Testosterone deficiency in men has become more prevalent in recent years. 

  

Healthy men continue to produce testosterone throughout their lives, but at a slowly decreasing rate. Young men have high levels of testosterone and older men have lower levels.

 

Testosterone does not cause prostate cancer or BPH. If testosterone were the cause, young men (who have much higher levels of testosterone than old men) would be suffering from enlarged prostates and prostate cancer. Studies show that older men with the highest level of testosterone have the least prostate enlargement. Conversely, men with the highest level of estrogen have enlarged prostates.

 

As most men age, the level of estrogens, estrogen look-alikes and xenoestrogen toxins in their bodies rises. Declining testosterone from aging, together with this increasing level of various estrogens, is the most likely cause of prostate enlargement and prostate cancer in men.

 

Over a third of all men over the age of forty show some symptoms of testosterone deficiency. They are middle aged and older men who have symptoms associated with low testosterone levels but do not have primary or secondary hypogonadism. Their symptoms are often non-specific, and can be further complicated by pre-existing medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes and other chronic illness. 

 

Symptoms of low testosterone in men:

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• Fatigue/Exhaustion 

• Low energy and lethargy 

• Loss of head hair and body hair 

• Muscle strength diminished 

• Muscle bulk/mass decreased 

• Insomnia, wakefulness at night 

• Fat gain mid-section, belly fat 

• Change of body shape, with increased abdominal fat and rudimentary breast development (man boobs) 

• Mood changes, ill temper, depression, loss of feeling of well-being and optimism. Poor memory performance  

• Decreased cognitive status, mental acuity and clear thinking 

• Lack of focus and attention 

• Erectile Dysfunction - difficulty getting and maintaining an erection 

• Low Libido loss of sexual interest 

• Low sperm count in semen 

• Osteoporosis or decreased bone mineral density

• Anemia

 

Causes of / risk factors for low testosterone in men:

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• Vitamin D Deficiency 

• Aging 

• Stress – Adrenal Fatigue  

• Excessive adrenaline production/usage with stress or sports or work 

• Lack of regular exercise and lack of regular sex. Both these activities help in stimulating the body's production of its own testosterone. 

• Pharmaceutical drugs (including glucocorticoids, opiates, anabolic steroids, blood pressure meds, heart meds, antidepressants) 

• Alcohol 

• Smoking 

• Severe trauma, illness, burns or major surgery 

• Testicular damage (primary hypogonadism) • Klinefelter's syndrome (when males have an extra X chromosome) 

• Cryptorchidism (the absence of one or both testes from the scrotum) 

• Problems during testis development (twisted or strangulated testes) 

• Orchitis (inflammation of the testes) 

• Orchidectomy (testes surgically removed)

• Toxic damage (radiation, chemotherapy, industrial or environmental toxins)

• Brain disorders (secondary hypogonadism) 

• Pituitary gland malfunction 

• Hypothalamus malfunction 

• Kallmann's syndrome (genetic disorder of sex glands)

• Haemochromatosis (Blood iron excess disorder) 

• Brain tumor  

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