Studies find no link between testosterone and prostate, heart problems

Scientists destroy myths about testosterone therapy

Some myths never die.

There are still people who think the moon landing was faked… that Elvis is alive… and that Bigfoot is running wild in the Cascade Mountains.

But there’s one myth out there that I’ve been fighting for years — a silly legend that’s keeping millions of men from a treatment that could boost their energy levels, supercharge their sex lives, and even help them drop stubborn pounds.

Maybe you’ve even heard this tall tale: testosterone therapy can cause prostate cancer and heart disease.

And fortunately, thanks to two new studies, I’m hoping that myth is busted once and for all.

Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Houston performed an exhaustive analysis of 40 different trials on prostate health in men who used testosterone therapy. The study even included men with a history of prostate cancer and men who were at elevated risk for the disease.

The conclusion? There was absolutely no link between the treatments and cancer growth.

Down the road, scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston looked to see if testosterone therapy could be causing blood clots, particularly in the legs and lungs. They researched health records from 30,000 middle-aged men and found no evidence that testosterone makes you any more likely to get a clot.

And that’s no surprise to me. I can usually dispel testosterone myths among my male patients with one simple question: If testosterone really caused cancer and heart disease, why aren’t teenaged boys dropping like flies?

The fact is, some of these misperceptions about testosterone date back to small and even incomplete studies from the 1940s that probably couldn’t get published today.

But there is one caution I always give my patients. I wholeheartedly recommend bioidentical hormone therapy over any of the synthetic hormone products (like testosterone) that you can find on the market.

Bioidentical hormone therapy closely copies nature by using natural molecules already found in your body, and in concentrations that your system would normally produce.

It’s safe, it’s natural and I use it in my own practice to help men feel younger and more vibrant than they have for years.

If your doc has been anxious about starting you on a hormone replacement program, print this article and show him the new research. And remind him that when it comes to testosterone, there’s no boogeyman in the closet.

Sources:

Testosterone replacement therapy and prostate cancer risk

(hcplive.com)

Study sees no link between testosterone therapy and blood clots

(nlm.nih.gov)