A 42-year-old man said testosterone therapy helped him build muscle and restore mood and energy.
However, as a former fitness model, he said it didn’t measure up to his former peak physique.
He said hormone therapy has downsides like water weight, hair loss, costs, and time commitment.
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42-year old menswear designer and model Weston Boucher said testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) has helped him restore his energy, improve his mental health, and put on more than five pounds of muscle, but he thinks he looked better before the treatment.
Despite benefits like better energy and mental health, he wishes he had waited longer before trying TRT, Boucher previously told Insider.
“I want guys to be cautious of it, as it’s not a magic pill,” he said in a follow-up interview.
One result has been more muscle mass, and an easier time maintaining it. But he’s also gained water weight, and his overall physique doesn’t measure up to his previous peak, he said.
“I’m not really working out to build muscle right now, it just stays on,” Boucher said. “But it hasn’t translated into my perception of what lean muscle looks like.”
A longtime health-conscious athlete, Boucher said careful diet and exercise did more for his physique than hormones, and the primary benefits weren’t related to the mirror, but to his mental and physical wellbeing.
He said the process of adjusting hormones, including to address increased estrogen levels, has been lengthy, challenging, and expensive, and anyone considering the treatment should be aware of the commitment involved.
TRT can help address symptoms in men who have imbalanced hormones
Many men may have clear symptoms of low testosterone, but if their hormone levels were high enough to start with, a decrease may not fall into the current standard for low testosterone, urologist Dr. Ananias C. Diokno previously told Insider.
It’s a good idea to test early and know your testosterone levels by age 30 so testing can detect a significant drop that may be causing issues, Diokno said.
Boucher initially started TRT after experiencing common signs of low testosterone including loss of sex drive, brain fog, depression, and fatigue, as well as trouble maintaining muscle and strength.
The most dramatic benefits were alleviating his long-term depression, improving his energy and sex drive, and boosting his gym performance.
Testosterone therapy doesn’t replace diet and exercise
While there can be aesthetic changes with hormone therapy, it’s primarily a tool to address overall health and wellbeing with proper medical care. Boucher cautioned against men using it simply for more muscle and strength without focusing on lifestyle first.
“To jump to any synthetic before diet and exercise is a massive risk and in my opinion will lead to regret,” he said. “Never underestimate the power of the human body and our biology. When you give the body what it needs, it can figure out a whole hell of a lot.”
Boucher said he had his peak physique at ages 36 to 40, after years of careful workouts and strict, low-fat dieting to build a lean, muscular look. He’s since prioritized health instead.
“I knew it wasn’t healthy or sustainable,” he said. “Now I look at diet much more for overall wellness than for a cover shoot.”
Weston Boucher said he was at his leanest around 2018 after years of workouts and low-fat dieting, but knew it wasn’t sustainable.
Courtesy of Weston Boucher
Adjusting to hormone therapy takes time and side effects can include hair loss
One challenge with TRT is that it can cause a series of complex changes in the body, including shifting levels of other hormones. Boucher said it increased his estrogen levels too — a common side effect.
To cope, he said he’s had to take other supplements and be particular about his diet, in addition to adjusting the TRT treatment over time.
Other side effects have included hair loss and shrinking testicles.
“Until your hormone levels are balanced, it doesn’t matter if you have really healthy test levels,” he said. “Know you’re taking this long list of things to counter side effects. People need to realize that level of commitment.”
Model and designer Weston Boucher said testosterone therapy helped him heal a hormone imbalance.
He said his muscle mass, gym performance, energy, libido, and mood all improved.
However, downsides like hair thinning, cost, and time commitment made him wish he had waited longer.
42-year old menswear designer and model Weston Boucher said testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) restored his energy, focus, and muscle gains, but he wishes he had waited longer before trying it.
“I think I would have had more peace of mind if I waited until I was 50,” he told Insider.
Boucher said low-dose testosterone got his health and performance back on track, but was a huge time commitment that had side effects like hair thinning.
After working out for months without results, he noticed his testosterone had plummeted
A longtime fitness enthusiast, Boucher was experienced at building muscle, and had a cover shoot with Men’s Health to prove it. But in late 2019, he returned to the gym from an injury and struggled to maintain his physique, keep up with his workouts, and recover afterward.
“My body just didn’t feel the same. I got my diet back on point, did the workouts I had always done to get the best results, but I wasn’t getting any response. It was really frustrating,” he said.
He also had symptoms like fatigue, depression, and brain fog — classic signs of low testosterone, experts previously told Insider.
Blood tests revealed Boucher’s testosterone levels were half of what they had been the previous year, he said, dropping from around 1,100 nanograms per deciliter to 500. While hormone tests aren’t a routine part of men’s health checkups, Boucher said he’s particularly health conscious and opted to have them done as a precaution.
Typically, low testosterone is diagnosed as below 300 nanograms per deciliter, but normal levels can vary widely between men, so sharp decreases can cause symptoms even if the overall level isn’t in the “low” range, urologist Dr. Ananias Diokno told Insider.
More men could benefit from having routine hormone tests to understand their baseline levels in case symptoms do arise, according to Diokno.
Testosterone therapy led to more energy, muscle mass, and improved mood and libido
After trying lifestyle changes like nutrition to restore his hormone levels, Boucher asked his doctor about treatment options.
In January 2021, Boucher said he started the therapy with low dose self-injections twice a week, along with hormones DHEA and HCG to help offset side effects. At first, nothing changed. About two months in, he said his doctor opted to switch from injections into the muscle to subcutaneous (under the skin), changing how the hormone is absorbed. The shift cause dramatic improvements to his mental and physical health, according to Boucher.
“I’ve had mild depression my whole life, and it was gone overnight. It was like a fog lifted,” he said.
Healthy testosterone levels are important for red blood cells, bones, and muscles, all of which are crucial for strength and energy, and the hormone is also associated with overall wellbeing, mental health, and focus, according to Diokno.
Boucher said after six months of treatment, his hormone levels were “promising,” his gym performance and sex drive had improved, and he had gained more than five pounds of mostly lean mass.
The side effects were hair thinning, less emotional sensitivity, and a lot of time and money spent adjusting
The benefits of hormone therapy came after extensive medical follow-ups and treatmenat adjustments to keep his health markers in balance, according to Boucher.
“You can’t just self-administer and say, thanks doctor, have a nice life,” he said.
One consequence of the treatment was more water weight, thinner hair and shrinking testicles: not medically dangerous, but unsettling.
“It was a real wake-up call,” Boucher said.
And while his depression was lessened, so was his overall emotional awareness.
“The biggest switch was I was not as emotional, but not in a good way,” he said.
Common side effects of TRT include a decrease in testicle size and sperm count, which can lower fertility, as well as a higher risk of blood clots, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Hair loss can be a side effect of testosterone injections due to increases levels of a related hormone DHT that can shrink hair folicles, according to Harvard Health.
Despite the positive results, he said he could have waited longer to try hormone therapy
Boucher said he’s happy with the results of hormone therapy, but hesitant to recommend it.
Testosterone therapy can suppress natural hormone production, particularly in older men, making it difficult to stop using it, according to experts.
“It’s a commitment. If I could go back, I wish I wouldn’t have jumped into it as soon as I did,” he said. “Anyone considering hormones should do it as a last resort because you can’t go back.”
Boucher said sharing his experience on YouTube has been incredibly positive, helping dispel stigma for other men.
“I just really want to be transparent about everything,” he said. “When guys don’t talk about stuff, we just carry it with us, and it’s important to have some support and some hope. I feel like this has started a conversation.”
ST. LOUIS — Men with low testosterone levels see their risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 more than double, according to a new study.
Compared to men with regular testosterone levels, men with low counts of the sex hormone were 2.4 times more likely end up in the hospital with severe coronavirus symptoms. However, if they received successful hormone replacement therapies, patients recovered quickly.
This joins a list of other symptoms and pre-existing conditions connected to COVID, including sexual dysfunction, depressed mood, irritability, difficulty with concentration and memory, fatigue, loss of muscular strength, and a reduced sense of well-being overall.
Study authors suggest that this discovery means men with low testosterone should receive testosterone supplementation to protect them from suffering severe infection from the virus. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Saint Louis University School of Medicine add that preventing severe disease would reduce the burden on hospitals during new waves of COVID-19.
“It is very likely that COVID-19 is here to stay,” says co-senior author Abhinav Diwan, MD, a professor of medicine at Washington University, in a media release.
“Hospitalizations with COVID-19 are still a problem and will continue to be a problem because the virus keeps evolving new variants that escape immunization-based immunity. Low testosterone is very common; up to a third of men over 30 have it. Our study draws attention to this important risk factor and the need to address it as a strategy to lower hospitalizations.”
When do testosterone levels reach a danger point?
Dr. Diwan’s research follows on previous research that men hospitalized with the disease have abnormally low testosterone levels. However, those previous results were limited because severe illness or traumatic injury can cause hormone levels to temporarily drop, making it unclear as to whether the findings were a cause or effect.
To find out, the study in JAMA Network Open investigated whether men with chronically low testosterone levels get sicker than men with regular levels. By documenting 723 men examined between January 2017 and December 2021, and who had COVID-19 in either 2020 or 2021, they succeeded.
Results show 427 patients had regular testosterone levels, 116 had low levels, and 180 previously had low levels but received hormone replacement treatment and were back to normal.
Co-senior author Dr. Sandeep Dhindsa says their work confirmed low counts of the hormones did mean a higher chance of hospitalization.
“Low testosterone turned out to be a risk factor for hospitalization from COVID, and treatment of low testosterone helped to negate that risk,” Dhindsa reports. “The risk really takes off below a level of 200 nanograms per deciliter, with the normal range being 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter. This is independent of all other risk factors that we looked at: age, obesity or other health conditions. But those people who were on therapy, their risk was normal.”
Testosterone therapy comes with risks
Though they recommend hormone replacement therapy, the team notes that there are concerns related to the treatment, including a risk of prostate cancer and heart disease. Prostate cancer is often the result of testosterone problems and boosting those levels could speed up the growth of tumors.
The link to heart disease is less clear, but a clinical trial is ongoing to uncover the apparent connection.
“In the meantime, our study would suggest that it would be prudent to look at testosterone levels, especially in people who have symptoms of low testosterone, and then individualize care,” concludes Diwan, whose specialty is cardiology. “If they are at really high risk of cardiovascular events, then the doctor could engage the patient in a discussion of the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy, and perhaps lowering the risk of COVID hospitalization could be on the list of potential benefits.”
South West News Service writer Pol Allingham contributed to this report.
Summary: While more commonly associated with promoting aggressive behaviors, testosterone can also promote social affection and prosocial behaviors in males, a new study on gerbils finds.
Source: Emory University
Testosterone can foster friendly, prosocial behavior in males, a new animal study finds. The Proceedings of the Royal Society B published the research on Mongolian gerbils conducted by neuroscientists at Emory University.
“For what we believe is the first time, we’ve demonstrated that testosterone can directly promote nonsexual, prosocial behavior, in addition to aggression, in the same individual,” says Aubrey Kelly, Emory assistant professor of psychology and first author of the study.
“It’s surprising because normally we think of testosterone as increasing sexual behaviors and aggression. But we’ve shown that it can have more nuanced effects, depending on the social context.”
The work also revealed how testosterone influences the neural activity of oxytocin cells — the so-called “love hormone” associated with social bonding.
Richmond Thompson, a neuroscientist at Oxford College of Emory University, is co-author of the study.
Kelly’s lab has recently focused on the neural effects of oxytocin using rodent experimental models. Thompson’s lab investigates the neural effects of steroids in fish. Both scientists are trying to get at the question of how hormones work in the brain to allow an animal to rapidly change its behavior, depending on the social context.
In addition to sharing this research interest, Kelly and Thompson share a home as a married couple.
“The idea for this paper was borne out of us talking together over a glass of wine,” Kelly says. “It blends our two research worlds.”
The majority of human studies show that testosterone enhances aggressive behavior. Kelly and Thompson wondered if maybe testosterone might, in lockstep with being able to increase aggression toward intruders, also generally dampen prosocial behaviors.
However, they also hypothesized that it might do something more radical — actually enhance positive social responses in contexts in which acting prosocially is appropriate.
To test this question, the Kelly lab conducted experiments on Mongolian gerbils, rodents that form lasting pair bonds and raise their pups together. While males can become aggressive during mating and in defense of their territory, they also exhibit cuddling behavior after a female becomes pregnant, and they demonstrate protective behavior toward their pups.
In one experiment, a male gerbil was introduced to a female gerbil. After they formed a pair bond and the female became pregnant, the males displayed the usual cuddling behaviors toward their partners.
The researchers then gave the male subjects an injection of testosterone. They expected that the resulting acute rise in a male’s testosterone level would lessen his cuddling behaviors if testosterone generally acts as an antisocial molecule.
“Instead, we were surprised that a male gerbil became even more cuddly and prosocial with his partner,” Kelly says. “He became like ‘super partner.’”
In a follow-up experiment a week later, the researchers conducted a resident-intruder test. The females were removed from the cages so that each male gerbil that had previously received a testosterone injection was alone in his home cage. An unknown male was then introduced into the cage.
“Normally, a male would chase another male that came into its cage, or try to avoid it,” Kelly says. “Instead, the resident males that had previously been injected with testosterone were more friendly to the intruder.”
The friendly behavior abruptly changed, however, when the original male subjects were given another injection of testosterone. They then began exhibiting normal chasing and/or avoidance behaviors with the intruder.
“It was like they suddenly woke up and realized they weren’t supposed to be friendly in that context,” Kelly says.
The researchers theorize that because the male subjects experienced a surge in testosterone while they were with their partners, it not only rapidly increased positive social responses toward them but also primed the males to act more prosocially in the future, even when the context changed and they were in the presence of another male.
However, the second testosterone injection then rapidly prompted them to switch their behavior to become more aggressive, as appropriate to the context of a male intruder.
“It appears that testosterone enhances context-appropriate behavior,” Kelly says. “It seems to play a role in amplifying the tendency to be cuddly and protective or aggressive.”
The laboratory experiments, in a sense, slowed down what the males might experience almost simultaneously in the wild. In their natural habitat, Kelly explains, mating with a partner elevates testosterone, which primes them to act cuddly in the moment and in the near future while living with their partner, even if the testosterone levels decline.
If a rival entered its burrow the gerbil would likely experience another surge of testosterone that would immediately help adjust his behavior so he can fend off the rival and protect his pups. Testosterone, then appears to help animals rapidly pivot between prosocial and antisocial responses as the social world changes.
The current study also looked at how testosterone and oxytocin interact biologically. The results showed that the male subjects receiving injections of testosterone exhibited more oxytocin activity in their brains during interactions with a partner compared to males that did not receive the injections.
The research was conducted with Mongolian gerbils, rodents that form lasting pair bonds and raise their pups together. The work showed the nuanced effects of testosterone, depending on context. It also revealed how testosterone influences the neural activity of oxytocin cells, the so-called love hormone associated with social bonding. Credit: Aubrey Kelly
“We know that systems of oxytocin and testosterone overlap in the brain but we don’t really understand why,” Kelly says. “Taken together, our results suggest that one of the reasons for this overlap may be so they can work together to promote prosocial behavior.”
Rather than just flipping an “on” or “off” button to modulate behaviors, hormones seem to play a more nuanced role, Kelly says. “It‘s like a complicated dashboard where one dial may need to move up a bit while another one moves down.”
See also
Human behaviors are far more complex than those of Mongolian gerbils, but the researchers hope that their findings provide a basis for complementary studies in other species, including humans.
“Our hormones are the same, and the parts of the brain they act upon are even the same,” Thompson says.
“So, learning how hormones like testosterone help other animals adjust to rapidly changing social contexts will not only help us understand the biological nuts and bolts that affect their behavior, but also predict and ultimately understand how the same molecules in human brains help shape our own responses to the social world around us.”
Jose Gonzalez Abreu, a former research specialist in the Kelly lab, is a co-author of the study.
Funding: The work was supported by the National Science Foundation.
About this social neuroscience research news
Author: Carol Clark Source: Emory University Contact: Carol Clark – Emory University Image: The image is credited to Aubrey Kelly
Original Research: Closed access. “Beyond sex and aggression: testosterone rapidly matches behavioral responses to social context and tries to predict the future” by Aubrey Kelly et al. Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Abstract
Beyond sex and aggression: testosterone rapidly matches behavioral responses to social context and tries to predict the future
Although androgens are widely studied in the context of aggression, androgenic influences on prosocial behaviours have been less explored.
We examined testosterone’s (T) influence on prosocial and aggressive responses in a positively valenced social context (interacting with a pairbond partner) and a negatively valenced context (interacting with an intruder) in socially monogamous Mongolian gerbils.
T increased and decreased prosocial responses in the same individuals towards a pairbond partner and an intruder, respectively, both within 30 min, but did not affect aggression. T also had persistent effects on prosocial behaviour; males in which T initially increased prosocial responses towards a partner continued to exhibit elevated prosocial responses towards an intruder male days later until a second T injection rapidly eliminated those responses.
Thus, T surges can rapidly match behaviour to current social context, as well as prime animals for positive social interactions in the future. Neuroanatomically, T rapidly increased hypothalamic oxytocin, but not vasopressin, cellular responses during interactions with a partner.
Together, our results indicate that T can facilitate and inhibit prosocial behaviours depending on social context, that it can influence prosocial responses across rapid and prolonged time scales, and that it affects oxytocin signalling mechanisms that could mediate its context-dependent behavioural influences.
Barnaby Brownsell developed a “sizable” penis and pubic hair at the age of 2.
Doctors told his family this was caused by prolonged exposure to his father’s testosterone gel.
His mom launched a campaign to get manufacturers of the gel to include a prominent health warning.
Whenever Erica Brownsell took her 2-year-old, Barnaby, to the play area, other parents would ask why a child his size was still drinking from a bottle.
On one occasion, she said, a stranger remarked that “he looked like a little man.” She said some people had called him a “Viking” or “Samson” because of his muscular build.
But it was only after Brownsell saw pubic hair around Barnaby’s “sizable” penis that she got seriously worried.
“I knew it wasn’t normal,” the 43-year-old mom told Insider, noting that her toddler resembled a 4- or 5-year-old boy. “He’d have massive, sustained erections and his height and weight were off the charts.”
Brownsell, of Brighton, England, added: “He weighed 26 pounds at the age of 1 and put on over two pounds every month between the ages of 12 and 18 months. It wasn’t fat, just muscle.”
Dr. Tony Hulse, a pediatric endocrinologist at Everlina London Children’s Hospital in the UK, was somewhat baffled when Sosna consulted him in March.
Barnaby had as much testosterone in his system as an adult male
Blood work showed that Barnaby had an abnormally high level of testosterone — as much as a grown man — when it should be negligible for a boy his age. He also had the bone density of a 4.5-year-old child.
Further tests ruled out the most common causes, such as an endocrine tumor or a congenital disorder that affects the adrenal glands.
Two-year-old Barnaby Brownsell appears to be a 4- or 5-year-old and is much bigger than his cousin, who’s also 2.
Courtesy of Erica Brownsell
“It was very scary,” Brownsell said.”Nobody seemed to know what was going on.”
Then one of Hulse’s colleagues made a suggestion. She wondered whether Barnaby had been exposed for long periods to an artificial testosterone treatment meant for adults.
Hulse told Insider that he emailed Sosna to ask if he’d ever come into contact with the medication.
“My husband had been using testosterone gel for several years,” Brownsell said, explaining that Barnaby’s father, Peter, was born with a complex testicular condition.
Peter Brownsell applied testosterone gel to his skin every day, not knowing that the substance was being transferred to his son.
Courtesy of Erica Brownsell
She said they were “shocked” to learn that the generous amount of topical gel that he applied every day may have caused Barnaby’s issues.
“I spent two years of my life thinking that I was protecting and taking care of him when in fact his own environment was contaminated,” Brownsell said.
According to Brownsell, a career consultant, her husband used the product — brand-named Testogel in the UK and AndroGel for the equivalent type of drug in America — on his skin to help correct his testosterone deficiency.
Dr. Benjamin Udoka Nwosu, the head of pediatric endocrinology at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York, told Insider that the absorption of testosterone gel or cream — typically applied to the upper arms and shoulders — is “never complete.”
Testosterone gel could be risky for kids if they’re exposed to the medication
“There’s some testosterone left on the skin, even hours after the application,” Nwosu said. “Family members and other individuals who have close contact with the male patient are at risk of direct exposure.”
The doctor said that the testosterone “gets into the bloodstream” even when the patient wears clothing. “Studies have shown that even if you cover the site with a T-shirt, 40 to 48% of the hormone can be transferred,” Nwosu said.
He said that if the exposure “occurs over a long period of time,” the amount of testosterone can be harmful. The high levels are particularly dangerous to children, Nwosu said, because they can enter puberty years before their peers.
The symptoms, he said, include acne, pubic and underarm hair, and oversized reproductive organs.
Brownsell said that she and her artist spouse took turns caring for Barnaby while the other worked. The father frequently watched him in the mornings. His shift would begin after he applied the Testogel, his wife said, before describing the 65-year-old father as a “hands-on dad.”
Hulse told Insider that he was “99.99% sure” that Brownsell’s hormone treatment triggered Barnaby’s puberty at an extraordinarily young age.
Barnaby’s specialist told his parents that the boy’s chronological age would eventually “catch up” with his body
The physician, who strongly advises people to use disposable gloves when they apply the gel, said he was relieved to tell Barnaby’s parents that his chronological age would eventually “catch up” with his body. He explained that the boy’s testosterone levels would return to normal now that his dad had switched to testosterone injections.
“Barnaby will stop growing so rapidly,” Hulse said, adding that the problem was caught relatively early and “hopefully it won’t have done any long-term damage.”
Barnaby Brownsell, pictured with his dad, is muscular and the size of a child at least two years older than him.
Courtesy of Erica Sosna
He is now backing Brownsell’s campaign to raise awareness about the risk to children of testosterone gel. She wants to see a prominent warning introduced in the UK on packages of Testogel, along with specific leaflet instructions. AndroGel in the US has had a boxed warning since 2009 because more than 20 cases like Barnaby’s had been reported to the Federal Drug Administration. The adverse reactions led to one child needing surgery, according to the FDA.
Insider reached out to Besins, the European pharmacy company that manufactures the gel, for comment and is awaiting a response.
Meanwhile, Brownsell said that Barnaby’s “avoidable” condition has taken its toll.
“The toxin has effectively distorted his appearance,” she said. “We’ll never know what he was supposed to look like at the age of 2.”
When you’re younger, you might think you’re the only person who has figured out how to make yourself feel good this way; and once you realize you’re not alone, you might think that literally everybody is doing it.
The truth is that masturbation is very common, but not universal. One survey found that 94% of men and 85% of women have ever done it; another found the numbers to be 91% and 78%. (These studies only reported results under these two genders.)
But when you’re looking at any given age group (or if you ask whether somebody has masturbated in the past week, or the past month), the numbers are a lot smaller. Teenagers who reported masturbating in the past month ranged from 43% to 61%, depending on age group, for the guys; for girls, the numbers were 24% to 26%. The youngest age group in the survey, 14 to 15 years old, had the lowest numbers.
We can’t be sure how much the numbers represent how many people are actually getting off by themselves, and how much they reflect people’s willingness to admit it. But it’s pretty clear that masturbation is very common, and also that if you’re not doing it on the regular, you’re still in good company.
WORCESTER, England — Gym buffs who knock back protein shakes and devour lean meats are lowering their chances of having kids, warns a new study. Following a high-protein diet may reduce men’s testosterone levels, which can lead to erectile dysfunction and low sperm counts, say scientists.
Men who are looking to build muscle or lose weight are often encouraged to consume large amounts of lean meats, fish and protein shakes. But now scientists at the University of Worcester say pilling on the protein could cost them dearly, decreasing their testosterone levels by more than a third.
Cutting out carbs, which has become increasingly popular with celebs like Kim Kardashian, also comes at a price, the researchers report.
“Most people eat about 17 percent protein, and the high protein diets which caused low testosterone were all above 35 percent, which is very high,” says lead researcher Joseph Whittaker, a doctoral student at the university, in a statement per South West News Service. “So for the average person, there is nothing to worry about, however for people on high protein diets, they should limit protein to no more than 25 percent.”
Not having enough testosterone has also been linked to chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. In contrast, healthy testosterone levels are very important for strength, muscle building, and athletic performance.
Results from 27 studies involving a total of 309 men were compiled by the researchers. Those who followed a high protein, low carb diet had much lower levels of testosterone compared to others. Having more than 35 percent protein reduced testosterone levels by 37 percent, which is medically referred to as hypogonadism, the researchers found.
Too much protein and not enough carbs also increased cortisol, commonly known as the body’s stress hormone, which is released during the “so-called fight or flight” response. High levels of cortisol have been found to suppress the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections like colds, flus and COVID-19.
Packing on the protein can also cause “rabbit starvation,” where the body turns too much protein into ammonia which is toxic at high levels. This condition, sometimes called “protein poisoning,” was first discovered by Roman soldiers who were forced to survive on rabbits during the siege of Villanueva del Campo. Many of them developed severe diarrhea and died.
“The finding that low carbohydrates diets increase cortisol is very interesting, as these diets have become incredibly popular over recent years, with many celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, LeBron James, and Meagan Fox, promoting them,” Whittaker says. “However further work needs to be done in this area, to know if this is necessarily bad.”
The findings are published in the journal Nutrition and Health.
Report by South West News Service writer Tom Campbell
One of the easiest ways to at least ameliorate the problem is to stop sleeping on your back because that position allows gravity to collapse your throat. Stomach sleeping, however, puts gravity back on your side, pulling the tissues of your mouth and throat forward.
Side sleeping helps, too, particularly if you can sleep on your left side because it creates optimal blood flow and reduces the chance of airway “collapse.” Right-side sleeping, while not as effective as left-side sleeping, helps airflow too.
If side-sleeping positions are alien to you, you might try employing a thicker pillow to support your head. Alternately, you could buy one of those Japanese love pillows (dakimakura) that have an Anime babe painted on them. A regular body pillow would work, too, but they’re a little less exciting. Either way, they can help keep the body in the same position all night.
Easy alternative treatments for minor or transient cases of sleep apnea include rinsing the sinuses at night using a Neti pot, using nasal decongestants or nasal strips, avoiding excess alcohol, and losing weight.
In more serious cases, there are more serious solutions. One is wearing a “continuous positive airway pressure” (CPAP) device where a small compressor blows air into a mask worn over the nose and mouth. The device was reverse-engineered from a common vacuum cleaner in the 1980s by an Aussie doctor. You might have seen one on the “Sopranos” episode where Tony, upon seeing a doctor slip a CPAP mask over Junior’s head, cracked wise and said, “How many MiGs you shoot down last week?”
Anyhow, it’s easy to see why CPAP compliance is low, anywhere from 29% to 83%, depending on what survey you believe. They’re uncomfortable, and they’re definitely not sexy.
The remaining alternatives consist of a variety of surgeries, the exact type depending on the OSA patient’s particular situation. Some may require palate surgery or an “uvulopalatopharyngoplasty,” where they remove part of the palate, along with the tonsils and the uvula.
Adenoid or tonsil removal is also applicable in certain patients, as is laser or cautery assisted uvulopalatoplasty, tongue surgery, nerve stimulation, permanent tracheotomy, bariatric surgery (simply to reduce body weight), and even skeletal surgery where they rearrange your jaw. Others find relief in palate implants where the doc puts rods in the throat, upon which scar tissue forms to stiffen up the palate.
One of the easiest ways to at least ameliorate the problem is to stop sleeping on your back because that position allows gravity to collapse your throat. Stomach sleeping, however, puts gravity back on your side, pulling the tissues of your mouth and throat forward.
Side sleeping helps, too, particularly if you can sleep on your left side because it creates optimal blood flow and reduces the chance of airway “collapse.” Right-side sleeping, while not as effective as left-side sleeping, helps airflow too.
If side-sleeping positions are alien to you, you might try employing a thicker pillow to support your head. Alternately, you could buy one of those Japanese love pillows (dakimakura) that have an Anime babe painted on them. A regular body pillow would work, too, but they’re a little less exciting. Either way, they can help keep the body in the same position all night.
Easy alternative treatments for minor or transient cases of sleep apnea include rinsing the sinuses at night using a Neti pot, using nasal decongestants or nasal strips, avoiding excess alcohol, and losing weight.
In more serious cases, there are more serious solutions. One is wearing a “continuous positive airway pressure” (CPAP) device where a small compressor blows air into a mask worn over the nose and mouth. The device was reverse-engineered from a common vacuum cleaner in the 1980s by an Aussie doctor. You might have seen one on the “Sopranos” episode where Tony, upon seeing a doctor slip a CPAP mask over Junior’s head, cracked wise and said, “How many MiGs you shoot down last week?”
Anyhow, it’s easy to see why CPAP compliance is low, anywhere from 29% to 83%, depending on what survey you believe. They’re uncomfortable, and they’re definitely not sexy.
The remaining alternatives consist of a variety of surgeries, the exact type depending on the OSA patient’s particular situation. Some may require palate surgery or an “uvulopalatopharyngoplasty,” where they remove part of the palate, along with the tonsils and the uvula.
Adenoid or tonsil removal is also applicable in certain patients, as is laser or cautery assisted uvulopalatoplasty, tongue surgery, nerve stimulation, permanent tracheotomy, bariatric surgery (simply to reduce body weight), and even skeletal surgery where they rearrange your jaw. Others find relief in palate implants where the doc puts rods in the throat, upon which scar tissue forms to stiffen up the palate.
Actor Dax Shepard has spent years talking openly about sobriety, building his highly successful Armchair Expert podcast around an ethos of vulnerability. Shepard was in recovery for 16 years when he revealed in September that he had relapsed with prescription pain pills, a fact he was reticent to admit publicly but that he decided was relevant for a fanbase who had come to admire his honesty.
In his latest disclosure, the 46-year-old said on his podcast with guests Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis that he is using “heavy testosterone injections.”
“I spent my whole life as a medium boy,” he said after Kutcher remarked on the size of his biceps, “and now I’m a big boy and I like it.”
Shepard initially said he was using testosterone to bulk up, but when Kutcher and Kunis expressed concern, Shepard said low testosterone runs in his family and that using it has also helped improve his disposition.
Testosterone is a hormone that helps men maintain everything from muscle strength to facial hair to sex drive. While there are medical reasons for using testosterone, experts say steroid use carries many physical and mental health risks.
“Testosterone is an androgen. It is a powerful steroid that can have a lot of effects downstream, that can impact mood, that can then impact anxiety, that can also itself lead to addiction,” said Collin Reiff, an addiction psychiatrist at NYU Langone Health who specializes in substance abuse treatment.
Medical uses for testosterone
Testosterone peaks during adolescence and young adulthood, according to the Mayo Clinic, and declines with age. Shalender Bhasin, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said testosterone is only approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for one clinical use: treatment of hypogonadism in men (a condition where the body does not produce enough testosterone).
Testosterone treatment is also medically appropriate, Bhasin said, as gender affirming care.
Dessa Bergen-Cico, coordinator of the Addiction Studies program at Syracuse University, says the use of alcohol, cannabis, amphetamines and opioids, which Shepard said he abused during his last relapse, can all lower testosterone. Opioid agonist therapies, including methadone and suboxone, can also suppress testosterone. In these cases, experts say testosterone replacement therapy may be recommended, but only under the care of a medical professional.
But even when testosterone is prescribed, it can include a host of dangerous and unwelcome side effects, including an increased risk of blood clots and cardiac problems as well as enlarged breasts and limited sperm production.
While Shepard said testosterone has helped with his mood – he said he “was depressed after (the 2017 film) ‘CHIPS'” and now is “on fire to work” – Bhasin said its efficacy in treating major depression has not been shown.
“There is agreement that testosterone does not improve major clinical depression,” he said.
Misuse of testosterone
Endocrinologists say the majority of testosterone misuse is driven by body dissatisfaction. Most people who misuse testosterone are young men, almost always weightlifters and recreational bodybuilders who are using testosterone to look leaner and more muscular.
“It’s a body image disorder,” Bhasin said.
Shepard said he wanted to build muscle mass and has “gained about 24 pounds” by working out “six days a week, lifting heavy (weights),” and using testosterone.
Bergen-Cico said exercise is also viewed in the field of behavioral health as a legitimate addiction, and steroids can exacerbate it.
“The use of steroids can play into that and they can become not addictive in the same way as stimulants and depressants but can play into the same reward and reinforcement pathways in the brain,” she said. “It also fosters an increase in adrenaline, aggression and anger, which can have an addictive quality or bite to it.”
Michael Parent, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said the paraphernalia required to administer testosterone may add an additional layer of risk for some people in recovery.
“If someone is using injectable steroids, that means they have needles around and for some people those needles are triggers,” he said. “You might have a stock of hundreds of needles and for some people, it just removes one more barrier from a potential relapse.”
Experts stress that no one should use steroids unless under the care of a medical professional. There are significant long-term risks of steroid use.
“One-third of men who use large doses will have profound suppression of testicular function when they stop,” Bhasin said. “It can take months or years to recover. Some may not.”
