Testosterone Supplements: The Latest Hormone News - It Could Make You Very Happy

I am an ardent supporter of testosterone supplements for men, and even women in certain cases. Testosterone is our most under-used hormone, and many men are losing years off their life because their doctors pay no attention to testosterone levels.

Most doctors rarely check testosterone levels, and even if they did, they'd probably treat deficiencies incorrectly anyway. In fact, they probably wouldn't even recognise that there was a deficiency.

Why is it that doctors think women need oestrogen for the rest of their lives but men can do without testosterone? Well, for starters, doctors were overwhelmed with propaganda in the second half of the 20th century from drug companies giving the message that oestrogen, specifically Premarin (which isn't actually oestrogen at all but a weird chemical extracted from mares' urine), would give eternal youth.

I remember vividly the ads in the mainstream medical journals depicting a 60-something, good-looking woman with a perfect 25-year-old body, silver hair, and the skin of a baby, riding a bicycle or doing some other thing usually reserved for the MTV set.

It was totally unscientific and blatant advertising for the gullible - which at the time, I admit, included me (don't worry, I've seen the light since then).

The lack of interest in testosterone can also be traced back to the unfounded 'old doctors' tales' that testosterone causes prostate cancer, testicular cancer and heart disease. It's strange, isn't it, that the testosterone/cancer issue struck such terror in doctors and discouraged its use but the known carcinogenic effects of oestrogen/Premarin HRT didn't slow them down a bit.

And their mindset is even more outrageous since it has been found that low testosterone levels are associated with an increased incidence of prostate cancer.

The REAL mind/body connection
But that's not all you risk if your levels of testosterone are low. If you have a low serum testosterone, life isn't the same and your body isn't happy - and neither is your mind.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry stated that low testosterone levels may be 'unexpectedly common' in middle-aged men with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. Well, the only reason low testosterone levels are 'unexpectedly common' is because no one has bothered to check them in nearly 30 years.

Anyway, the researchers studied 19 men diagnosed with depression who also had low levels of testosterone. They gave one group a testosterone gel and instructed them to apply it daily. The other group received a placebo gel, with the same instructions. After eight weeks, the testosterone group showed significant improvement over the placebo group.

According to the researchers, hundreds of thousands of men in a given year might be candidates for testosterone supplementation to treat depression.

And these days it's even easier to get testosterone therapy. It's available in various transdermal methods, like the gel used in the study as well as in skin-patch form. These varieties are safe and effective - although not as effective as the intramuscular injection method (but people just don't like needles).

Testosterone does many positive things for your brain, your heart, and your reproductive system. It has few side effects, the most common being an outbreak of acne. (And, ahem, a dramatic increase in interests of an erotic nature.)

Actions to take:
(1) Male or female, have your doctor check your testosterone level. It should be 500 to 1,000 nanograms per cc in men and 50 to 100 in women.
(2) If your level is low, speak to your doctor and take along this report. He may not give you a hard time, but you'll be armed just in case. RH

Reference:
'Testosterone Gel Supplementation for Men With Refractory Depression: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial,' American Journal of Psychiatry 2003; 160(1): 105-111