Hankering for Hormones in .NET framework

Generation EAN-13 Supplement 5 in .NET framework Hankering for Hormones

In the past few decades, hormone products have become part of everyday life The female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone are used for birth control, morning after pills, and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy Some athletes skirt the law by using steroids (male hormones) to build muscles In each case, the use of hormones, like the ones listed in this section, can have unexpected effects on cholesterol levels

The most popular oral contraceptives (OCs) are a combination of the female hormones estrogen and progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone, the second female sex hormone) The less effective and thus less frequently used minipill is plain progestin Estrogen seems to be the more cholesterol-friendly female hormone Estrogen lowers total cholesterol and boosts HDLs, the good cholesterol But higher doses of progestins lower HDLs You can read all about it for yourself in this quote from the package insert that comes with all OCs sold in the United States: A positive association has been observed between the amount of estrogen and progestogen [another way to say progestin ] in oral contraceptives and the risk of vascular disease A decline in serum high-density lipoproteins had been reported with many progestational agents Estrogens increase HDL cholesterol The net effect of oral contraceptives depends on a balance achieved between doses of estrogen and progestogen Most scientists now believe that the reason women on hormone replacement therapy had a higher incidence of heart attacks is because the therapy stimulates the clotting system, and since the first event in a heart attack is a clot forming in the coronary arteries, that is the reason for the increased number of heart attacks and not the effects of cholesterol

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)

Now that researchers have proven the link between HRT and a higher risk of breast cancer and disproved the assumption that taking hormones after menopause lowers a woman s risk of heart disease, fewer women are using these pills For those who do or for those women who take estrogen for a few weeks or months after a surgical menopause (translation: total hysterectomy that removes both the uterus and the ovaries) I want to point out that estrogen does increase levels of HDLs Wait I already said that in the preceding section Table 13-1 lists the words used for estrogen or progestin on the labels for birth control pills and postmenopausal hormone-therapy products

Table 13-1

The male sex hormone testosterone promotes muscle mass, which is why the average man has bigger biceps than the average woman In medicine, anabolic androgenic steroids (muscle-building, testosterone-like compounds) are used legally to treat the results of abnormally low levels of testosterone, such as delayed male puberty, some forms of impotence, and the wasting of lean muscle mass associated with certain illnesses AIDS being one of them Although these meds are banned from all legitimate athletic competition, some athletes use them secretly in an attempt to enhance performance In the long run, it s a losing game According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (wwwnidanihgov), steroid abuse using the drugs to build muscles for athletic competition comes with a full complement of horrible side effects, including liver tumors; liver cancer; yellowish pigmentation of skin, tissues, and body fluids; high blood pressure; kidney tumors; severe acne; trembling; shrunken testicles; infertility; increased risk of prostate cancer; male pattern baldness (in men and women) no, no, I can t go on This book is called Controlling Cholesterol For Dummies, not Steroids For Dummies, so I have to stick with the main event: Taking anabolic androgenic steroids raises LDLs and lowers HDLs No gold medal there, guys