Although it is usually related to the male sex, testosterone, “hormone of life”, is found in both men and women. An expert explains its importance in health.
Madrid, February 20 (Europa Press).- Make no mistake: the testosterone is a hormone released in both men and women. We always associate it with the characteristics that give men masculinity, such as character, deep voice, sexual drive, or muscles and strength. But his “power” goes further and not only acts on the male sex.
In fact, it fulfills numerous missions in our body, and not only in the sexual sphere. Hence, Dr. Antonio Hernández, a specialist in Aesthetic and Antiaging Medicine and founder of the Keval+ Clinic (Valencia), speaks in his book Testosterone (Editorial encourages), of “the hormone of life”, but also, of the “most controversial hormone”.
Specifically, in an interview with Europa Press that in men it is released in the testicles and in the adrenal glands, while in females in the outer layer of their ovaries, but also in the adrenal glands. The difference? It is in the proportions but both sexes have testosterone.
It specifies that in men the concentrations are up to 10-15 times higher than in women. “Both testosterone, progesterone and estrogen are found in both sexes. They are crucial hormones for the correct physical and emotional health of both women and men, but what differs is in the concentrations”, she details.
So what are its functions? “Maintaining adequate concentrations of testosterone in the blood is necessary for the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system, the immune system, the bones, or a balanced cognitive and emotional status. Having adequate concentrations of testosterone in the blood will allow the development of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular or neurovascular pathologies to be much less, ”he defends in the introduction to his book.
Thus, and first of all, in a conversation with Europa Press explains the role that testosterone plays when it comes to preserving muscle and bone mineral density, so vital in the case of menopausal women, where osteoporosis is around, but also in men, who just as in women women, you are at risk of developing sarcopenia or loss of muscle mass with age.
It is also vital, as he continues, for the correct functioning of the metabolism in this era of metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, in short, cardiovascular pathologies.
“Obviously it is vital due to the very clear impact around the sexual sphere in both men and women, and here we talk about the positive impact from middle and old age, where it impacts self-esteem, control of emotions and predisposition to anxious-depressive processes”, stresses Dr. Hernández.
Moreover, it highlights the indirect impact it has on people: “When these improve different physiological areas, that is, when a person, because they have more strength or muscle mass, can go back to doing their daily activity that they had stopped doing, they also have more ability to have a social life because in turn their immune system is also stronger, autonomy with oneself and the ability to face day to day is greater and this empowers a person and allows them to have a better mood”.
Remember that there are “multiple” scientific works that show that from the age of 40-50, erectile dysfunction occurs in men, for example, while anorgasmia syndrome occurs in women. “At the moment in which testosterone concentrations are recovered by recovering the sexual sphere and the intimacy lost with the partner, this indirectly favors the state of mind and the way of facing day to day”, insists the specialist in anti-aging medicine .
IT ALSO INFLUENCES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND OUR LONGEVITY
In the sphere of the immune system, in which we are all a little more involved now, Dr. Hernández comments that testosterone mainly influences avoiding the aforementioned sarcopenia: “One of the great problems with the passage of time, with physical stress or emotional, and also related to malnutrition problems is the loss of muscle mass, which has such an impact on the correct functioning of the immune system, so it is very important to preserve any agent that favors maintaining muscle mass.
However, he acknowledges that if one tries to honor the scientific literature, “there are no studies that document that testosterone generates more long-term survival, but this shows that it affects quality of life, the prevention of sarcopenia that we have counted, or pathologies that revolve around the metabolism, apart from improving sexual life. “Testosterone ensures that we live better, not live longer,” he adds.
AN ADJUVANT
How to realize that we have correct our testosterone levels? Hernández emphasizes that from a blood test. He emphasizes here the importance that, being as we have told such a vital hormone and that can promise so many improvements, never, given his work experience, can a testosterone replacement therapy be approached without proper guidance, or adequate guidelines for nutrition or sports, stress control, because in reality what testosterone will do is camouflage the symptoms.
“Testosterone should be a tool framed within a general framework of care and be an addition, a coadjuvant. In patients with testosterone deficiency, for example, I have found that replacing this hormone through patches, gels or intramuscular injections could solve many symptoms associated with aging, as well as improve people’s quality of life, but unfortunately, many people , who, guided by the temptation to use testosterone to change their lives, have ended up with numerous side effects that affect their health”, he maintains.
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