If you are wondering “What is a “Testosterone base?” and why is it brought up when talking about cycles, look no further.
By the end of this quick article you’ll know:
- What a “Testosterone Base” refers too
- Why it is important as a foundation for stacking/layering steroids
- The role of Aromatase in relation to testosterone
What is a “Testosterone Base?”
The concept of a “Testosterone Base” simply refers to using any form of Testosterone as the foundation (or base) of your cycles.
Testosterone needs to be the foundation of any steroid cycle you do.
This is largely due to the role of an enzyme called “Aromatase”
Testosterone naturally undergoes “aromatization” (I.E. conversion into estrogen.)
The process of turning testosterone into estrogen is VITAL.
Obviously, with supraphysiological levels of testosterone we have thrown things out of whack.
We have MORE testosterone than we could EVER PRODUCE.
Meaning that we will ALSO produce MORE estrogen than normal.
Some people who are aiming to avoid estrogen side effects will end up getting rid of ALL of their estrogen.
This is a HORRIBLE IDEA
Without sufficient amounts of estrogen our hormones fall out of balance.
To oversimplify, estrogen keeps our bones, heart, and brain healthy.
Alongside of this, your mood and well-being is heavily impacted.
Maybe more concerning for younger people, it also helps keep your sex-drive in check.
If you have no estrogen, you may have no sex drive.
Why you can’t use other forms of steroids as a base.
It’s incredibly easy to lump “steroids” into one BIG Category.
Even two for “gaining muscle/Losing fat“
However; it’s a bit more nuanced.
I’ll say this, typically you can lump them into THREE categories.
(You can easily differentiate further with oral steroids too.)
Those are Testosterone and the two testosterone derivatives.
The two steroids derived (made from) testosterone are: 19-nortestosterone or Dihydrotestosterone
Typically, you will see them referred to as “19-nors” and “DHT’s” respectively.
The problem with this is that these two groups don’t really convert into forms of estrogen.*
Infact, 19-nor’s usually affect an entirely different set of hormones.
Usually you see progestin/prolactin related issues with things like trenbolone or “Deca”.
This is because 19-nor’s are progestogenic by nature.
(bioidentical testosterone is highly estrogenic because of aromatase, but 19nor’s have heavy interplay with dopamine signaling in their metabolism due to their different structures.)
This excessive dopamine signaling can lead to issues of prolactin/progesterone.
Which is why cabergoline or Prami is often the first line of defense.
(See my Chasteberry post for a small refresher on dopamine)
Why are they so different?
This is because they get converted by “5-Alpha Reductase”(5αr) instead of the aromatase enzymes.*
Those 19-nor’s get broken down into something called “5α-DHN”
Also, in the case of “DHT’s” we see something interesting.
The compounds inside the DHT families are not suitable for being broken down into estrogen.
(They can also make your testosterone more freely available, but that’s for another post.)
DHT’s are also “5-Alpha Reduced” instead of being aromatized.
*(There is an exception for some compounds, like Trestolone, aka MENT)
Putting it all together
All in all here’s the simplistic answer.
We need to have testosterone because it also turns into estrogen.
This is important because you NEED some amount of estrogen in your body.
If you avoid testosterone as a base because you are afraid of estrogen, please stick around for the next Cycle-related post.
In it I outline the benefits of estrogen.
(Obviously within a healthy range and with some tips on how to control it.)
You should NOT be afraid of estrogen.
Estrogen is a necessary component for growth and overall well-being.
By avoiding testosterone and only taking DHT’s/19 nor’s we face a problem.
You are shutting down the natural production of testosterone AND estrogen .
Until next time, Toodles!
