[James Cutler]

thanks pal

[James Cutler]

I’ve never read into the differences as don’t see the importance compared to other things

Thanks, Hilly. Same response as per mine to JP above then. But I appreciate you taking the time to reply!

[James Cutler]

Genuinely matey, it doesn’t make any diff at all. Really how significant this is, in the scheme of bodybuilding , is literally zero . Take whatever version of Mg you like most. If there is enough oxide in there, it will do the job we want from mag

Thanks for the reply, ace. I won’t lie, it does seems odd then, that you would go to the expense to include both types when just “more” of the cheaper oxide variant would suffice. But whatever, I like the products so will continue to use 🙂

[James Cutler]

@hilly @jordan-peters bump for a reply please gents. Thank you.

[James Cutler]

Bump.

[James Cutler]

Hi Dean

I posted this in the forum but maybe it’s better to stick it here?

As below.

“Traditional wisdom is that MgO is pretty bunk and has poor bioavailability. For this reason higher priced/better quality supplements tend to use bisglycinate or citrate, for example.

I notice (since I use them) that both Supp Needs (e.g. electrolyte+ formula) and TbJP products (Halcyon) contain the oxide variant, and not in insignificant quantities. Often there is more oxide than there is the more bioavailable forms in the formulas, and the oxide is listed on the label as a primary ingredient.

1 – Why is this?
2 – What is the benefit of oxide if the body doesn’t absorb it well?
3 – And what is the benefit of oxide if you already have other, more bioavailable forms of Mg in the same product?

Genuine questions – not having a dig at either manufacturer.

Thanks”

[James Cutler]

Bump.

[James Cutler]

@drdeanstmart – might be one for you, buddy.

[James Cutler]

Ask your coach

We all pay to be on here and ask questions. Whether he takes his coach’s advice is his business. Either contribute something useful or stay out of the convo. It’s replies like this that have ruined most “free” forums. Hopefully that won’t be tolerated here.

[James Cutler]

This is all getting a bit silly with no benefit and all that chat
Like everything there is a minimum effective dose and a law of diminishing returns:
Is it worth taking 50mg of test per week, no because it doesn’t justify the shut down, so you need to use enough to offset the shutdown.
Is worth using say 150mg per week of test, ask the multitude of athletes who claimed to be at the highest allowable levels of normal range for years before they started introducing the epitestosterone tests
.
Now above and beyond the shutdown issue there is no minimum dose, each and every mg will have an affect, the affect it will have is obviously directly linked to the dosage taken, so taking 50mg pw of primo for a female is a perfectly acceptable dose and 2-300mg with a TRT dose will see gains made for a man, so no there is no 600mg minimum, however, there may be a minimum dose for the gains you are expecting if you’ve done courses including deca/tren and the stronger drugs.
.
Think of it like having a pint, having one pint may not have any seemingly noticeable effect but it doesn’t mean that it’s done nothing at all, it may take you two or three pints before you really feel it and it might be ten pints before your at the level of drunk you are aiming for or your used to. But using the alcohol analogy, primo is like low alcohol lager and test is a pint of Stella then tren is a cocktail of vodka and red bull
.
Back on topic, I like test, primo var but I’d add a little mast to it also, your gains will be based mostly upon how good your training and nutrition is and thereafter the doses are linked to how effective the cycle is.

Love this.

[James Cutler]

I think I’ve been given an essentially clean bill of cardiac health, so wasn’t planning to make any changes on that account. Given my bloodwork, though (slightly elevated ALT & AST, lipids a bit off) I’m going to hold back on my blast and restest in 3 weeks.

There are several London clinics that will do it without a referral and with no age limit.

Can you name one of the clinics please, buddy. This is really helpful info. Thanks.

EDIT: seen it above. Sorry. Ignore this.

[James Cutler]

Kidney function is probably better assessed using a mutli factorial model….

eGFR also doesn’t take into consideration weight or BMI for classical calculation.

Urinalysis combined with bloodwork (electrolytes, protein content) and creatinine gives a better picture.
E.G No protein in urine, LDH and chloride in good range, albumin/globulin not in excess.

Astragulus mainly has a restorative effect via aiding in the clearance of creatinine so the kidneys have less to remove.
It doesn’t directly cause structural repair per se.

Less substances the gloermuli have to filter, the better kidney function is preserved.

Wow!! Cheers, Dean.

I’m gonna have a look for this “Urinalysis” and get myself done. Curious as much as anything else.

[James Cutler]

James, gfr will of declined somewhat I’m sure from anabolic use and putting pressure on that system , it’s not a concern at all at 70. I’m running an astragalus blast to see if it impacts and I will share the results, if it does fuck all, that’s no biggie

Hi Jordan

Thanks for the reply.

I understand that anabolic use strains the system as a whole somewhat, kidneys included… but eGFR is calculated using creataninie (and age/sex/race) and therefore is only a proxy for kidney function. So, I guess what I am asking is, that unless astragalus can reduce creatinine levels (which is a function of a lot of things), how would that help with your eGFR?

I’m genuinely interested as this is an area I clearly don’t understand very well. I have read the examine.com page (https://examine.com/supplements/astragalus-membranaceus/) and understand there is some evidence it may have “curative” effects on kidney damage… but I guess I don’t think eGFR can actually tell you how damaged your kidneys are (if ta all), nor if hey have improved function (if at all), because eGFR is just a calculation based on other things (like total muscle mass, how much your trained before the blood test, consumption of creatine, etc).

I’d be keen to understand where I’m going wrong.

Thanks

[James Cutler]

Also, your HCT etc is very low considering prolonged drug use. How frequently are you donating? I donate routinely as often as the NHS allow and my RBC/HCT/etc stays pretty much at the top of the normal range. I can’t imagine how I could donate enough to get my RBC down to like 145 or whatever yours is!! What’s the secret pal? 🙂

[James Cutler]

Ok so you guys can see my hdl is low, 0.43 is fairly common for a.i use and in a lower estro state. During a cruise I would run no a.i , use test at 300 , control my estro with 100 mast , and let that number ride to 0.8/0.9 , it may hit 1 , with a good hit of krill, bergamot , ubiquinol

Egfr, I would recover with an astragalus blast , 10g root / day for 6 weeks.

Alt I think is activity based, I’m going to bump my current tudca from 500-2000mg / day for 4 weeks to see , and re test.

I could have all of these numbers spot on after a 6 week cruise, considering they are at this now, after 18 or so weeks on cycle now.

Hi Jordan

Firstly, thank you for posting these up. I have a lot of time and respect for what you say, mostly because of your integrity in doing things like this: you always state what you’re doing (cycle wise) and then post your bloods. Brilliant example of how to objectively and responsibly manage your health vs long term ambitions.

Secondly, re eGFR, I understand this is a calculation based on not an awful lot that is likely to influenced by supplementation. I thought if your creatinine is high, your eGFR is low, period? If I’m wrong on this buddy, can you please show me where. I ask because I take very low doses of drugs compared to most (inc you) and have ben cruising for 4 months now, and while all of my markers are solid, my GFR never seems to go above 70. I was told this was because I have a lot of muscle mass, use creatine, train frequently, blah blah.. is that not the case then?

Thanks for your time.