New Study claims that Low Testosterone Prevents Prostate Cancer by Jerry Brainum

 

 

At first, I thought I was seeing things. While engaging in my usual perusal of medical and science journals, I came upon a new study that stopped me in my tracks. The title of the article was "Low free testosterone and prostate cancer risk: A collaborative analysis of 20 prospective studies.[ref] Watts, et al. European Urology 2018; in press[/ref]. My first impression from reading the title was that this was still another study confirming the fact that having a chronically low testosterone level, as is the case with at least 30% of men over age 40, would significantly increase the risk of prostate cancer. Many other published studies in recent years have shown that to be true. These findings are in direct opposition to the belief of many physicians, who still believe that testosterone is directly associated with the onset of prostate cancer (PC). Indeed, I have run into such physicians myself. A few years ago, I was sent a supplement that purported to increase testosterone levels. At the time, I hadn't had any lab tests for testosterone, but since I was over age 40, I figured that using the supplement would only help me. Similar to many other men, I found it more difficult to gain any muscle past age 40 and suspected that perhaps my testosterone levels were on the low side. I had no reason to suspect this other than the lack of regular gains in the gym since I did not meet the usual criteria for symptoms related to low testosterone levels.

I was told by the purveyor of the supplement, which was sold as a "testosterone booster," that it did not contain any actual drugs, but would work with my own body to upgrade my testosterone levels. I was also told that I would experience no side effects if I kept the dose to the suggested amount. I did exactly that. Frankly, I didn't feel or notice anything different after two weeks of consistently using the supplement. But one day while loading the leg press machine in the gym I didn't pay attention to how much weight I used on the machine, but when I finished the set I was startled to see that I had used over 75 pounds more than my usual weight, yet did the same number of repetitions. When I trained my biceps, I was able to do incline dumbbell curls with weights that were 30 pounds more than I could lift just two weeks earlier. My muscles showed the effects of this increased strength, particularly in my arms and legs. Despite being over age 50 at the time, I was making muscle and strength gains compared to what I made in my 20s. But I had been told to get off the supplement after 4 to 6 weeks, so I did. Within a month, all my previous gains in muscle mass and strength had returned to . . .