For today’s issue of Dear Mark, I’m answering questions about a rather mysterious supplement called turkesterone. Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it, especially about its promise for muscle building.
Turkesterone has become popular, but there is not much solid information to go on. Compared to supplements with tons of human research, like whey isolate or creatine or magnesium, you’re going to be hugely blind to turkesterone. I’ve had to sift through animal studies, murky Russian studies, and anecdotes to bring you my best approach to this compound.
It’s not the last word, but I’m waiting for it until now.
So without further ado, let’s get to the question.
What is Turkesterone?
Turkesterone is an ecological asteroid, a group of compounds that act as growth compounds in plants and insects. Think of asteroids as a cell growth stimulant, a hormone. In insects, they regulate the process of molting, growth and morphogenesis. In plants, they deter predators. And in mammals, they can stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Several pathways have been suggested for this effect:
First, turkesterone was able to increase the efficiency of muscle protein synthesis — more than 100% increase in in vitro studies (and enhanced mouse grip in vivo).
Second, turkesterone can increase the amount of leucine that a given cell combines. Leucine, you may recall, is the most anabolic amino acid around.
Third, turkesterone and other ecdysteroids can bind to beta-type estrogen receptors, which are involved in bone and muscle growth, in contrast to the more classical “feminizing” effects seen in these types. other estrogen receptors.
Do Turkesterone Supplements Work?
Hard to say. There are very few human studies on turkesterone supplementation, but there are some impressive animal studies on turkesterone and related asteroids. Let’s see:
- In one study, rats injected with the stronger eco-drug swam longer than mice given a placebo despite no difference in training/swimming volume.
- Lambs taking this supplement gain body weight faster and produce more wool. This shows that it is not only a promoter of crude mass gain, but it improves Constan of organisms (wool production). Furthermore, in sheep that were not fed enough feed, turkesterone had an even stronger effect.
- An old Russian study found that giving turkesterone to rats stimulated muscle protein synthesis in the liver comparable to anabolic steroids.
- Turkesterone also seemed to improve the resilience of mice that were experiencing “immobility stress” – forced restriction of free movement in lab rats. This is essentially the most reliable way to trigger the stress response in mice. In normal mice, immobilization stress caused the adrenal glands to develop, their immune function to decline, cholesterol and vitamin C levels to decrease, and the intestinal mucosa to degrade. In rats dosed with turkesterone, these changes were not rapid (or minimal).
Now, what can we glean from animal studies in the absence of human studies?
Animal studies are the first step towards human research. As mammals, we all share similar pathways for muscle gain, growth, and loss. There are certainly differences, but there are also well-preserved similarities and redundancies.
There are also a significant number of anecdotal reports from turkesterone users on online message boards and social media. You can’t base public health policy or write studies on anonymous Reddit reports, but you can read them for yourself and judge if you find them believable. You can then choose to try the supplement or not.
And if you look back at the old Russian studies, they reported some amazing results. Sorry, I can’t verify them. All of them are not available as full studies or even abstracts, and even if they were available they would be in Russian. The only thing I see is a list of unverified results. However, they are still here:
- Anti-anxiety
- Improved wound healing
- Hypoglycemia
- Reduce inflammation
- Adaptive effect
- Anti-arrhythmia
In other words, these compounds are said to do all the “good stuff” you look for in supplements. That’s most likely the case, but I can’t verify it.
Is Turkesterone Natural?
Turkesterone is a naturally occurring ecological asteroid most commonly found in plants Ajuga Turkestanica. Commercial turkesterone supplements are all derived from this plant. They are plant extracts and are as “natural” as any other plant extract you can take.
Does Turkesterone have negative side effects?
Common (but not guaranteed) side effects include abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea, often at higher than recommended doses.
Fortunately, turkesterone proved to be extremely safe and non-toxic beyond even the doses normally consumed by users. Most studies have found that benefits start at around 10 mg per kilogram of body weight, while oral toxicity appears only at 9000 mg per kilogram of body weight.. There is no danger in consuming anything close to 9000 mg, let alone 9000 mg per kilogram of your body weight.
All in all, if you can afford turkesterone, you’re interested in gaining lean mass (or any other potential benefit), and you’ve been training hard and eating well, getting plenty of sleep and working out. all the other things you’re supposed to be doing, I’ll try in a month. Try to keep everything else consistent — diet, exercise, sleep, stress — so you can eliminate any effects of the supplement.
But if you exercise little, stay up late and eat poorly, don’t think turkesterone will give you any results. Only try if you are doing well.
I’d rather bet turkesterone could also be helpful for maintaining or even gaining muscle with weight loss, if anabolic studies in low-calorie animals continue.
It looks promising to me. The main downside is that it’s not cheap and it’s hard to find high-quality turkesterone that you can trust. These products seem to be the best available: Gorilla Mind, True Nutrition,
Anyone have personal experience with turkesterone? I want to know how it works — or doesn’t — for you.
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