Hi Joe. I hope you don’t mind me posting this question here. I think it’s somewhat relevant to this thread.
I know that oral estrogen supplementation lowers Igf-1 production. Do you know if any phytoestrogens have ever been shown or suspected to do the same? Especially pueraria mirifica? How much do you think circulating igf-1 really matters for breast growth (as opposed to local production)? I’m asking because I saw a reddit post about igf-1 by an endo that specializes in trans hrt. He said that he experimented with giving igf-1 to some of his patients, but he felt that it didn’t improve breast growth at all. I know you had another thread about women that injected igf-1 into their breasts. The only link you posted is broken, or maybe that post was removed from their forum. Do you have any links to reports of women doing this? If you don’t feel comfortable posting it here, please pm me. I’m asking this because, if the results of such an extreme method are less than stellar, that would be a very strong indication that focusing on igf-1 production is misguided. I’ve suspected for a long time that low igf-1 might be one of the main reasons my other nbe attempts failed, but now I’m not so sure. It would be nice to know whether or not I’m barking up the wrong tree.
One more question, lol. I know I already asked about fenugreek/shatavari saponins, but I read some things that I’d like to ask you about. I used to see people claiming that fenugreek raises the ceiling of the estrogen negative feedback loop, and that’s supposedly it’s main mechanism of action. I think I remember Wahaika being one of the main proponents of this theory, but it was ages ago, so I’m not sure. Would you say you agree with that idea? If so, why?
Sorry for bothering you again. Hopefully you at least find this interesting to think about.
EDIT: I just saw a study claiming that supplementing with “weak” phytoestrogens, like the ones in soy and flax, actually increases igf-1. Of course that doesn’t mean that stronger phytoestrogens are the same. I’m still pretty confused.