The Life Plan (61 page)

Exercise frequently

Maintain optimal hormone levels Sounds like the Life Plan to me!

But even if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms, a loss of testosterone is affecting your long-term health. Testosterone loss isn’t just about declining sexual function. Men with low testosterone face real challenges with heart disease and early mortality, as well as other health problems.

Men with low testosterone have a 33 percent greater death risk over their next 18 years of life compared with men who have higher testosterone. ABC News aired a story in June 2007 about a significant 20-year study conducted at the University of California at San Diego, revealing how low testosterone levels continue to be associated with increased mortality.

The heart (myocardium) is the organ with the highest concentration of testosterone receptors. Testosterone is associated with several positive effects on cardiac health. It has been linked with reducing coronary artery disease (CAD) and hypertension risks as well as with improving cardiac function in patients with preexisting heart disease. In other population studies, low testosterone levels are associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiac disease. Older men treated with testosterone can show decreases in total cholesterol and LDL. Low testosterone levels also are correlated with a greater degree of atherosclerotic obstruction when coronary artery disease is present.

The brain is second only to the heart in terms of abundance of testosterone receptors. Testosterone is associated with maintaining cognitive function, lowered dementia risk, and decreasing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and panic disorders. Maintained healthy testosterone levels carry a significant cognitive benefit.

Finally, diminished hormones, particularly testosterone, put men at risk for debilitating diseases caused by osteoporosis, such as hip fractures. In addition to declining bone density, low testosterone levels are linked with muscle loss. Studies have been done looking at the relationship between testosterone replacement and a return to a more favorable body composition. The consensus from the medical literature to date is that testosterone supplementation is accompanied by gains in lean mass across all age groups. It is associated with reduced body fat, with some preferential fat loss seen on the abdomen.

The effects of testosterone on erectile function and libido have been well documented. Therapies that restore natural testosterone levels show real improvement on several sexual performance fronts. In studies of sexual function, mood, and well-being, testosterone levels and supplementation correlate with improved quality of life. That should be no surprise: What man would not be in a better mood if he was having better sex?

An estimated 34 percent of all American men (ages 40 to 70) suffer from some significant level of erectile dysfunction (ED). Worse, one of the first signs of heart disease is diminished penile hardness. In fact, research has shown that men experience ED four or five years before a heart attack. ED is also an early warning of:

High cholesterol (especially LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol)

Hypertension

Depression/stress

Obesity

Don’t get trapped in the denial game. Talk to your doctor if you’re having problems with sexual function, not only to regain your intimate life and self-esteem, but also to improve your overall health. I agree with the findings of a December 2010 study from Brown University, which recommends that all men, beginning at age 40, be screened annually for low serum testosterone levels.

Charlie is a 49-year-old ophthalmologist who was 60 pounds overweight with a 46½ inch waist, very high cholesterol levels, early osteoporosis, and the beginning of type 2 diabetes. He was deficient in testosterone, DHEA, and growth hormone. He complained about a loss of energy, no sex drive, a loss of interest in his medical practice, a deteriorating relationship with his wife, mild depression, and a loss of joy and purpose in his life.

I had Charlie start following the Life Plan diet and exercise program. His deficient hormones were augmented to healthy levels and monitored on a regular basis. At his three-month followup evaluation Charlie had already lost 28 pounds of body fat and gained 5 pounds of muscle. He told me that his energy levels had dramatically increased, and all aspects of his life had improved. One year later he was still following my program, and had dropped his body fat from 42.5 down to 18 percent.

Most physicians I meet have got it all wrong when it comes to prostate cancer and testosterone. While testosterone is associated with prostate cancer risk, it is in the exact opposite relationship than they believe. Historically, doctors feared that raising testosterone levels might cause prostate cancer to grow. This fear stems from a 1941 journal article reporting that testosterone injections caused an enhanced rate of prostate growth and castration caused prostate regression. Unfortunately, this study was conducted on
one
patient. Further science, however, has failed to support this review. Another large longitudinal study found no relationship between testosterone concentrations and the risk for prostate cancer, except to find that one risk factor of prostate cancer was low testosterone, not high.

Five years after winning the 1998 Body-
for
-LIFE contest, I found that I was gaining body fat and losing strength, despite eating clean and exercising vigorously. Then I was introduced to age management medicine via the Cenegenics Medical Institute and realized diminished hormones might be part of my problem. Diagnostics revealed my testosterone levels were below the reference range. So I took my own advice and my age management physician started me on testosterone therapy. I’ve never looked back.

Within two months I began feeling a remarkable change: more strength, gains in muscle mass, improved sexual function, higher energy levels, reduced cholesterol, good blood sugar control, clearer thinking, and a zest for life. I know that there’s no way I could accomplish all that I do today at 72 without correcting my hormone deficiencies, eating healthy, and exercising right. But that’s me. You have to examine your own health issues and goals. I’m here to help you in that journey, whatever direction you choose.

Bodybuilders and athletes may use testosterone replacement therapy, but they use it illegally. They may not have a clinically proven hormone deficiency and are using the drug only for illegal performance enhancement. In fact, many athletes purposely don’t get blood work drawn to avoid any medical record of their use. Without the right screening, these men have no idea what their pretreatment levels were. I suspect that many bodybuilders and athletes who illegally use testosterone have testosterone levels 10 to 20 times higher than the top end of the normal reference range. And because they don’t get periodic blood work to monitor levels, they can suffer from testosterone’s breakdown products or dangerous side effects.

Supplementing sex hormones in men with low testosterone levels has been discouraged by most of the medical community because they believed it was unnatural and put men at risk for disease. In the last few years this thinking has started to change as a result of numerous recent scientific studies showing just the opposite.

In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has come up with novel methods of administering natural testosterone. Side effects typically occur during the first few months, but usually resolve themselves. These can include skin reactions such as acne, oily skin, breast tenderness, erythrocytosis (increased production of red blood cells), COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), sleep apnea, and lower extremity edema (swelling). Talk to your doctor about the following treatment options if you think you are a candidate for this type of therapy: