Testosterone for Women – Part 1
Testosterone is widely known as a male hormone. However, it plays a crucial part in the mental and physical health in women as well. Normally, testosterone is produced in the adrenal glands and ovaries in women. Just like men, as women age, their testosterone levels decline to result in a myriad of symptoms. Most of these symptoms occur so gradually people may not realize what is happening. However, testosterone plays a huge role in skin health, bone density, mental well-being, protection against cardiovascular disease, muscular strength, and libido.
The pharmaceutical companies have identified the benefits of testosterone and created a pill with combined estrogen and testosterone. Like most patented pharmaceuticals marketed by the big drug companies, they are synthetic and have been altered slightly from what your body normally produces. Synthetic hormones should be avoided and have been proven to be harmful in present-day research.
If you are a woman in your mid to late ’30s or early ’40s now may be a good time to begin treatment with a low dose of testosterone. This will allow the maintenance of lean muscle, which in turn, allows metabolism to stay constant or even increase. A healthy metabolism prevents the accumulation of visceral fat. A decrease in visceral fat prevents chronic, debilitating health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and vascular disease.
If you are a woman in menopause, then it is imperative to add testosterone to your hormone therapy. Multiple research studies have shown testosterone in a pellet or cream form (not oral) added to estrogen not only prevents osteoporosis but also improves bone mineral density scores. One study showed a 4.6% to 6.6% increase in bone mineral density on hormone therapy. There is not a drug on earth that is capable of doing that, only hormone therapy. The bisphosphonate family of medications (Fosamax being the most common) marketed to treat osteoporosis only slows bone loss. These medications do not increase bone density. So, the happy middle-aged woman wrestling with her grandchildren in the yard on the Fosamax commercial is still losing bone, not building bone. I hope her grandkids do not get too rough and risk a potential hip fracture.
Testosterone also helps prevents heart disease and greatly stimulates libido, improves orgasms and some studies have even shown prevention against breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. I will go into more detail on how in my next blog on those benefits.
