetition from an earlier post, I took Standardized Astragalus Root Extract during two periods of 3 months, with a two week interval in between. In more detail the two periods looked like this:
Period 1 - details
During the first period I used 2 x Ginkgo Biloba (100 mg, corresponding to 24 mg flavonoid glycosides and 6 mg terpenoids), one in the morning and one in the afternoon, most often taken together with Standardised Astragalus Root Powdered Extract (1mg [0.5%] triterpene glycolides) 225mg, Raw Astragalus Root Powder 250mg.
During this period I also completed one round of "Adidas miCoach Get Fit Stay Fit - Level 4". I managed a 90% success rate on this activity.
At the end of the period I started meditating 20 minutes around lunch time on working days. I estimate I managed a 90% success rate on this activity.
At the end of the period I had to decrease the dose of Gingko Biloba to 1 x Gingko Biloba, taken around lunch time (see earlier post for explanation).
I frequently used Orlistat 2x120mg when eating meals with fat (maybe 50% of the time).

Period 2 - details
During the second period I used 1 x Ginkgo Biloba (100 mg, corresponding to 24 mg flavonoid glycosides and 6 mg terpenoids), around lunchtime. Both in the morning and in the evening I took 1 x Standardised Astragalus Root Powdered Extract (1mg [0.5%] triterpene glycolides) 225mg, Raw Astragalus Root Powder 250mg.
During the period I meditated 20 minutes around lunch time on working days. I estimate I managed a 90% success rate with this. I had to phase out the Adidas miCoach program because the weather turned to cold (autumn and winter).
I frequently used Orlistat 1-2x120mg when eating meals with fat (maybe 30% of the time) but phased it out and have instead started with LCHF-diet (Low Fat - High Carb). The reason for LCHF is that someone in this thread suggested that I read the arguments "from the other side" of the debate about cholesterol. Because I found the arguments quite sound I thought I would include this in my regimen. I do have some troubles to completely avoid fast carbohydrates, though. I guess I have about 80-90% success rate.
During the first two months of this three month period I managed to get time off from work during Fridays. I recovered a substantial amount of lost sleep, but lost some of it during the third month.

Comments
My first test from April 2010 looks perfectly normal and the comments from the laboratory were.
Melatonin activity is normal throughout the sample period revealing a normal melatonin circadian rhythm. As well as playing a crucial role in sleep-wake cycles, melatonin influences other vital functions, including cardiovascular and antioxidant protection, endocrine function, immune regulation and body temperature.

In the second test which was done in December 2010, we can see that the morning level of Melatonin was much higher than before and that the evening level is a bit lower. Because the the second test was done in December (a very dark month), and the production of melatonin is higher when it's dark it would be logical that the morning concentration should also be higher. The lower "night value" might or might not be attributed to other factors such as the regimen. When the alarm clock goes off in the middle of the night it's kind of similar dark both in April and in December.At least in my bedroom.

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[GreenPower]

Health Check 4 - Monday, three days after ending six months on "Standardised Astragalus Root Extract" - Testosterone
These are results from December 2010 which I haven't come around to post. In order to be as thorough as possible I post them now.

Comments
Three out of four data points in December are higher than the corresponding ones from April. This can mean the the Cycloastragenol I used until April might have lowered the testosterone levels and that they normalised a bit when I stopped taking it. It can also mean that the "Standardised Astragalus Root Extract" regimen (which includes a lot of other stuff besides Astragalus) might have stimulated the production of testosterone.

Because testosterone levels usually decline with age I see these results as positive.

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[GreenPower]

Health Check 4 - Monday, three days after ending six months on "Standardised Astragalus Root Extract" - Salivary Cortisol and DHEA
These are results from December 2010 which I haven't come around to post. In order to be as thorough as possible I post them now.
Please see post #769 for earlier graphs and a discussion about them. Here I mainly focus on the two last ones.

Comments
All cortisol levels are within their reference ranges. DHEA is within the reference range. The ratio of DHEA to cortisol is normal. This is the first time that all values in this test are "normal" for me. I see these results as positive.

Regarding DHEA
Between the first, the second, the third and the fourth test the level of DHEA increased from 137 to 158 (Standardised Astragalus Root Extract used in 2008) to 223 (AIV 6 months, Cycloastragenol 6 months) to 338 (Standardised Astragalus Root Extract, meditation, training, etc). According to the Wikipedia entry on DHEA, the substance decrease in the body with about 2% each year after you have turned 25. This mean that the combination of substances above would seem to have increased my level of DHEA, even though it should have been declining. Because I did not take Orlistat during the first increase of DHEA, I think the effect might be attributed to the other components in my regimens.

It's interesting to see that all of my regimens seem to have contributed to higher levels of DHEA. When first using Standardised Astragalus Root Extract in 2008 I took three pills per day, which generated an increase of 15%. After another two periods (AIV, Cycloastragenol) it had increased another 41%. Then after the period in in 2010 (Standardised Astragalus Root Extract, meditation, training, etc) where I took two pills, it increased another 52%.

Wikipedia (again) have an interesting entry with the following text (https://secure.wikim...iki/DHEA#Memory)
A 2008 study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, June 2008, measured serum DHEA in 940 men and women ranging from age 21 to 88, following them from 1978 until 2005. The researches found that low levels of DHEA-s showed a significant association with shorter lifespan and that higher DHEA-s levels are a "strong predictor" of longevity in men, even after adjusting for age, blood pressure, and plasma glucose. No relationship was found between serum DHEA and longevity for women during the study period. The study did not find a significant difference in longevity until the 15-year follow-up point, which the researchers note may explain why some past research that followed men for less duration found no relationship

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Edited by GreenPower, 13 June 2011 - 02:12 PM.

[johnross47]

Thanks McQueen,

You and I must be twins as I'm vintage '52 also. I thought Solgar discontinued their astragalus - at least it says that on iHerb. I will look up Greenpower's results.

I developed DC after having a minor op on the pinkie finger of my left hand as well. Not sure if this was the cause. This was about five years ago and now the fourth and fifth digits cannot be raightened. I also have a HUGE rock-hard lump at the base of the pinkie. I was thinking of the needle aponeurotomy procedure but I am a fibre and glass artist on the side and use my hands all the time. I can't imagine not being able to use one of them for a couple of months. No supplements have, so far, helped. Some people are claiming that topical DMSO helped soften the lumps. I'm thinking of ordering some so will keep you briefed. Rosina

DC seems to be quite common....I'm 64 and have had it for some time.....my doctor suggested stretching the hands...bend the fingers back straight...it won't cure it but it eases it and seems to stop it progressing.
Solgar have not stopped Astragalus...i bought some a couple of weeks ago.

[Moonlitnight]

Hi JohnRoss,

DPC is a real pain for sure. I stretch mine a lot but the lump at the bottom of the pinkie is like a pebble.

Yes, I think it is just iHerb that's not carrying it. I'm ordering some tomorrow (new Visa cycle )

What is that "Warn status" thing under my pic? It makes me feel like I'm a crook...

Edited by Anisor, 15 June 2011 - 07:56 PM.

[McQueen]

Here is a link to a very recent article by Dr. Jeffery Dach that says the Harvard study used a synthetically manufactured form of estrogen as the method of lengthening telomeres in that study. The reason they did not use plain old estrogen was in order to not offend the big drug companies that provide so much research money to people like professor DePinho who ran the study. It is apparently not kosher to use a natural substance or hormone for your experiments because the big drug companies cannot make money off anything they can't patent. I, and I think many others, would appreciate opinions on this article from those more literate in biology. Please read and post opinions. Could we increase telomerase activity simply by taking estrogen? Side effects? Is this old news to some of you?

http://www.bio-hormo...effrey-dach-md/

[missminni]

Here is a link to a very recent article by Dr. Jeffery Dach that says the Harvard study used a synthetically manufactured form of estrogen as the method of lengthening telomeres in that study. The reason they did not use plain old estrogen was in order to not offend the big drug companies that provide so much research money to people like professor DePinho who ran the study. It is apparently not kosher to use a natural substance or hormone for your experiments because the big drug companies cannot make money off anything they can't patent. I, and I think many others, would appreciate opinions on this article from those more literate in biology. Please read and post opinions. Could we increase telomerase activity simply by taking estrogen? Side effects? Is this old news to some of you?

http://www.bio-hormo...effrey-dach-md/

This is so appropos for me.
I recently decided to stop taking Neoral, which was no longer effective anyway.
After reading an old study that psoriasis patients have their melatonin levels backwards....high during the day and low at night, I started taking 3 mg of melatonin at night and noticed
an improvement.
Since I never had psoriasis until after menopause and never did HRT I figured I should try topical hormone cremes to see if they would help. Especially estrogen...in the form of estriol.
I tried an OTC Estrioi cream and noticed definite improvement.
I decided, while waiting for Anthony's new product to come out, that I would talk to my derm about doing blood work and adjusting my hormones accordingly with creams.
In fact, we did the bloodwork on Monday.
Now this news that estrogen lengthens telomeres...wow.
I'm excited and wondering if the results they found with 17 Beta Estradiol would apply to Estriol as well?

[Moonlitnight]

I am wondering this too, MM. I have been on estriol for over 10 years.

[missminni]

I am wondering this too, MM. I have been on estriol for over 10 years.

That's great. Then you're way ahead of the game. I have to catch up.
I put it on my face and can see a difference in my skin in less than a week.
It's putting LaMer to shame.

[Moonlitnight]

"Bioidentical hormones are the hormones normally found in the human body." I think someone got a little confused with semantics there!

Edited by Anisor, 25 June 2011 - 12:14 AM.

[niner]

Here is a link to a very recent article by Dr. Jeffery Dach that says the Harvard study used a synthetically manufactured form of estrogen as the method of lengthening telomeres in that study. The reason they did not use plain old estrogen was in order to not offend the big drug companies that provide so much research money to people like professor DePinho who ran the study. It is apparently not kosher to use a natural substance or hormone for your experiments because the big drug companies cannot make money off anything they can't patent. I, and I think many others, would appreciate opinions on this article from those more literate in biology. Please read and post opinions. Could we increase telomerase activity simply by taking estrogen? Side effects? Is this old news to some of you?

http://www.bio-hormo...effrey-dach-md/

That site is selling something: Hormone replacement therapy. I just read the paper that Dach is commenting on, and I think he is confused. The DePinho group didn't use 4-OHT to lengthen telomeres, they used it to control levels of P53 in a mouse that had been genetically modified to have no telomerase. The interesting news there is the involvement of P53 and PGCs in the effects of telomere dysfunction, not anything having to do with hormones. That Dach would accuse DePinho of conflict of interest is incredibly slimy considering that Dach himself is misrepresenting the science in order to benefit his own "bio-identical" hormone replacement business. I've seen some ethical doozies in the supplement world, but this takes the cake. This guy stinks to high heaven.

[missminni]

Here is a link to a very recent article by Dr. Jeffery Dach that says the Harvard study used a synthetically manufactured form of estrogen as the method of lengthening telomeres in that study. The reason they did not use plain old estrogen was in order to not offend the big drug companies that provide so much research money to people like professor DePinho who ran the study. It is apparently not kosher to use a natural substance or hormone for your experiments because the big drug companies cannot make money off anything they can't patent. I, and I think many others, would appreciate opinions on this article from those more literate in biology. Please read and post opinions. Could we increase telomerase activity simply by taking estrogen? Side effects? Is this old news to some of you?

http://www.bio-hormo...effrey-dach-md/

That site is selling something: Hormone replacement therapy. I just read the paper that Dach is commenting on, and I think he is confused. The DePinho group didn't use 4-OHT to lengthen telomeres, they used it to control levels of P53 in a mouse that had been genetically modified to have no telomerase. The interesting news there is the involvement of P53 and PGCs in the effects of telomere dysfunction, not anything having to do with hormones. That Dach would accuse DePinho of conflict of interest is incredibly slimy considering that Dach himself is misrepresenting the science in order to benefit his own "bio-identical" hormone replacement business. I've seen some ethical doozies in the supplement world, but this takes the cake. This guy stinks to high heaven.

Hi Niner
I understand your complaint, especially being this is a site that sells hormones.
But in spite of that, is the following statement from the article true?

What activates telomerase ? The answer to this question can be found in an excellent 2002 review article by Cong entitled Human Telomerase and Its Regulation . Among other things, the bioidentical hormones, 17 beta estadiol (estrogen) and testosterone activate telomerase. The major mechanism for control and activation of telomorase is the hTERT promoter gene which stands for the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene. When the hTERT gene is sequenced, and the code reviewed, it turns out there are two estrogen receptor elements in this gene. This explains why 17-beta estradiol activates telomerase. Simply out, there are estrogen receptors in the gene that makes telomerase. Estrogen blockers such as tomoxifen block these receptors and turn off telomerase. Androgens were also found to turn on the hTERT gene and activate telomerase, and as expected, androgen blocker drugs inhibit telomerase.