Green Tea increases DHT ?

[apache2004]

Any thoughts on the information below...seems the lowered DHT is in vitro (non animal studies) but in animals it "drastically "increases DHT.Who knows what it does to the various feedback loops when combined with Propecia.Seems possibly more of a risk in using than a potential help...what are other opinions ?


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A concern that is commonly brought up about green tea is the idea that it decreases levels of androgens such as testosterone and DHT. One study reported that after administered to rats, EGCG "significantly reduced food intake; body weight; blood levels of testosterone, estradiol, leptin, insulin, insulin-like growth factor I, LH, glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride" [22]. However, a different study with green tea catechins in rats found decreased body weight but increased thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), LH, and testosterone levels [85]. A final study in mice with green tea indicated drastic increases in both testosterone and DHT from green tea treatment, but levels of both were synergistically inhibited when it was adminstered along with soy phytochemicals [86]. In vitro, EGCG inhibits type I 5AR [2, 87], which is partially responsible for the conversion of testosterone to DHT (for this reason, it has been proposed in the topical treatment of acne and hair loss [2]), while in rats, green tea is an aromatase inhibitor, which (in theory) would be responsible for an increase in tesotsterone levels [85].

So, how does one make sense of this mess of contadictory data? It should first be noted that 5AR inhibition has only been shown in vitro [87], while it has not been observed in live animals in fact, drastic increases in DHT have been found - and it seems that other constituents of green tea counteract the 5AR inhibition [88]. The conclusions of the first study, which found drastic decreases in body weight, testosterone, and other hormones, are very misleading. A drastic reduction in levels of all of the substances mentioned can unfortunately be expected from weight loss in any situation (which is one of the reasons losing weight without losing muscle mass is so difficult). Indeed, when the authors of the same study restricted the food intake of the rats to cause a similar weight loss to that induced by EGCG, similar effects were seen, implying that the changes were not due to EGCG but due to drastic body weight loss [22]. The effect green tea has on levels of androgens and other hormones is complex and depends on various factors, but no detrimental effects have as of yet been seen in human populations.



Full Article:http://www.ironmagazine.com/review50.html

[HairLossFight.com]

Hello apache2004 and welcome,

That's a very interesting post. I hadn't heard that green tea could increase DHT. Will take a closer look at this and get back to you.

Regards,
Sam

[Tricia]

I wouldn't be too worried about green tea. I would think that you'd have to drink tons and tons of it.

[Jacob]

I wonder about topical use though. I wanted white tea in my custom topical and will probably demand it next time.

[HairLossFight.com]

White tea? Time to do a google search... never heard of it.

As for green tea increasing DHT, I'm surprised. Green tea catechins are supposed to inhibit DHT based on some other studies. This would be a good one to ask one of the docs in the Q&A section.

[HairLossFight.com]

Heard on CNN today that green tea has been shown in studies to reduce the bad LDL cholesterol by 16%. There is a correlation between hair loss and heart disease as well so hmmmmmmmmm......

[Jacob]

White tea caught my interest awhile back after reading this:

What may be even more exciting and novel is white tea, the immediate processing progenitor to green tea...

That was taking from here: http://www.ffnmag.com/ASP/247/Display-Article ..I'll post the section on green tea and hairloss:

Green Tea And Hair Loss
The low level emotional and mental trauma associated with hair loss and incurred during the wakeful state may be a yawn when contrasted to that "seen" in the dream state. (I know I have had countless dreams where I stroke my hands through my hair only to find my palms bearing a keen resemblance to The Wolfman.) A recent paper (Arch Dermatol 137: 943-7, 2001) reviewed the purported link between baldness and cardiovascular disease. As if baldness did not cause enough morbidity now some are suggesting increased mortality...

The author, a dermatologist from the University of Genoa, in Italy found many of the research articles suggesting a link to be flawed. They lacked evaluation of androgen hormone and genetic-determined hair loss or androgenetic alopecia (AA), by a dermatologist. He did assert, however, that men developing aggressive forms of AA before the age of 30 merit additional attention, because AA could indeed be a risk for heart disease (Arch Intern Med 160: 165-71, 2000).

What natural products exert bioactivity in AA? What could offer the greatest promise is the humble tea leaf, Camellia sinensis. An abundant amount of animal and in vitro studies have hinted at its promise in AA. Green tea operates via its catechin constituents, acting in a manner similar to that of finasteride, the pharmaceutical agent that blocks the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase (Biochem Biophys Res Commun 214: 833-8, 1995). Other research by the same group has shown curcumin (from turmeric), alizarin (from Madder root), and a fatty acid abundant in Serenoa repens extract (myristoleic acid; also found to be the principal bioactive of Serenoa repens against prostate cancer cells in culture) to hold promise (Arch Dermatol Res 293: 200-5, 2001). These are the subjects of patents that have yet to be clinically validated. What may be even more exciting and novel is white tea, the immediate processing progenitor to green tea...

The other main reason why I wanted to use it and try it is because it should be better in a topical than green tea..as far as the color goes. A topical with white tea should be lighter in color than that of green tea. Of course it depends what else is in the topical.

BTW..there is a gte that is "colorless". I'm not sure if Elsom would ever use it..and again I'd prefer to give white tea a try anyway.