Resveratrol & estrogen control for bodybuilding

Estrogen, a hormone, can prove to be pure hell for all body builders and fitness enthusiasts. Excess Resveratrol is an Effective Estrogen Scavenger... levels in the body cause baldness, lack of sex drive, mental stress, obesity and even prostate cancer. For body builders, the bad news is that enhanced estrogen levels can negatively impact muscles, general health and energy levels. It can even put on fat, and more irritatingly, bestow men with unwanted breasts.

Can you ever imagine that all that sweating and pumping at the gym can result in very little gains if your estrogen levels are high? No bodybuilder would ever want that.

So, what should you do to combat high estrogen levels? Well, if you go by the title, then resveratrol is the answer. But it’s not as simple as that. There’s more to the issue.

Let’s first chat about how resveratrol affects estrogen.

Resveratrol is a natural estrogen blocker. According to a study published by Runqing Lu and Ginette Serrero in the Journal of Cellular Physiology, “resveratrol inhibits the growth of estrogen receptor(ER)-positive MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent fashion.” You can read about this feature here. (link to http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4652(199906)179:3%3C297::AID-JCP7%3E3.0.CO;2-P/abstract )

Another authoritative study (link to http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S155041311100386X ) published by Timmers et al on Science Direct states that resveratrol increases muscle lipid content.

Yet another study (link to http://www.peaktestosterone.com/How-To-Increase-Testosterone-Naturally.aspx ) established that resveratrol enhanced testosterone levels by as much as 50%. As you know, enhanced testosterone levels help build muscle mass.

There’s another beefy bodybuilding-related advantage of resveratrol – Resveratrol is an antioxidant and therefore it protects our body from attacks by free radicals. It boosts immunity and is anti-inflammatory.

As you can see, resveratrol works like magic for bodybuilders by blocking estrogen, enhancing testosterone and helping in post-workout recovery. All bodybuilders must therefore take resveratrol – that resveratrol helps in body building is an absolute no-brainer.

Let’s now turn our attention to estrogen, which as you realize, negatively impacts our bodybuilding efforts. If you want to lower estrogen levels in the body, then, know that consuming resveratrol is not the only solution. Along with consuming resveratrol, you must also:

1. Tweak your lifestyle - You must reduce the amount of stress in your life. This is because increased levels of estrogen negatively impact the brain’s response to stress.

2. Give up on alcohol - because it prevents your body from expelling estrogen by decreasing zinc and suppressing the nervous system.

3. Give up on junk foods like burgers, fries, white bread and even soy because they pump up the estrogen levels.

4. Lose body fat around the midriff and lower abdomen because the visceral fat in these regions generates estro hormones. This means that you must watch your diet and exercise regularly.

5. Ensure that your testosterone levels are optimal.

6. Keep checking on your estrogen levels and deal with enhanced levels swiftly. You will have to get yourself tested periodically, and you must be ready and willing for such tests.

7. Keep away from testosterone boosting steroids (or at least be prudent) because this testosterone will get metabolized into its little sister, estrogen.

To sum up, resveratrol can help lower your estrogen levels, but by no means is resveratrol the silver bullet. If you are into bodybuilding, then you must lead a very simple and healthy lifestyle, shun excesses, keep working out regularly, and of course, keep consuming that resveratrol supplement.