Can Testosterone Supplementation Alleviate Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors?
This article covers the relationship between testosterone and metabolic risk.
Studies are concluding that testosterone may be able to reduce metabolic risk factors.
LAST UPDATED: April 2019 by Ben.
Testosterone & Metabolic Risk
The traditional viewpoint is that increase testosterone levels can lead to multiple complications often made worse by the misuse of anabolic steroids, particularly the risk of prostate growth. [1]
However, more and more studies are discovering that low levels of testosterone and metabolic syndrome risk factors are related.
Cardiovascular Disease
As a result, studies of male patients who suffer from cardiovascular disease and low testosterone are being released.
The data demonstrates that testosterone can be used as an effective form of treatment to reduce metabolic syndrome risk factors.
Diabetes
For men suffering from low testosterone (hypogonadism) and who are suffering from type II diabetes have shown a total reduction of LDL cholesterol (low density lipoprotein).
LDL is commonly referred to as the ‘bad cholesterol’. This was a result of undergoing treatment to increase their testosterone levels. [2]
Cholesterol
It is know as the bad cholesterol because while it does carry cholesterol to the cells that require it, if there’s too much and the requirement by cells is fulfilled it can build up and line the artery walls.
This action will then reduce the circumference of the artery for the blood to flow though, this can increase blood pressure and make the heart work harder.
Blood Pressure
Hypotestosteronaemia is a term used for men with low levels of testosterone.
Furthermore, those men who suffer from low testosterone also tend to experience high blood pressure (hypertension) and the thickening of the walls of the arteries. [3]
Further tests were conducted with male participants who have healthy/normal levels of testosterone, low levels of testosterone and men who are obese.
Those men who received treatment to increase their testosterone levels had results that showed reductions in blood pressure.
This was for when the heart contracts and pushes blood through the arteries and when the heart has rested.
These improved results were apparent from just 6 months to over a course of 10 years.
Benefits of Increased Testosterone
In addition, there were further benefits as a result of the increased testosterone levels…
- The participants saw a reduction in their body mass index over a 12 month period.
- The increased levels of testosterone caused an increase to insulin sensitivity and improved glycaemic control in those men who were suffering from type II diabetes.
- Inflammation levels also decreased.
- The rate unto which the body suffers a restriction of blood (and therefore oxygen) to tissue was prolonged.
Those who saw the best results showing the longest delay until there was a starvation of oxygen to the tissues were those men with the original lowest levels of testosterone. [4]
Is testosterone a potential form of treatment?
Contemporary research has reviewed the beneficial effects heightened levels of testosterone can have on metabolic syndrome factors.
This included improvement of:
- Body composition
- Lipids profile
- Glycaemic control
- Blood pressure
The benefits from increased testosterone levels were astute from as soon as three months of treatment. [5]
However, it was noted that continued treatment to increase testosterone levels were beneficial to improve overall health and reduce the symptoms of metabolic syndrome.
This overrides any historical and recent concerns that increased levels of testosterone can lead to problems.
Conclusion
This, new growing body of evidence is firmly pointing us in the direction that increased levels of testosterone are beneficial to reducing the metabolic syndrome risk factors.
This is especially true for those men with cardiovascular disease, and these results demonstrate that testosterone treatment may even prevent metabolic risk factors.
Final thoughts
There is a distinct correlation between hypogonadism and cardiovascular disease globally with approximately 25% of all males worldwide being affected. [6]
References
