[Lotus]

So far the only thing I came up with was Nettle Root:



But I came across this supplement*, and although it's an AI (Aromatase Inhibitor) it comes close for what I think our goal is.

:Testosterone has two metabolites that pose potential problems for aging males and also for bodybuilders and athletes. One is estradiol (testosterone is converted to estradiol by the enzyme aromatase) and the other is dihydrotestosterone (DHT) (testosterone is converted to DHT by the enzyme 5-alpha reductase). As men age, there is a dramatic decrease in testosterone production, but without a corresponding decrease in the production of estradiol and DHT. Even though testosterone levels have plummeted, the aromatization of testosterone to estradiol is maintained, or even accelerated, and more testosterone is also being aromatized in fatty tissues. This creates excess levels of estradiol and, as a consequence, a blood level ratio of testosterone to estradiol that continues to decline, tipping the scale in balance of an estradiol-dominant environment.

* http://www.nutritiondome.com/estrgenex.html

Nettle Root comes close, but falls short for the excess conversion of estrogen.

As a standalone herb, Nettle Root work intelligently to optimize sex hormones. For men, Nettle Root works primarily to keep testosterone active in the body for longer. On average, only 2% of total serum testosterone is free, and only free testosterone is active. The other 98% is bound testosterone and is no longer active. The glycoprotein sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) binds to free testosterone rendering it useless (and setting the stage for a dangerous series of chemical processes). Nettle Root works to bind to SHBG, so that testosterone does not. This dramatically increases levels of free testosterone, the kind of testosterone that works positively on the body, the mind, the soul. As Lee Myer, the popular men's health author, states, free testosterone is the type of testosterone "that will supercharge our brains, blood, muscles, sex lives and all the other things we associate with testosterone."

For women, Nettle Root works similarly, by blocking SHBG. SHBG has an affinity for all sex hormones, and keeping levels of free estrogen is important in women as is keeping levels of free testosterone is important in men. For most healthy individuals, High levels of estrogen and testosterone are damaging only after they have become bound to SHBG. Once estrogen or testosterone have become bound to SHBG, they begin the process of being converted into harmful estrogen metabolites, like esterdiol. By keeping these sex hormones free, the rates of conversion to harmful metabolites are decreased.

For men, Nettle Root even works to unbind testosterone which has already become bound by SHBG, further increasing levels of important free testosterone and further decreasing the conversion to estrogen metabolites.

This is where it needs to be stopped, we WANT the conversion!....that's what we need to find!!!!

True Louise, if I remeber correctly the levels of testosterone are 20x greater in men than in women. I'm also thinking nettle root actually has a dual action on estrogen - diminishing it by directly blocking its synthesis, but by diminishing testosterone it could indirectly increase estrogen, because testosterone inhibits estrogen. So I wonder what the net effect is.

Oh, and now I remember I noticed my hairs grew less and slower after I started taking nettle root. Tho I was also on BCP at the same time.