3β-Adiol, a Testosterone Metabolite, May Prevent and Reverse Prostate Cancer
Test Yourself and (If You Need It) Make More of Your Own!
Yes, there is an entirely natural metabolite of testosterone, which prevents and reverses prostate cancer! 3β-Adiol (pronounced (“3-beta-A-dye all”, full name 5α-androstane-3β,17β-diol) is found in varying degrees in every man, and in women too, although in much smaller quantities. But just like 2-methoxyestradiol, the estrogen metabolite reviewed in Green Medicine Newsletter last month which is active against many cancers, 3β-Adiol—despite its safety—is unavailable in our “free” country.
For a few months in 2011, compounding pharmacies were able to supply 3β-Adiol on prescription at relatively reasonable prices. Several men who unfortunately had prostate cancer were able to use this entirely natural testosterone found in every man’s body for three or four months, but then it suddenly became unavailable. According to the compounding pharmacists who supplied it, a certain agency completely stopped its importation from European sources. Surprised, anyone?
As did research about 2-methoxyestradiol, research about 3β-Adiol got underway in the 1990s. By 2005, researchers were reporting [1] “3β-Adiol …exerts a potent inhibition of prostate cancer cell migration…3β-Adiol, through ERβ [“estrogen receptor beta”] induces the expression of E-cadherin, a protein known to be capable of blocking metastasis formation in breast and prostate cancer cells.”(In English, 3β-Adiol inhibits the formation and movement of prostate cancer cells and causes the formation of another protein which blocks metastasis of prostate (and breast) cancer cells.)
By 2010, research about 3β-Adiol had proceeded to a sufficient degree that another research report [2] told us: “…continuous administration of 3b-Adiol reduces growth of established tumors and counteracts metastasis formation when PC3-Luc cells [prostate cancer cells] are engrafted subcutaneously in…mice or are…injected into the prostate…the effects here described entail a novel potential application of this agent against human prostate cancer.”
Even in 2010, some of the ways (“mechanisms of action”) in which 3β-Adiol prevented and reversed prostate cancer were known. (As they’re highly technical, this footnote [3] is for the very technically inclined!)
So whatever happened to your physician’s ability to prescribe this safe anti-prostate-cancer hormone, a hormone entirely natural to human bodies? If you read last month about what’s happening to 2-methoxyestradiol, it wouldn’t be at all a surprise to learn that the total unavailability of 3β-Adiol in our “free” country is likely again due to collusion between “Big Pharma” and “Big Government” to ensure enormously high profits! This collusion is nothing new: put “Fitzgerald Report 1953” in your computer’s search engine to read—as printed in the U.S. Congressional Record—about how this collusion worked in 1953!!
Making your own 3β-Adiol is still legal
No, you can’t get arrested for this “offense”, as you’ll be making more of it within your own body, which at the time of this writing is still legal in our “free” country. Unlike “getting busted” for growing marijuana when nothing else works for your chronic pain, there are no records of arrests for increasing—by natural, non-patent medicine means—levels of one of your own body’s hormones! Let’s hope that situation lasts.
Test yourself for 3β-Adiol
But before detailing how this can be done, it’s probably best to know whether there’s a good reason to take the time and make the effort. Have your own 3β-Adiol measured! If your own levels of this anti-carcinogenic testosterone are higher than your levels of pro-carcinogenic testosterone metabolites, then it’s highly likely that your risk of prostate cancer is low, just as risk for estrogen-related cancers is lower for women who have more anti-carcinogenic estrogens than pro-carcinogenic estrogens. If the levels of pro- and anti-carcinogenic testosterone metabolites are the same, or if the 3β-Adiol is less than the pro-carcinogenic testosterones, it’s definitely time to “get to work” helping your own body to make more!
It’s relatively well known that testosterone itself is converted to 5α-DHT (often called “DHT”), testosterone’s most potent version. 5α-DHT is in turn normally metabolized into a relatively small quantity of “3α-Adiol” (pronounced “3-alfa-A-dye-all”, full name “5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol), and usually a larger amount of 3β-Adiol. While nearly all the 3α-Adiol is converted back to DHT (which is what makes 3α-Adiol a definite pro-carcinogen precursor), the 3β-Adiol “goes to work” by activating an estrogen receptor (no kidding!), estrogen receptor beta (ERβ), an anti-carcinogenic estrogen receptor present in very large numbers in the prostate gland. [4](Estrogen receptor beta is present in many other tissues in both sexes, but that’s a topic for another time.)
To determine the proportions of each, DHT, 3α-Adiol, and 3β-Adiol are measured (along with testosterone itself) all at the same time. As noted above, if the proportion of 3β-Adiol is less than the proportions of DHT and 3α-Adiol combined, it’s time to do something about it!
If you need to increase your own 3β-Adiol
If your test tells you that you have more of the pro-carcinogenic testosterone metabolites (DHT and 3α-Adiol) than the anti-carcinogenic testosterone metabolite (3β-Adiol), there are definitely things you can do to increase your own 3β-Adiol!
Let’s start with (no kidding) olive oil and coconut oil. In 2008[5] and 2009[6], researchers reported that these two oils, used separately, significantly raised testosterone levels in experimental animals. The researchers also measured the activity of the two enzymes that transform 5α-DHT into 3β-Adiol (for the technically inclined, these enzymes are termed 3β-HSD and 17β-HSD) and reported that olive oil and coconut oil significantly stimulated them, too. (Although it’s a single observation and not “controlled research”, one man whose 3β-Adiol was found to be lower than the two pro-carcinogenic testosterones (and also liked coconut oil) increased his intake to two tablespoonfuls every day; his follow-up test reported that his 3β-Adiol was now significantly greater than sum of the two pro-carcinogens.)
However, while reporting increased testosterone levels, these researchers did not actually report the “before and after” levels of 3β-Adiol which these enzymes are known to produce when stimulated. While it’s entirely logical to expect more testosterone (reported) and more 3β-Adiol (not reported) with the use of olive and coconut oils, only the testosterone data is reported “for sure”.
Several natural substances have been found to stimulate 3β-HSD, one of two of the enzymes that synthesize 3β-Adiol. These include zinc, NADH (for the technically inclined “niacinamide adenine di-nucleotide”), lithium, the “active” thyroid hormone T3, and a very active form of vitamin A named “all-trans retinoic acid”.
Zinc is a well-known “male health” mineral. Studies in male rats demonstrated that zinc deficiency decreased 3β-HSD activity. Zinc deficiency also was associated with a very significant reduction in testosterone itself. [7] The food highest in zinc is the oyster; if you’re not an oyster “fan”, wheat germ, beef, veal, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, squash seeds, dark chocolate (sugar-free [8] of course), lamb, and peanuts are the “top ten” for zinc content per ounce (or gram) consumed. Zinc supplements are of course available; for best absorption, use zinc “picolinate”. Make sure any zinc supplement is accompanied by a small amount of copper, as long-term zinc use without copper too can actually cause zinc deficiency.
3β-HSD is also activated by NADH, but once again there are no studies yet proving by actual measurement that NADH supplementation increases levels of 3β-Adiol. Lithium has also reported to increase synthesis of 3β-HSD, [9] and in one of many “bonuses” from Nature, lithium has also been reported to significantly suppress development and growth of human prostate cancer cells. [10] NADH and lithium are both available as supplements in natural food stores, the Tahoma Clinic Dispensary, and compounding pharmacies.
Increase your own 3β-Adiol with your physician’s help
Since hypothyroidism and “sub-clinical” hypothyroidism are relatively common problems, it’s good to be aware of the strong possibility—although not yet proven—that a weak thyroid may contribute to higher prostate cancer risk. Research in animals found that “free T3” (the major “active” hormone secreted by our thyroid glands) stimulates 3β-HSD. [11] Although this definitely suggests that free T3 can stimulate more 3β-Adiol, there are as yet no research publications exploring this possibility. But if you’re a man with a weak thyroid, especially a below-median free T3, it might be wise to have your level of 3β-Adiol and other testosterone metabolites checked.
Lastly (for now) all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been shown to increase 3β-HSD. [12] As too much ATRA can become toxic, this one is available only on prescription.
Men: 3β-Adiol Reduces Your Cancer Risk!
Realize this article is a bit technical; the “bottom line” for men is that if your own 3β-Adiol is too low, your prostate cancer risk is higher! You can raise your own 3β-Adiol internally and significantly lower your own prostate cancer risk!
Reprinted from Dr. Jonathan Wright’s Green Medicine Newsletter,
Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2018
To subscribe, visit www.GreenMedicineNewsletter.com
References:
[1] Guerini V, Poletti A et al. The Androgen Derivative
5A-Androstane-3B,17B-Diol Inhibits Prostate Cancer Cell Migration Through Activation of the Estrogen Receptor B Subtype Cancer Res 2005;65:(12), June 15, 2005
[2] Dondi D, Poletti A et al. Estrogen receptor b and the progression of prostate cancer role of 5a- androstane-3b,17b-diol Endocrine-Related Cancer (2010) 17 731–742
[3] Mak P, LeavI et al. Erβ Impedes Prostate Cancer EMT by Destabilizing HIF-1a and Inhibiting VEGF-Mediated Snail Nuclear Localization: Implications for Gleason Grading. Cancer Cell 2010 April 13;17(4): 319-332.
[4] Oliveira AG et al. 5a-Androstane-3β,17β–diol, an estrogenic metabolite of 5a-dihydrotestoserone, is a potent modulator of estrogen receptor β (ERβ) in the ventral prostate of adult rats. Steroids 2007;72:914-922
[5] Hurtado de Catalfo, G. E., M. J. de Alaniz, et al. (2008). “Dietary lipids modify redox homeostasis and steroidogenic status in rat testis.” Nutrition24(7-8): 717-26
[6] Hurtado de Catalfo, G. E., M. J. de Alaniz, et al. (2009). “Influence of commercial dietary oils on lipid composition and testosterone production in interstitial cells isolated from rat testis.”Lipids44(4): 345-57.
[7] Mansour, M. M., A. A. Hafiez, et al. (1989). “Role of zinc in regulating the testicular function. Part 2 Effect of dietary zinc deficiency on gonadotropins, prolactin and testosterone levels as well as 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in testes of male albino rats.” Nahrung33(10): 941-7.
[8] One example: “Choc Zero 92% Dark Chocolate Squares Sugar-Free” This footnote is NOT a paid advertisement!
[9] Chaudhuri-Sengupta, S., R. Sarkar, et al. (2003). “Lithium action on adrenomedullary and adrenocortical functions and serum ionic balance in different age-groups of albino rats.” Arch PhysiolBiochem111(3): 246-53.
[10] Zhou Q, Yang J, et al. Suppression of glycogen synthase kinase 3 activity reduces tumor growth of prostate cancer vivo. Prostate 2011; 71(8):835-45
[11] Gregorasczuk, E. L., J. Kolodziejczyk, et al. (1999). “Triiodothyronine stimulates 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in the porcine corpus luteum.” EndocrRegul33(4): 155-60.
[12] Kushida, A. and H. Tamura (2009). “Retinoic acids induce neurosteroid biosynthesis in human glial GI-1 Cells via the induction of steroidogenic genes.” J Biochem146(6): 917-23.
