Without Cholesterol Your Body Can’t Make Testosterone

Dr. Michael Cutler | Apr 23, 2012 | Comments 8

Your body needs cholesterol to produce its sex hormones. So if you drive your cholesterol down too far, you’ll be lacking in testosterone, a critical hormone for men and one that women need also. When testosterone drops, your bones, muscles and emotions all suffer.

Hormone balancing seems to be a field that few doctors know about. Most of my knowledge in this area comes largely from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, the pioneers of functional and metabolic medicine.

Cholesterol And Hormones For Better Health

In the new medical specialty of anti-aging and hormone-balancing medicine, we know that low cholesterol in the diet is largely to blame for the body’s insufficient production of steroid hormones. The hormone metabolic pathway chart below shows that cholesterol must be present in order for the body to manufacture the important steroid hormones. The hormones in red are the ones we measure and can replace with supplementation if needed. I’d like to first discuss testosterone, the most critical for men and which women also need for health and a good sex life.



Source: Michael Cutler’s notes from American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine Fellowship training

Testosterone

Testosterone is produced mainly in the testes and to a degree in the adrenal glands in men. Women produce it in their adrenals and ovaries. It is the “life force hormone,” and it’s the primary source of libido and sperm production.

But it is much more: Testosterone helps maintain bone mass, male patterns of fat distribution, male hair patterns, muscle mass, muscle strength and positive mood.

When a man’s testosterone levels decrease to a point where unwanted symptoms occur, the condition of being testosterone-deficient is called “andropause.” It is a wonder that more doctors don’t learn about hormone balancing. I suppose it’s because more men don’t want to discuss these problems.

Remarkably, one in five men already suffers from andropause symptoms by the time he reaches age 40. By age 65, one in three has this problem. By age 80, one in two have it (in a conservative estimate). [1]

Testosterone Deficiency

For men, these symptoms, at any age, indicate a testosterone deficiency that leads to sub-optimal health and faster aging:

• Decreased muscle mass and strength.
• Decreased sex drive (low libido).
• Reduced ability to obtain and maintain a firm erection.
• Reduced frequency of spontaneous erections.
• Reduced ejaculate volume, intensity of orgasms and genital sensation.
• Shrinking testes.
• Breast enlargement, increased body fat and body mass index.
• Loss of pubic hair, axillary hair and normal hairy areas.
• Decreased energy.
• Hot flashes (yes, even in men).
• Emotional or high sensitivity to situational difficulties.
• Unnecessary worry, anxiety or fear.
• Decreased memory or concentration.
• Depressed mood.
• Loss of self-confidence.
• Persistent fatigue with physical activity; joint pains.

Hormonal Protection

But testosterone is not just a hormone for sexual function, strength, good mood and energy. It also protects against many serious diseases that can take your life early. Testosterone in optimal levels has been proven to decrease your risk of:

• Osteoporosis.
• Heart attack and stroke. [2]
• Diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
• Alzheimer’s dementia.
• Inflammation in metabolic pathways.
• Anemia.

In fact, even the rate of death has been found to be 33 percent higher in men with the lowest testosterone compared to those with the most in a study of 800 men over the age of 50 who were followed for 18 years. [3]

Next week, I will discuss what causes testosterone to become low in such a large number of men. I’ll accompany that information with the best treatment options in my next column.

To your best health,
Michael Cutler, M.D.
Easy Health Options

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[1] Mulligan T, Frick MF, Zuraw QC, Stemhagen A, McWhirter C. Prevalence of hypogonadism in males aged at least 45 years: the HIM Study. Int J Clin Pract. 2006;60:762-769.

[2] Bain. 2010. “Testosterone and the aging male: To treat or not to treat?” Maturitas. 2010 May;66(1):16-22. Epub 2010 Feb 13

[3] Laughlin GA et al. Androgen Deficiency and All-Cause Mortality in Older Men: The Rancho Bernardo Study. Abstract 55-2 presented June 5, 2007 at the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting

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