Why we should replace testosterone to prevent the diseases that kill us.
One of the major conflicts in modern medicine is the argument on whether the historical approach of fighting and treating specific symptomatology is the best approach for medicine to take, or whether or not we should move to a preventive and holistic look at the nature of the diseases from which we suffer. Most doctors practicing today were taught in schools of thought that focused on treating symptoms. As a result, many of them are uninformed or ill-informed regarding the benefits of hormone replacement as people age. Some of them simply reject the science that is supporting the growing movement to replace our lost hormones as we age.
There are many research studies that support the replacement of testosterone in men as they age. This research clearly identifies that men who suffer from low testosterone also often suffer from the following list of diseases that lead to early death.
Low Testosterone levels increase a man’s risk of suffering from:
- Adult Onset Diabetes
- Obesity
- High cholesterol and high triglycerides
- Atherosclerotic heart disease
- Atrial fibrillation
- Prostate cancer
- Mortality from all causes
In today’s healthcast, we are focusing our discussion on the double feedback loop that has been established between obesity and insulin resistance, which leads to ADOM (adult onset diabetes type II) and the existence of low rates of total and free testosterone in aging men.
This matters in and of itself because diabetes can kill you. We are experiencing an epidemic of diabetes in America today. Almost half of the aging population is either pre-diabetic or diabetic. Research clearly establishes the link between low testosterone levels and ADOM. We know that we can reduce the risk of ADOM by replacing testosterone to young healthy levels, and when we combine that treatment with diet and exercise controls, we can reduce the occurrence of ADOM and we can help people live longer and healthier lives.
In our discussion we identify four reasons that this preventive treatment is not more widespread than it currently is. There is an entrenched resistance to giving men replacement testosterone as they age. This resistance is based on four specific roadblocks:
- Bio-identical testosterone replacement is not being covered by insurance today
- The FDA does not approve the safest forms of testosterone treatment for men
- The DEA has turned bioidentical testosterone into a feared drug that is considered dangerous for men and must be tightly controlled and regulated
- Both the state and federal governments have overlapping bureaucrats which establish onerous regulatory blocks to providing this treatment
Listen to our healthcast this week to hear our discussion of linkage between diabetes and testosterone, and why everyone needs to consider (or reconsider) their opinion regarding hormone replacement as a health strategy for aging.
This Health cast was written and presented by Dr. Kathy Maupin, M.D., Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Expert and Author, with Brett Newcomb, MA., LPC., Family Counselor, Presenter and Author. www.BioBalanceHealth.com.