Q: What’s the difference between estrogen inhibitors “Arimidex” and “Femara”? I’ve always taken just Nolvadex, but wanted to try these and didn’t know which one would be more effective. Is it true that each new anti-estrogen product is more effective than the last?
A: First off, try not thinking of each anti-estrogen as better than the last, think of each as a substance designed to address something different than the last. Femara (Letrozole) is a lot more expensive than Arimidex (Anastrozole), but both are great aromatase inhibitors and work well on eradicating total body aromatization and plasma estrogen levels. Femara is purported to be more effective than Arimidex at inhibiting total body estrogen in advanced breast cancer patients, but that might not hold a lot of meaning for bodybuilders.
Naturally, they weren’t produced for bodybuilders, so one has to read between the lines. Obviously, both are good choices, but Femara is a better inhibitor of estrogen and total body aromatization. It suppresses plasma estrogen levels much more rapidly than Arimidex. This information comes from one of the largest single studies ever performed (Jan. 2002) on anti-estrogens. If you can get past the price, Femara would be my choice. But let’s put things in perspective and not split hairs… Nolvadex has been working miracles for guys, mid-cycle, for years. It’s also getting cheaper to obtain, now that Arimidex and Femara are on the scene.
Choose what works well at a price point you can afford. Don’t run out and get the latest model simply to have it and say you use it. What I find to be true, is that people differ from one another and individual results, as with almost anything, vary too. Just as one guy will get better results off of Proviron than another, one of you will find better results with Femara than with Arimidex and vice versa.
