Testosterone is always a hot and controversial topic. “Low T” is a well known phrase. Testosterone, primarily considered the “male hormone”, is typically associated with strength, muscle mass, youth and libido. This is all accurate, but there’s way more to testosterone and a lot of benefits you may not think of. Improved clarity, memory, energy, cardiac protection, pain relief, joint strength and stronger bones are all part of the benefits of testosterone when balanced correctly. The fountain of youth really.

Side note: There is benefit in using small amounts of testosterone in females, and no, I am not just referring to body builders and athletes. Female testosterone benefits we will save for another discussion.  Remember, this is just a very basic, brief overview of testosterone. There is way too much to cover all at once. Let this sink in, go to the Health Interventions website and subscribe to our email list to make sure you don’t miss anything!

If testosterone has so many benefits why would testosterone replacement be so controversial? And why would it be a controlled substance regulated by the DEA? Because like anything, too much of a good thing can cause a lot of damage.

Testosterone comes in injection, gel, patch, oral and pellet form. Synthetic and bioidentical. Bioidentical are made to look and act exactly like what our body makes. Synthetic forms are changed in one way or another to adjust how things like how, when, where what they can do and how fast they can do it. By changing all these things, some forms of testosterone don’t match up with what the human body recognizes.  That is when we start to see problems, especially when they have been altered to the point they can cause serious damage. This is when you may start to think about abuse in sports and the stories of “roid rage”. Definitely not the typical! The injections that do that are made specifically to get big muscle gains fast! Not good.

Now, you can see the controversy.  The stories of abuse and extreme cases put fear into people. Unfortunately, you don’t always get the whole story and that makes all testosterone look bad.

Testosterone replacement therapy needs to be done by a medical professional that has been trained in the risks, benefits, dosing and continued management of the hormone. This means actually checking levels, reviewing medical history and medications to make sure treatment is right, safe and effective.  Following up to make sure levels are perfect and any possible side effects are taken care of is also important.

It wouldn’t be a Health Intervention if I didn’t tell you that lifestyle can have a big role in hormone levels! Obesity can lower testosterone and raise estrogen in men.  Opioid use, including Suboxone can lower testosterone levels. Hormones injected into foods and preservatives can effect testosterone levels. But I know where you can get help figuring out your levels and how to get them balanced and keep them that way! Prestige Family Health Care in Maryland & Spring Valley Family Care. Health Interventions has all the information. Go to the Health Corner to see the notes from today, get the contact information for those locations and read more health information!