Testosterone Hormone Replacement is a booming business here in the United States. However, recent studies are showing testosterone treatments are causing increased heart disease in men. From men who are bodybuilders and want to increase bone density and muscle mass to older men who need a boost of the hormone to improve their sex drive, testosterone plays a major role in the lives of men. These artificial hormones are giving men back their energy and youth, however, is it worth risking an increase chance or heart attacks or strokes?
With testosterone treatments coming in a variety of options including injections, pills or gel, most men are going for the quick fix using shots and pills instead of a natural and healthy diet.
In 2011, 5.3 million prescriptions for testosterone treatments were written in the by physicians throughout the U.S. While these hormone treatments are a rejuvenating and energizing influence to men, they are being blamed for serious side effects. These treatments are very common in men who undergo vasectomies, who complain of fatigue and decreased sex drive after their procedure.
In the new study, Dr. Rebecca Vigen, a researcher at the University of Texas, and her colleagues studied 9,000 male veterans who had undergone coronary angiography between 2005 and 2011, a procedure for testing the arteries when people have symptoms such as chest pain or are at high risk for heart problems. The men, whose average age was 60, were also found to have low testosterone levels during their exam, and at least 1,200 of them started testosterone treatments. During the study, 26 percent of men who were receiving testosterone therapy had either a heart attack or a stroke, or died from any cause, while only 15 percent of men who did not receive testosterone therapy had experienced such events or died.
Testosterone is also being blamed for causing elevated blood pressure. With all the adverse side effects of these synthetic hormone treatments, it is clearly best to increase T-levels naturally via diet, high-intensity exercise and lifestyle changes such as weight loss. Click here to see which foods can boost a man’s testosterone levels naturally.
