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Testosterone anti ageing hormone or carcinogen?

 

Should ageing men take testosterone to address the decline in production or do the perceived risks outweigh the benefits? For men and women looking for that quintessential ingredient that will extend life and reduce the effects of ageing is an ongoing search that to date has failed to unearth the Holy Grail. We all want to live longer have more productive lives and probably most of all want quality in those years, not just quantity, so should we dabble with exogenous hormone therapy?

Testosterone & big balls

Its not the size of your nuts that dictates how much testosterone you produce but your age. Both females and males produce a level of testosterone with males producing considerable more, that’s the reason men are able to build large muscles and women to a much lesser degree (unless you’re a geared up bitch). Its around the age of forty men start to have a decline in their testosterone production but this is a progressive loss that continues moderately over decades rather than the loses of estrogen experienced by menopausal women. The signs and symptoms for the male Andropause isn’t as significant nor as biologically concerning as those of their female counterparts (unless your suffering from Hypogonadism).

The benefits of testosterone

Increased skin thickening (as we age our skin thins) fat distribution, lean muscle tissue, libido, cognitive function, sperm production and bone density. Testosterone does a number of other things as well but these are probably the ones that concern the ageing male.

The perceived problems with hormone replacement

It is hypothesised that exogenous replacement of testosterone could cause, your nuts too shrink, premature male pattern baldness, increased red blood cell production, acne, gynecomastia, hypertrophy of the prostate & possibly cancer, and a reduction in sperm production.

So what’s the upshot?

At the end of the day its up to the individual to speak with their doctor and weigh up the pros and cons of testosterone hormone replacement therapy, its always better to make a decision based on information than to act on impulse and anecdotal feed back. And it should be noted that if you’re a young gun your already full of testosterone and spunk so don’t fall into the trap of thinking that “if some is good more is better”, it could end up engraved on your headstone (a bit dramatic but you get my point).

Keep pumping it’s the best way to stay lean mean and full of spunk! (Or juice for the females out there)

Bitter melon heralds diabetes cure

I recently attended a forum held at the Garvan institute in Sydney, there was four panelists two from conventional medicine and two from complimentary alternate medicine (CAM) the objective was to identify the roles each play in our health and whether CAM would ever be integrated into the fold of conventional medicine.

Professor David Johns from Garvan’s diabetes and research department felt the inroads being made by his department’s research into bitter melon as a tool to fight diabetes proved the conventional vs. CAM landscape had shifted.

Sweet & bitter news

Professor Johns has been working on the action of bitter melon, a Chinese fruit used for centuries in alternate Chinese medicine for healing everything from hypertension to the common cold. What Professor Johns found was that the fruit had qualities that improved the uptake of glucose from the blood in to muscle cells. The action was due to the enhancement of the enzyme AMPK. This enzyme is responsible for the transport and regulation of glucose a very important issue for type 2 diabetes.

When two sides collide

As the discussion on the benefits of both types of medicine ensued it became apparent that the forum was going to be dominated by the research on the melon rather the than mending bridges. The Garvan has allocated a considerable amount of their resourses to bringing the bitter melon’s potential to fruition, hopefully as a cure or at least a medicine that will reduce the complications associated with type 2 diabetes.

Bitter melon and the gym

The action of bitter melon on AMPK and its subsequent influence on glucose uptake is an important step towards providing insight in to the mechanisms that are at work in type 2 diabetes, but what shouldn’t be overlooked is that it was also noted that exercise shows the same affect on AMPK and glucose uptake. The ratio of muscle to fat is an important factor in the effects of insulin sensitivity and the utilisation of glucose. Further evidence that people would rather wait for medical intervention rather than get off their fat backsides.

Technological or pharmacological enhancement

Swimmers breaking world records not by tenths of seconds but whole seconds! The new suits have allowed swimmers to improve their times to the point where world records are falling like leaves in autumn, but should athletes be allowed to take advantage of technological advances in sports aids such as suits that reduce drag and improve times when drugs in sport have been so demonised?

Exogenous or endogenous

Australian sportspeople have been outspoken on the issue of using performance enhancing drugs and have promoted themselves as clean mean sports machines, but really what’s the difference between an athlete using drugs or a performance enhancing suit? The fact is wearing a suit that is technological superior to swimming in togs  is still performance enhancement, with a subjective spin.

What about flippers?

If a swimmer took to the blocks wearing flippers they would be immediately disqualified, but if they wear a performance-enhancing swimsuit that’s considered OK. Swimmers have adopted the suits with such alacrity it’s no wonder some have no compunction to using drugs.

Hypocrites 

Athletes that are quick to embrace and defend the use of performance enhancing technology yet decry those that use performance enhancing drugs, need to step down from their moral high ground, as the competitive edge whether technologically or pharmacologically induced both have the premise to overcome physical limitations that are the difference between winning and losing, a pay packet and a fortune.

To big or not to big that is the question

The human body has limitations as to how big it can grow; with steroids that limitation is lifted, along with the body’s ability to synthesize protein, breaking down and rebuilding muscle tissue. Like all living organism the human body has its checks and balances that maintain the status quos. Athletes found by using steroids they increased protein synthesis by increasing its utilization, this subsequently decreased duration for muscle repair, (the body usually takes between 48 to 72 hours for muscle tissue to repair) so what does that mean for the athlete or weekend warrior? It means if you take some risks your going to get real big and some times real quick.

Who takes steroids?

It would seem more and more individuals are willing to take the perceived risks over the benefits, e.g. aesthetics and performance. Why? Because they work, many athletes from all walks of sport and life are taking them and in many times above the prescribed dosage. Body builders are some of the worst offenders when it comes to abusing anabolic substances. They feel that if some does me good more will do even better, and in some cases they may be right. A study found that the more anabolic steroids an athlete or body builder took the bigger they got or the better they performed. 

A wage or a fortune

A wage or a fortune that’s the question some top athletes are asking themselves when it comes to lucrative sporting contracts, the difference between being a good athlete and a great athlete, the difference between winning and loosing. One medical professional that dealt with athletes using steroids was quoted as saying  “if you were are gifted athlete didn’t drink smoke, exercised and trained regularly, and competed against an athlete that did the opposite but was also a good athlete he would smoke your ass” the unfortunate thing about performance enhancing drugs is that they work. Ben Johnson proved that when he blew away Carl Lewis and became the fastest man on the planet. Marion Jones showed that on drugs she was the best and had swag of gold medals to prove it, unfortunately when she came clean she lost not only her times but also her medals. Such is life!