Testosterone Supplements The New Snake Oil

Ten years ago some scientists recruited several hundred volunteers and gave them Testosterone or a placebo. Those taking testosterone got stronger, compared with those taking the placebo, and they could carry a load up stairs faster.

But they also had nearly five times the number of cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks and strokes, and the study ended early.

Since those findings were published in 2010, studies of testosterone treatment have produced mixed results. A 2012 study of veterans aged 40 and over with low testosterone found that those treated with the hormone were less likely to die, but more recent reports, have documented an increase in cardiovascular risk in men over age 65 taking testosterone, as well as in younger men with a history of heart disease.

FDA Launches Investigation

The Food and Drug Administration said that they were investigating the safety of testosterone products, and will investigate rates of stroke, heart attack and death in men using the drugs.

Low T Fake Diagnosis by Charlatans and Quacks

Recently, testosterone has been heavily promoted as a cure-all, a modern day equivalent of Snake Oil, for low energy, low libido, and depression among middle-aged men. Low T is a fictitious diagnosis, hatched by the advertisers and pharmaceutical companies, and if one watches television commercials, one would believe there was an epidemic among middle aged men. Couple those ads with ones for erectile difficulties, one would think that our men are falling apart after 40. Ah the power of placebo!

Explosion of Testosterone Use

Between 2001 and 2011, hormone use by men 40 and over nearly quadrupled. By 2011, nearly one in 25 men in their 60s was taking testosterone.

Though the drug is only approved for men with abnormally low testosterone levels, a condition called hypogonadism, doctors have been prescribing it to many men with normal levels.

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Testosterone Supplements The New Snake Oil

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