We have been indoctrinated into thinking that elevated cholesterol is the cause of heart disease.[1] Thus, most doctors will prescribe medications that decrease cholesterol, particularly statin medications, which have been shown to be safe in most studies.[2] Thus, if the “bad” cholesterol is very high, this may be a good therapy. However, sometimes a good thing brought to an extreme can cause problems. We should not forget the rest of the body while focusing on just the heart. We all need some cholesterol for brain function, to make hormones, and many other functions.
You may develop a side effect from statin drugs which may force you to discontinue the statin and do something different to decrease heart disease risk. The most common unwanted side effect is muscle weakness, which is commonly known and seen by most physicians. However, a lesser realized potential side effect can also be a decrease in mental cognition.
We need cholesterol to think. Almost 25% of your cholesterol in your body is in your nervous system and is necessary for your brain to function normally.[3] Your brain needs cholesterol and other lipids for their fuel to provide the brain power for us to remember things and have cognitive abilities. When you don’t fuel your brain adequately, it doesn’t function as well and thus cognitive function can decline.
Recently there have been some studies that have suggested a link between statin use and cognitive decline..[4],[5],[6], [7] Other studies have suggested a beneficial effect of statins on brain function,[8][9] and one showed a decrease in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.[10] The confusion may be clarified by realizing that the effects are most likely dose related; i.e. higher dose statins appear to cause the problem of cognitive decline while lower dosage of statins may not.[11]
Another study recently done in the United Kingdom[12] found that some statins have a negative effect on learning and memory skills, while others don’t. Although their research used rats, the conclusions may pertain to humans. In those rats given pravastatin, they demonstrated significantly impaired performance in simple learning and memory tasks, while atorvastatin had no effect. Luckily, the effect was fully reversible once treatments ended. [13] These changes were not observed in the rats given atorvastatin.
So what do we do clinically? Overall, it would appear that high doses of statins probably do cause some mental impairment when used long term. In fact, this prompted the FDA to issue a warning that all statins have been reported to potentially affect cognition and the whole class carries an FDA warning.[14] They recommended further evaluations should be pursued. We believe that you should lower the dose to one that causes less problems, and treat the high cholesterol with other methods.
At our office in Dallas, TX, we have seen similar reactions of declines in cognitive function in our patients on high dose statins. It appears obvious that reducing your cholesterol reduces brain function since it requires adequate cholesterol to function properly and low cholesterol has been associated with some cognitive impairment per se. Therefore, we try to give statins only in very low dose when needed if the bad cholesterol is very elevated. However, if possible, we prefer more natural alternative methods to decrease cholesterol and decrease heart disease.
These methods include weight loss and maintaining an appropriate weights, adequate exercise, and natural products that decrease cholesterol. These may include the use of Bergamet, which is a naturally occurring substance derived from a citrus fruit only found in southern Italy. Taken twice a day, Bergamet has been shown to decrease cholesterol levels by around a third. [15]
A study conducted at the University of Rome showed that Bergamet can reduce abnormal lipid values in several ways. It reduces total cholesterol, by up to 31%) (LDL by 30%), it increases HDL (the “good” cholesterol) by 41%, if reduces triglycerides by up to 41%, and it reduces blood glucose levels by up to 22%.[16]
Bergamet is considered a bioflavonoid and a phytosterol. Another phytosterol that has shown to naturally decrease cholesterol is Sterolipin. This work in this fashion: Cholesterol is naturally secreted in your intestines with bile to emulsify fats. It is then reabsorbed with the fats into your body. Phytosterols help prevent this reabsorption. Thus, both Sterolipin and Bergamet decrease cholesterol by increasing cholesterol excretion through the gut through their phytosterol actions.[17]
Thus, proper cholesterol levels may be achieved without exposing the brain to high doses of statin drugs. If you would like further information on improving your health naturally, make an appointment to see Dr. True at 817-399-8783.
[1] Hsu I, Spinler SA, Johnson NE (1995) Comparative evaluation of the safety and efficacy of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor monotherapy in the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia. Ann Pharmacother 29: 743-759
[2] Davidson MH (2001) Safety profiles for the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: treatment and trust. Drugs 61: 197-206
[3] Dietschy JM, Turley SD (2001) Cholesterol metabolism in the brain. Curr Opin Lipidol 12: 105-112
[4] King DS, Wilburn AJ, Wofford MR, Harrell TK, Lindley BJ et al. (2003) Cognitive impairment associated with atorvastatin and simvastatin. Pharmacotherapy 23: 1663-1667.
[5] Padala KP, Padala PR, Potter JF (2006) Simvastatin-induced decline in cognition. Ann Pharmacother 40: 1880-1883
[6] Muldoon MF, Ryan CM, Sereika SM, Flory JD, Manuck SB (2004) Randomized trial of the effects of simvastatin on cognitive functioning in hypercholesterolemic adults. Am J Med 117: 823-829
[7] Evans MA, Golomb BA (2009) Statin-associated adverse cognitive effects: survey results from 171 patients. Pharmacotherapy 29: 800-811
[8] Etminan M, Gill S, Samii A (2003) The role of lipid-lowering drugs in cognitive function: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Pharmacotherapy 23: 726-730.
[9] Jick H, Zornberg GL, Jick SS, Seshadri S, Drachman DA (2000) Statins and the risk of dementia. Lancet 356: 1627-1631
[10] Wolozin B, Kellman W, Ruosseau P, Celesia GG, Siegel G (2000) Decreased prevalence of Alzheimer disease associated with 3-hydroxy-3-methyglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors. Arch Neurol 57: 1439-1443
[11] Evans MA, Golomb BA (2009) Statin-associated adverse cognitive effects: survey results from 171 patients. Pharmacotherapy 29: 800-811
[12] Stuart SA, Robertson JD, Marrion NV, Robinson ESJ, “’Chronic Pravastatin but Not Atorvastatin Treatment Impairs Cognitive Function in Two Rodent Models of Learning and Memory”, PLOS ONE : e75467.
[13] Evans MA, Golomb BA (2009) Statin-associated adverse cognitive effects: survey results from 171 patients. Pharmacotherapy 29: 800-811
[15] Vincenzo Mollace, et al., “Hypolipemic and hypoglycaemic activity of bergamot polyphenols: From animal models to human studies” Fitoterapia, Vol.82,Issue3, April 2011, 309-316
[16] Department of Cariology, University of Rome, “Tor Vergate” and the Vascular Medicin Atherosclerosis Unit of Cardiology, Villa Salus Medical centre, Marinella, IT.
[17] Natalizia Miceli, et al., Hypolipidemic Effects of Citrus bergamia Risso et PoiteauJuice in Rates Fed a Hypercholesterolemic Diet:, J.Agric.Food Chem., 2007, 55(26), PP 10671-10677.
There has been a paradigm shift in use of testosterone therapy due to prior misinformation.[1] For years medical students were taught that increased levels of testosterone increased the risk of developing prostate cancer. However, recent studies have proven otherwise, and it is probably better to have higher levels of testosterone than lower levels.
A study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism [2]showed a reduced risk of prostate cancer when testosterone was high. They examined 1000 male veterans age over 40 years old and followed them for 4 years. If they had an initial testosterone of <250, they were treated with testosterone therapy. The treated group totaled 400, and the rest of the vets were considered controls.
The results of the study were remarkable. The death rate (mortality) in those treated with testosterone was 10% while the mortality in those not treated was 20%. It is apparent that testosterone therapy decrease death rate, so more men lived longer.
The incidence of prostate cancer was also reduced when testosterone therapy was given. In those treated with testosterone, 1.6% developed prostate cancer, while in those not treated, 2.0% developed prostate cancer. This study thus showed that not only is testosterone therapy lifesaving, it also showed that prostate cancer is not induced by testosterone therapy.
This confirms a prior study reported in 2007 that showed a similar increase in longevity.[3] In this prospective study conducted over 10 years, 11,606 men ages from 40 to 79 years old were evaluated. Their conclusion was that high endogenous testosterone equated to low mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer, while low testosterone predicts higher incidence of these conditions. They saw no increase in prostate cancer incidence in men treated with testosterone.
Both these studies and others[4],[5] thus confirm that the risk of developing prostate cancer does not increase with higher levels of testosterone. In fact, testosterone treatment with adequate monitoring may be safer than no treatment.[6]This is a paradigm shift in prior thought and one that many physicians still have not realized. Many are still recommending no testosterone therapy due to this prior fear. We can now state that studies confirm safety in taking testosterone therapy.
Testosterone therapy can improve the quality of life of a man. As a man ages, his testosterone levels drop resulting in symptoms of testosterone deficiency. These include fatigue, tiredness, mood changes[7], depression, irritability, reduced libido and potency[8]. The latter includes decreases in desire, fantasies, morning erections, erectile tension, and intensity of orgasms.
But testosterone therapy also improves the man’s health. Testosterone deficiencies are associated with higher risks of diabetes[9], heart disease[10], Alzheimer’s disease[11], cognitive decline[12],[13], frailty[14], loss of bone structure, and cancer; plus an increase in inflammation, which may be part of the root cause why all these problems happen. Testosterone therapy actually improves Alzheimer’s symptoms.[15] There’s no increased risk of stroke with testosterone therapy.[16]
Low testosterone is a big problem. Half of healthy men between the ages of 50 to 70 years old will have a blood testosterone level below the lowest level seen in healthy men who are 20 to 40 years old.[17] Many don’t embrace testosterone because of old myths. But now, we can give men reassurance that this therapy is safe and beneficial for improving their health and their quality of life as they age.
[1] Morgantaler A. Testosterone and Prostate Cancer: An Historical Perspective on a Modern Myth. Eur Urol. 2006 Jul 26
[2] Shores, MM, et al., Testosterone Treatment and Mortality in Men with Low Testosterone Levels, J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012, April
[3] Khaw KT, et al., Endogenous testosterone and mortality due to all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer in men. Circulation. 2007;116:2694-2701
[4] Endogenous Sex Hormones and Prostate Cancer: A Collaborative Analysis of 18 Prospective Studies Endogenous Hormones and Prostate Cancer Collaborative Group . J Natl Cancer Inst 2008 100: 170-183
[5] Gould DC, Kirby RS. Testosterone replacement therapy for late onset hypogonadism: what is the risk of inducing
prostate cancer? Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2006;9(1):14-8.
[6] Feneley MR et al. Is testosterone treatment good for the Prostate? Study of safety during long term treatment. Journal of Sex Med 2012; June 6
[7] Burris A, et al., A long-term, prospective study of the physiologic and behavioral effects of hormone replacement in untreated hypogonadal men. J Androl 1992 Jul-Aug;13(4):297-304
[8] Caretta N et al. Erectile dysfunction in aging men: testosterone role in therapeutic protocols. J Endocrinol Invest. 2005;28 (11 Suppl Proceedings):108-11
[9] Kim C, et al., Endogenous sex hormones, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes in men and women. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2014 Apr;16(4):467
[10] Turhan S et al. The association between androgen levels and premature coronary artery disease in men. Coron Artery Dis. 2007 May;18(3):159-62.
[11] Gouras, GK, et al., Testosterone reduces neuronal secretion of Alzheimer’s beta-amyloid peptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2000, Feb 1;97(3):1202-5
[12] Alexander GM, Swerdloff RS, Wang C, et al., Androgen-behavior correlations in hypogonadal men and eugonadal men. II. Cognitive abilities. Hormones and Behavior 1998; 33(2):85-94
[13] Barrett-Connor E et al. Endogenous sex hormones and cognitive function in older men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1999 Oct;84(10):3681
[14] Hyde, Zoe et al. Low Free Testosterone Predicts Frailty in Older Men: The Health in Men Study. JCEM Vol 95, No 7.p 3165-3172.
[15] Tan RS A pilot study on the effects of testosterone in hypogonadal aging male patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Aging Male. 2003 Mar;6 (1):13-7
[16] Glueck, C et al. Testosterone, Thrombophilia, and Thrombosis Clin Appl Thromb Hemost.23 April 201
[17] Korenman SG, Morley JE, Mooradian AD, et al. 1990 Secondary hypogonadism in older men: its relationship to impotence. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 71:963–969.
Learning and embracing concepts that help keep your body healthier and potentially slowing the aging process has never been easier. You can look and feel younger, more energetic, and more beautiful by taking control of your life. If you want a better quality of life but feel you have fallen off the right course, pick yourself up and march forward to improve your health. You can learn to be a better you, just keep positive and follow our plan. Spell out L-E-A-R-N an you can LEARN how you can easily grasp the benefits from the new concept of anti-aging.
Lose Weight and Eat Right, Exercise your Body and Brain, Attack Age-Inducers, Replenish and Restore, Nourish Your Mind and Soul
Let’s look at each one of these actions a little closer.
Lose Weight and Eat Right
Embracing a healthy lifestyle eating the right foods and the right portions is essential for healthy living. We recommend that you eat a low carb diet packed with good protein foods, fruits and vegetables. Good oils are okay too, such as avocado, olive oil, fish oils and coconut oils. Some starches are okay in moderation, such as rice and potato, but limit your intake of wheat products such as breads and pastas.
We live in a world today that has “portion distortion”. In other words, we eat way too large of portions that our bodies do not need on a daily basis. This, amongst many other factors, has contributed to the rising incidence of obesity in the United States.
Being overweight is a serious threat to your health and longevity so we recommend that you lose any extra pounds and maintain a normal weight. Calorie restriction actually is associated with increase in longevity. Obesity and excess weight gain can increase your risks of developing degenerative medical problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, which can age you prematurely.
If you’ve tried dieting and exercise and you just can’t seem to get the weight off or to keep it off, then you might want to try our diet program, The True Diet. It is designed to change your metabolism while changing your lifestyle habits for the rest of your life. You will be successful if you follow our guidelines. Plus, once you lose the weight, our maintenance program can help you keep the weight off while giving you an energy boost at the same time.
Exercise your body and brain
Exercising your body is vital to keeping you looking and feeling young. Aerobic exercise, weight bearing exercises, physical sports or your favorite activity that gets your body moving are all good ideas. Since many of us just don’t seem to have time to exercise enough, try our PACE program of interval training which involves only 10-12 minutes a day. We can discuss this further during one of your visits.
“Exercising” your brain is just as important as exercising your body. None of us wants to get either dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Keep your mind active. Read, do crossword puzzles, learn a new language, study history, or whatever your interests are. Stay connected and enjoy the company of others. Maintain a loving relationship with someone and stay sexually active. A good sex life has been associated with longer life. All these also give you a better quality and meaning of life.
Attack Age-inducers
To fight the aging process, you must first understand it. There are many theories of aging and they probably all contribute to the process of debilitating your body. Inflammation, free radical formation, environmental toxin exposure, genetics, telomere shortening are some of these. All of these can be modified to help you live longer and with better quality of life if we attack these age inducers.
Inflammation is probably one of the most potent inducers of the aging process. Your immune system creates the inflammatory response which can be a good thing. This is the response of your body to external toxins, bacteria, viruses, etc. When functioning optimally, your immune system is your body’s “army” that keeps such foreign invaders from harming your body.
Unfortunately, as you get older, your body’s immune system doesn’t function optimally. Your immune system tries to build an even bigger defense, but sometimes results in harming your tissues instead. You could say your “army” doesn’t function as well and instead of pinpoint rifles to fight off offending substances, it uses hand grenades which kill the invaders but also cause collateral destruction to your tissues. This abnormal inflammatory response thus can result in many different degenerative medical conditions.
Arthritis or pain in your joints is one type of degenerative condition caused by these excessive abnormal inflammatory processes. Your army is throwing those grenades to fight off trauma or other invaders into your joints with resultant collateral damage to your joints, resulting in pain and deformities to your hands and joints. Decreasing inflammation to your joints with anti-inflammatory agents or boosting the efficiency of your immune system with immune boosters are some of the options to help decrease arthritic conditions from occurring.
When inflammation goes unchecked in your arteries, damage can occur to the walls of your arteries, the endothelium of the arteries. Inflammation here can combine with excess damaging lipids floating within your blood stream to result in formation of plaques in your arteries which can thicken and decrease the blood flowing through the arteries. If this happens in your heart arteries (coronary arteries), the clogged arteries cause heart disease. Preserving the health of your heart is paramount to living longer.
If you are like everyone else, you want to live longer, but you also want to do so with good mental abilities. Inflammation can cause changes within your brain in many ways. Damage to the arteries and decrease the flow of nutrients to sustain good brain functions. Inflammation to the nerve cells, called neurons, can result in destruction of the neurons and deposition of “gooey” material resulting in slowing of their function, which can result in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. A properly functioning immune system could lessen the chance of your developing these conditions.
Another medical condition feared by everyone is cancer. Cancers are caused when one of your cells changes into a cancer cell and then replicates itself many times over to produce the cancer. It has been estimated that this process actually happens every day. However, if you have an efficient immune system, your immune system destroys that one cell before it has a chance to form the cancerous tumor. Thus, maintaining a maximally efficient immune system is vital to prevention of cancers.
Consequently, in order to prevent these problems from happening, boosting the effectiveness of your immune system is essential. Options to boost your immune status include eating lots of vegetables that contain phytonutrients. These phytonutrients also are available as supplements. We call these immune boosters because they increase the efficacy of your immune system to work adequately. Some immune enhancing supplements include Moducare(sterols and sterolins), DHEA, Turmeric curcumin, Quercetin, Omega 3 FFAs, Resveratrol, Vitamin C and Vitamin D.
When the immune system goes hay wire, toxic particles are formed called free radicals. These energized particles can attack your cells and cause damage to them, including their DNA. Anti-oxidants are substances that neutralize these free radicals to help prevent them from their destructive properties. Taking anti-oxidants is therefore another method to combating the effects of aging on your tissues. Essentially all the above supplements also are powerful antioxidants.
Inflammation can enter your body through many routes, but one of the most common is through your GI tract, i.e. your intestines. Protecting your GI tract can potentially decrease the inflammatory process from entering your body and is thus very important. First, you can tighten the junctions between the cells that line your GI tract by increasing your glutamine intake. We recommend you use a supplement containing high amounts of glutamine, such as our GI Health 1(TrueMD).
Next, you can coat the linings with natural substances to protect it with substances such as glycerizzha and aloe. GI Health 1 also contains these compounds providing you with an easy first step for improving your GI health. Simply take a scoopful of this powder mixed with water or your favorite drink three times a day.
Another action you can do to improve the health of your GI tract is to improve the bacterial flora within your GI tract by taking probiotics. Improving the fiber you ingest can also help decrease the inflammatory response by helping to eliminate them from your body. We have a great Probiotic by TrueMD that can help you restore your natural flora. All these actions are all easy things you can do to decrease potential inflammation from entering your body.
Environmental toxins, pollutants, heavy metals, and other substances can stimulate your immune response to create inflammatory destruction to your tissues. This process can cause degenerative changes and destruction of your cells which can age you prematurely. By eliminating these toxins, you can potentially improve your health and help to decrease these destructive processes and giving you healthier tissues. Removing them may require assistance from your physician.
You age differently than anyone else for multiple reasons and partly from your genes’ response to your environment. A new concept in anti-aging is to turn on certain powers of your genes to help keep you from aging prematurely. One of these is the concept of telomere shortening. Telomeres are an essential part of each of your genes which are made up of strands of DNA. Every time one of your cells replicates to form new cells, the strands of DNA divide and then reunite in two cells. This process is guided by the sequence of amino acids on the ends of the DNA called the telomere.
Unfortunately, every time this division happens, the telomere gets shorter. After multiple replications, the telomere is so short it no longer can control the process of uniting the strands of DNA together adequately and cell death occurs. As destruction of enough of your cells occurs, you show signs of your body aging. However, technology has developed a way to decrease this shortening process from happening, to preserve longer telomeres. A substance called telomerase activator (TA) has the power to keep your telomeres longer, which can result in less damage formation and subsequent maintenance of a more healthy, less aged body.
Replenish and Restore
As you get older, the levels of the hormones in your body decrease. Sex steroid hormones such as testosterone and estrogen dwindle down naturally. The result is that you may become tired, fatigued, your muscle mass doesn’t seem to be firm, your motivation may decrease, and your sexual desire (libido) and performance may decrease significantly. Women may get hot flashes and develop mood changes, sometimes even depression occurs. All these symptoms can result in a poor quality of life.
In addition, lack of hormones can make you age more rapidly. Frailty is sometimes the endpoint of this degenerative process that one sees in many people. Boosting their hormone levels to more youthful levels can potentially help reverse this debilitating process and help you have a better quality of life. Moreover, hormones have been shown to decrease the risk of your developing other degenerative processes, such a decrease in heart disease, bone loss (osteoporosis) and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, when these are taken preventively over long periods of time.
Optimizing your hormones to fit youthful levels is the key. Balancing your sex hormones is the goal. These may include the optimization of the sex hormones of estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, and DHEA. Other hormones which tend to lessen with age include thyroid and adrenal hormones. Optimizing these hormones to healthier levels can be a factor to boosting your energy level to higher levels
Maintaining good energy is partly a function of your adrenal glands (small glands just above your kidneys) as they secrete the hormones cortisol and mineralocortisol. The production of these must be done precisely in the right amounts to control your metabolism, which is a major factor in your energy level and in managing your weight. If you are excessively tired or gaining weight abnormally, abnormalities of these hormones may be contributing to these problems.
Another important hormone is insulin, which helps regulate your blood sugar (glucose). Proper insulin secretion from your pancreas can result in optimal glucose control and health. Unfortunately, abnormal secretion of insulin can result in poor health, obesity and a marked increase in inflammation with its coexisting degenerative destructive processes. Thus, it is imperative to control your insulin levels to optimal levels.
In addition to hormonal decline that occurs while we age, we also can see destructive mechanisms in our body that occur as we get older. These processes need repair and restoration. Preventing them is vital, but once we get them, repairing them is essential to reduce the disabilities that they may cause as we age. Of course, prevention is the best medicine, but when we get aches and pains, these need to be evaluated and treated when necessary.
Nourish your mind and sole
You must give your body the right food to stay healthy as discussed above. However, you must also feed your brain with not only good food, but also with mental stimuli to improve its health and function. Your brain needs good fats (lipids) to function properly. Some good fats are omega 3 FFA, such as fish oils, and medium chain free fatty acids, such as coconut oil. Many other nutrients are also essential, and we recommend a preparation called Brain Sustain to ensure you are getting all these nutrients adequately.
You want maximum function of your brain and exercising your brain regularly, as suggested above, is important to achieve this. However, after any exercise, you must give yourself a rest break. Thus, adequate sleep is important. You may not be able to get 8 hours of sleep every night, but if you can at least maximize your sleep, you can do just fine. The best sleep is called REM sleep, and is essential for brain health. One way to help is to take Melatonin; sometimes up to 10 mg to 20 mg at night help you get the REM sleep.
Along with mental rest, you have to have a good mental attitude to live life to the fullest. Someone once said, “Attitude is everything”, and we believe this is very true. You can overcome many obstacles in your life with a winning positive attitude. Getting up every morning with a smile on your face and an internal enthusiasm to enjoy every minute of your day can improve your mental outlook and keep you feeling young.
Managing the stresses in your life is also important. You may not be able to change the external forces that cause your stress, but you can change the way you feel about them. Stress can age a person prematurely. Stress has been associated with an increased risk of many medical problems, including worsening heart disease and mental disorders, including depression. Stress management can be any means to relieve your reaction to stressful situations. This could be yoga, meditation, prayer, or whatever works for you.
Sometimes just talking with others can relieve you of your stresses. Staying mentally connected with others is not only good for stress, but it also has been associated with longevity and enjoyment of life. Interact with others daily. Make and enjoy friends and relationships. Keep your social calendar active. Enjoying life is always better if you can enjoy it with someone else.
Use the above concepts as a starting point to LEARN about what you can do to improve your help, to help decrease the development of degenerative processes, to live with better quality of life, and to potentially help extend your longevity. Learning to improve yourself will prove itself every day of your life.
The number one killer of men (and women) is heart disease. If there is something you can do to improve your heart health, would you do it? You probably have been lectured on the benefits of staying fit, exercising, eating the right foods, losing weight if you’re overweight. All these are very important in helping to prevent the development of heart disease.
But do you know that raising your testosterone level also help prevent heart disease? Studies have shown that the more free testosterone you have, the better your heart functions.[1] In fact, if you have low testosterone, you have a greater chance of having heart disease. The journal Nature published a study that showed people with heart disease had a significantly lower level of testosterone than healthy people.[2]
In another study, a large number of men, 4,000, were followed for over five years. After analysis of the rates of heart disease, they found that those who had more free testosterone (the testosterone in your body that is working) were 71% less likely to die from heart disease than those who had the least. [3]
It makes sense that testosterone would help improve your heart health. After all, the heart is a muscle and testosterone is a “building” hormone: it builds muscle. Body builders will testify to this amazing attribute of testosterone. So, if it can build the muscle of weight lifter’s arms and legs, why not build the muscles of the heart to make it healthier.
But testosterone does other actions to help decrease heart disease, also called cardiovascular disease, because it affects the heart (cardio) and the arteries of your heart and your body (vascular). The lining of your arteries are lined by a layer of cells called the endothelium. When this lining gets damaged, plaques of lipids (like cholesterol) can form on these cracks, which can become inflamed. This process causes the lining to thicken, resulting in a narrowing of the artery. If narrowed to the point that little blood goes through the artery, the heart tissue fed by the artery suffers from lack of nutrients and oxygen (ischemia) and could ultimately result in a heart attack.
Luckily, there are things you can do to prevent these plaques from forming. Lowering your bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels (lipids in your body) to healthy levels is important. But, raising your testosterone level also seems to help decrease them by improving the function of the endothelium.[4] Studies have shown that testosterone increases blood flow to the heart, which obviously would increase oxygen and nutrients to the heart to make it healthier.[5]
Another action of testosterone on your arteries is that it appears to prevent blood clot formation within the arteries.[6] Clots can form within your arteries and cause blockage. These are especially susceptible to form if a plaque is present on the endothelium of the artery. You could say the plaque can be a catalyst to the formation of the clot. If in the heart, this blockage could cause a heart attack. If in the brain, it could cause a stroke.
In one large study, it was found that testosterone therapy decreased the risk of development of heart attacks by 7 fold and the risk of stroke by 9 fold.[7] The conclusion of this study was that testosterone showed a protective effect against MI and strokes, and that there is no evidence to suggest a worsening of MI or stroke, including those in the study who were at high risk of developing these problems.
Thus, letting your testosterone level drop to very low levels could be a disaster for your heart and your brain. Indeed, boosting your testosterone level to optimal levels has been shown to provide multiple other positive benefits. Muscle strength and tone is improved; body fat decreases; sexual potency improves; your mood, energy, and mental function are better too.
So if you want to reap the benefits of testosterone therapy, have your testosterone level checked. If low, think about boosting it to better healthier levels. Generally, we believe that the benefits of testosterone are achieved once the level is over 500 ng/ml in your blood. If low, you can use testosterone injections, creams or pellets.
[1] Jin Q, Lou Y, Chen H, Li T, Bao X, Liu Q, He X. "Lower free testosterone level is correlated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in asymptomatic middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes mellitus." Int J Clin Pract. 2014.
[2] "Low testosterone levels are associated with CVD risk." Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2011 Oct 21;7(11):632.
[3] "Low testosterone levels are associated with CVD risk." Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2011 Oct 21;7(11):632.
[4] Ong PSL, Patrizi G, Chong WCF, Webb CM, Haywar’d CS, Collins P. "Testosterone enhances flow mediated brachial artery reactivity in men with coronary artery disease." Am J Cardiol. 2000. 85:14–17.
[5] Webb CM, McNeill JG, Hayward CS, Zeegler D, Collins P. “Effect of testosterone on coronary vasomotor regulation in men with coronary heart disease.” Circulation. 1999. 100:1690-1693.
[6] Webb CM, McNeill JG, Hayward CS, Zeegler D, Collins P. “Effect of testosterone on coronary vasomotor regulation in men with coronary heart disease.” Circulation. 1999. 100:1690-1693.
[7] Tan RS, Cook K, Reilly WR. Testosterone therapy is not associated with MI or strokes. Abstract 1353. Presented at American Association Clinical Endocrinology 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting May 16th, 2014
Would you like to live longer but live with an active mind? One potent action you can do to help you maintain your brain health is to boost the efficiency of your immune system.
Your immune system helps fight off outside toxins and invaders. It has the ability to recognize and destroy toxins, bacteria, viruses, etc. that might invade your body and are “foreign” to your body, thus protecting your cells from potential damage from them. However, if your inflammation goes wild and over-does-it, it can cause damage. This is that “silent” chronic inflammation that you hear about from Dr. Oz or you read about in Newsweek and Time magazine.
Unfortunately, as you get older and age, the ability of your immune system to fend off these foreign substances begins to deteriorate and is less efficient. The response of your body is to fight even more and put more immune soldier in there, which can potentially start damaging your tissues as “collateral damage”. This collateral damage can cause the degenerative disorders we all know about and include heart disease, joint disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and aging skin, to name a few.
An example of this inflammatory response can be seen when arthritis, or inflammation of the joints occurs. Here, there was some damage to your joint. The immune system tried to correct the problem. But, with age, the response isn’t so efficient so the response is increase, i.e. goes wild, because it wants to protect you. Unfortunately, sometimes it just damages tissues, resulting in painful, inflamed, swellen, sometimes red and hot areas that need treatment to resolve.
A similar response can occur microscopically all over your body, and particularly in your arteries, causing cardiovascular disease, and in your brain, resulting in poor brain function and weakening your ability to think, otherwise called cognitive function. As this inflammation progresses, worsening damage occurs and the result is dementia and potentially Alzheimer’s disease. This silent inflammation is rapidly becoming recognized as the root cause of cognitive decline and other serious medical conditions, as listed above.
There are many actions you can do that can boost your immune efficiency resulting in potentially decreasing collateral damage to your tissues and thus maintaining healthier tissues. You could call these tissue protectors since they protect your tissues, including your brain, heart, and joint tissue, from excessive inflammation and its potential destructive effects.
One of the most powerful protecting substances, especially protecting the brain, is a natural compound called curcumin. Curcumin is an antioxidant compound that is found in the root of a plant called turmeric. It is the familiar bright yellow spice commonly found in curry powder. It is consumed in high amounts in India and it is thought that it contributes to their longevity, as their lifespan tends to be longer than Americans. Interestingly, India also has the lowest incidence of cognitive decline worldwide, and it is thought that this high intake of curcumin contributes to this (1).
Unfortunately, it is estimated that 1 in 8 Americans will suffer from some sort of severe cognitive decline; and by age 80, up to 50%, 1 in every 2 Americans, will develop this (2). But don’t fear; there are actions you can do to decrease this from happening, and these are called anti-aging actions; i.e. actions you can take to help prevent the damages produced by degenerative processes that can occur as we age.
In a nutshell, here’s what you should do: take immune boosters, lose weight, exercise regularly, use your mind, replenish low hormones, ingest or supplement adequate nutrients. Regarding taking immune boosters, one of the most powerful immune boosters that you can take is curcumin. It is also an antioxidant to fight off free radicals that can destroy your tissues, and it boosts your immunity so there’s less collateral damage to your tissues.
If the excess inflammation gets to your brain, it can cause the deposition of abnormal protein on the nerves in your brain, called neurons, and decrease their ability to function. In Alzheimer’s, this protein is called amyloid, and partly causes the mental sluggishness and forgetfulness that goes along with that disease. Studies show that curcumin has the ability to bind to these proteins and break then down so your body can eliminate them better (3).
This was demonstrated in a study involving people with severe cognitive decline demonstrating the benefits of curcumin. Those participants taking curcumin had significantly higher levels of dissolved abnormal proteins in their blood compared to those in the placebo group (3). Removal of these abnormal proteins can therefore help protect the neurons and maintain their normal function. Curcumin is one of the only natural substances known to have this protective effect on the brain.
Curcumin’s ability to boost you immunity can not only help your brain, but it also has been shown to reduce joint pain and muscle soreness, plus help your arteries and support your cardiovascular system (4, 5, 6, 7, 8). It is easy to reap the benefits curcumin can provide for you: you can just take a pill.
The recommended dose is to take around 1000 mg of curcumin a day. To make sure you are taking the right stuff, make sure the curcumin has a large proportion of the active ingredient, cucunimoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin). Best is to take one with75% to 95% active curcuminoids per standardized assay.
Let’s review how curcumin can help you
Boosts your immune system
Improves the efficiency of your immune system to fight off foreign attacks.
Fights body-wide inflammation
Significantly lowers levels of inflammatory markers and decreased excess inflammation
Protects brain neurons
Binds and dissolves inflammatory proteins that stick to neurons and reduce their ability to function.
Supports cardiovascular function
Decreases inflammatory changes in arteries which could lead to plaque formation to help decrease atherosclerosis.
Decreases joint pain and loss of mobility
By decreasing inflammation of joints which decreases destruction and damage to joint tissues
Reduces compromised digestive function
Reducing inflammation in the gut promotes improved gut function and less leaky gut problems
Promotes more youthful skin
By fighting free radicals and decreasing inflammation, skin aging is slowed, promoting soft, smooth, glowing skin
Fights obesity complications
Inflammation that occurs from obesity can be lessened
