By the age of seventy, a man typically has half the testosterone he did when he was thirty. Invariably, energy will decline in lockstep with testosterone.
Because some symptoms are common to other conditions that drain energy, researchers think that low testosterone is a possible contributing factor in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, two other conditions whose defining signature symptom is the loss of energy. In h males and females, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia are associated with low levels of sex hormones.
The endocrine system is like a giant email chain letter, with one message setting off another in a closely woven matrix of interconnections and chain reactions. Chronic fatigue sufferers, for example have a disrupted chain of hormonal reactions that begins with cortisol, which in turn can reduce levels of estrogen and testosterone.
Other conditions, from HIV to diabetes to excess body fat, can also provoke a testosterone deficiency. Even medications come into play in this intricate hormonal dance. Cholesterol-lowering medications – specially Lipitor, Mevacor, Zocor, and Pravachol – are considered “antiandrogenic” and will lower testosterone levels (not to mention onenzyme Q10, a well-known energy spark plug that is invariably diminished with this class of medication).
The moral of the story is that everything is connected. (Studies show that when “high-identifying sports fans” – people who personal identity is intertwined with a sports team – watch their team win, their levels of testosterone rise significantly). You body is engaged in a giant game of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. Almost anything you do or don’t do, from taking medication to not getting enough nutrients to watching the Lakers lose (if you live in Los Angeles, that is) , can have an effect on your hormones, which in turn have an effect on your health.
“These hormones are far reaching in the body”, says Leonardi. “There are receptors for testoster-one in every organ, from the skeletal muscles to the brain”. The end result of low levels – often the symptom you notice first – is a profound loss of energy and vitality.
TEST YOUR TESTOSTERONE LEVELS
Really low levels of testosterone can have serious implications. Deficiencies can increase the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer, and Alzheimer’s. When in doubt, take a hormone test. (One a blood test, a testosterone level greater than 70 mano-grams per deciliter [ng/dl] is desirable).
You may also want to consider salivary hormone testing. According to Pamela Wartian Smith, M.D., M.P.H., this type of testing is the best method because it will measure the bioavailable – or most active – form of testosterone in the body, not just the free circulating testosterone in the blood.
Salivary testing also provides a perspective of what testosterone levels are doing on a daily basis, whereas a blood test will only measure testosterone levels at one point in time – the time of the test. There are individual variances with any of these options, however, so even if you’re asymptomatic, checking testosterone now will help gauge how you’re doing down the road.
Smoothing, excess alcohol consumption, and drug abuse can reduce testosterone levels, as can stress. Household chemicals and environmental toxins such as pesticides have all demonstrated antitestosterone effect, another reason to do a detox from time to time.
Because zinc is needed for the metabolism of testosterone, make sure that you have at least the recommended daily amount of 18 mg in your diet. (But don’t exceed more than 50 gm per day as a supplement on a regular basis). Foods such as seafood (especially oysters), meat, eggs, and black-eyed peas all contain zinc.
One obvious way to increase low levels of testosterone is through responsible* hormone replacement therapy. (Don’t confuse responsible, physician-monitored, physiological doses of hormones you may be low in with the kind of thing you read about when sports figures are caught using testosterone and human growth hormone along with the more garden variety steroids. These guys are getting stuff illegally and using massive amounts – a very different situation from what I’m talking about here).
Testosterone replacement therapy is not terribly expensive, and it gives you an enormous bang for your buck in terms of improved energy (not to mention mojo). “Since it increases lean muscle mass and accelerates fat loss, that would increase energy as well”, adds Leonardi. “By increasing lean muscle mass, you raise your metabolic rate”.
Leonardi adds that it would be criminal not to point out that low-glycemic nutrition and exercise are both key factors in getting the full benefit from hormone replacement therapy.
HOW TO NATURALLY BOOST TESTOSTERONE
There are also some natural ways to impact testosterone, though admittedly the effect is not nearly as profound as with replacement therapy. One way to get a quick boost of testosterone is simply by exercising. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reported that 30 minutes of treadmill running increased testosterone by 27 percent, with levels returning to normal 30 minutes after the run.
Weight lifting is also beneficial. I remember back in the 80s a popular bodybuilding method was the Bulgarian system, which was based on doing two fairly short (under 45 minutes) heavy workouts a day. It was predicated on the belief (probably accurate) that this was the way to get the largest increase in testosterone in the shortest amount of time. Protein shakes are a nice idea as well. They include key amino acids for testosterone production: arginine, leucine, and glutamine.
If, after all, you decide to try testosterone therapy, do it in partnership with a responsible, experienced physician who knows about hormone replacement therapy. Remember that replacing diminished sex hormones is a form of steroid treatment and can have unwanted side effects.
Using natural, as opposed to synthetic, hormones can greatly decreased the risks involved. Natural testosterone can be prescribed as a pill, a cream, injections, or a patch. According to the Journal of Urology, dermal patches best approximate the natural cycles of testosterone release, though this opinion is not unanimously held.
(Many experienced physicians, including Leonardi, prefer the shots, which aren’t as scary as they sound).
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