1 reply to this topic

[VictorBjoerk]

Today many men are worrying about their testosterone levels taking supplements and even injections to make sure they are high.But may I ask what exactly is testosterone good for except keeping a male hairy confident and potent.Does it really give you a longer life?Obesity and depression is associated with low testosterone but 10-year old children are the healthiest age group in our society.WHY??Children are usually skinny and happy not obese and depressed. however they nowadays are more often obese and hits puberty too early.A low amount of testosterone is also associated with intellectual difficulties.Why are children then so easy to educate especially in languages?Scientists says that animals who do not show signs of aging like turtles continue to grow (although very slowly) until they die of a disease.Testosterone indirectly destroys your growth plates so wouldn't that give the body a signal that "you are now fully developed so I don't care if you age".When you stop growing the anabolic processes stops and the time when you could get stronger through sitting on a couch is over.The body begin to catabolize itself.Turtles continue to grow during all their life which may span hundreds of years never losing their ability to grow and the organs look the same as the newborn ones.All individuals don't grow to enormous sizes but never lose their POTENTIAL to grow.Wouldn't testosterone then be considered a poison for us who don't want to age?



So,any truth in my speculations?? otherwise please tell me,any comments will be very appreciated.

/Victor

[pro-d]

Not sure about long life, but for men with low testosterone, replacement is needed to stave off/treat osteoporosis and increase insulin sensitivity. So it's more about quality of life. Unlike female HRT there are generally no risks as women are meant to have the menopause while men need to only have a decline, not a full stop.

I'm guessing the testosterone a child recieves during development is enough to see them through for at least a decade. Children with known testosterone problems for later in life are maybe give one shot a year or every few years before puberty.

Giving testosterone to a man with sufficient levels is probably risky as well as pointless (unless you're a body builder!).
At the same time, many environmental things make testosterone dip (permanent or temporary), so it might be wise to avoid them to help preserve general health.

In general I think it's advantageous for quality of life and plays a moderate part in longevity, only in that it helps maintain an existing lifespan than creating a longer than normal one.

Edited by pro-d, 06 February 2008 - 11:10 AM.