Testosteronul este un androgen, un hormon sexual masculin, chiar daca si femeile au nevoie de el. La barbati, nivelurile scazute de testosteron sunt aosciate cu libidou scazut si sanatate precara - precum dezvoltarea de sindrom metabolic. Atat la barbati cat si la femei, nivelurile mici de testosteron au fost asociate cu depresia.
Cei de varsta mijlocie si varstnicii inregistreaza scaderi ale testosteronului de 0,4% - 1,6% pe an, si sunt numerosi cei care au niveluri de testosteron sub medie inca de la 30 de ani. Din fericire exista lucruri si suplimente care restaureaza productia normala de testosteron.
Stil de viata
Pentru a iti reface nivelurile de testosteron nu ai nevoie doar de cantitatile optime de vitamine si minerale; ai nevoie sa dormi bine, sa faci miscare fizica si sa ai o greutate sanatoasa.
1. Somn
Lipsa somnului provoca multe probleme de sanatate. In special, scade productia de testosteron si favorizeaza ingrasarea (si o sa vedem ca ingrasarea in sine scade nivelurile de testosteron). Sa dormi suficient si suficient de bine este foarte important cand vrei sa ai niveluri cat mai bune ale testosteronului.
2. Activitatea fizica
Antrenamentele cu greutati pot spori productia de testosteron timp de 15-30 de minute dupa incheierea lor. Dar cel mai important, pot imbunatati productia de testosteron pe termen lung prin imbunatatirea compozitiei corpului (raportul dintre masa grasa si cea musculara) si prin reducerea rezistentei la insulina.
Supraantrenamentul, in schimb, este contraproductiv. In special efortul lung de anduranta poate duce la diminuarea nivelurilor de testosteron. Sa ai grija sa te recuperezi cum trebuie dupa efort iti permite sa te bucuri la maxim de beneficiile activitatii fizice.
3. Controlul greutatii
Ingrasarea si bolile cronice asociate cu ea, precum bolile cardiovasculare si diabetul de tip 2 sunt puternic legate de scaderi ale testosteronului, in special la barbatii de varsta mijlocie si varstnici.
Daca iei in greutate (sub forma de grasime), productia de testosteron scade. Din fericire, daca slabesti, productia de testosteron revine.
Cum arata graficul de mai sus, studiile observationale arata aceleasi rezultate: la cei supraponderali sau obezi, cu cat slabirea este mai mare cu atat este mai mare cresterea testosteronului.
Aceste rezultate s-au vazut si in studii clinice. Si nu trebuie sa fie o reducere drastica a grasimii: o diminuare a greutatii din grasime de 5% poate creste testosteronul total cu 2 nmol/L
Suplimente
Doar cateva suplimente se pare ca pot creste testosteronul. Dintre acestea, cele mai bune sunt vitamina D si zincul, urmate de magneziu. Dar trebuie avut in vedere doua lucruri:
- Suplimentarea cu o vitamina sau mineral te ajuta doar daca ai deficiente sau niveluri sub-optim ale acelei vitamine sau mineral.
- Corectarea unei deficiente sau insuficiente va duce la cresterea testosteronului direct proportional cu severitatea ei.
Vitamina D
Vitamina D ajuita la reglarea nivelurilor de testosteron. Ideal este sa iti iei doza totala de vitamina D prin expunerea la soare, dar cu cat traiesti mai departe de ecuator cu atat este mai greu. Asa ca suplimentarea este o optiune buna.
Nivelurile vitaminei D (ng/ml)
Status |
Endocrine Society |
Institute of Medicine |
Vitamin D Council |
Deficienta |
<20 |
<12 |
<30 |
Insuficienta |
20 - <30 |
12 - <20 |
30 - <40 |
Suficienta |
30 - 100 |
20 - 50 |
40 - 100 |
Efecte secundare |
>100 - 150 |
>50 - 60 |
>100 - 150 |
Risc |
>150 |
>60 |
>150 |
In general, este greu sa iei vitamina D din alimente asa ca suplimentarea este deseori necesara.
Zinc
Deficientele de zinc pot opri productia de testosteron. Ca si magneziul, zincul se pierde prin transpiratie, asa ca sportivii si cei care transpira mult vor beneficia cel mai mult de pe urma suplimentarii cu acest mineral. Zincul se gaseste mai ales in produsele de origine animala.
Magneziu
La barbatii cu niveluri mici de magneziu si niveluri mici de testosteron, o crestere a aportului de magneziu se poate corela direct cu o crestere a productiei de testosteron, atat direct (din moment ce unul din rolurile magneziului in corp este de a ajuta la conversia vitaminei D in forma sa activa) cat si indirect
In special cei care fac sport au niveluri mai mici de magneziu decat ar fi optim.
Suplimente supraevaluate pentru cresterea productiei de testosteron
Se vand multe ingrediente si suplimente care pretind ca cresc testosteronul, dar nu sunt toate prea grozave. De exemplu Maca, poate parea ca functioneaza, pentru ca poate creste libidoul. Dar face asta fara a creste si productia de testosteron.
Un supliment cunoscut este acidul d-aspartic. Acidul d-aspartic a crescut nivelurile de testosteron in doua studii, unul care a folosit o doza de 2,66 g/zi si altul o doza de 3,12 g/zi, dar alte doua studii nu au gasit nicio crestere de la 3 g.zi si un studiu care a folosit o doza de 6 g/zi a constatat o descrestere.
Referinte
- Travison TG, et al. The relationship between libido and testosterone levels in aging men . J Clin Endocrinol Metab. (2006)
- Chrysohoou C, et al. Low total testosterone levels are associated with the metabolic syndrome in elderly men: the role of body weight, lipids, insulin resistance, and inflammation; the Ikaria study . Rev Diabet Stud. (2013)
- Westley CJ, Amdur RL, Irwig MS. High Rates of Depression and Depressive Symptoms among Men Referred for Borderline Testosterone Levels . J Sex Med. (2015)
- Giltay EJ, et al. Salivary testosterone: associations with depression, anxiety disorders, and antidepressant use in a large cohort study . J Psychosom Res. (2012)
- Feldman HA, et al. Age trends in the level of serum testosterone and other hormones in middle-aged men: longitudinal results from the Massachusetts male aging study . J Clin Endocrinol Metab. (2002)
- Wu FC, et al. Hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis disruptions in older men are differentially linked to age and modifiable risk factors: the European Male Aging Study . J Clin Endocrinol Metab. (2008)
- Handelsman DJ, et al. Age-specific population centiles for androgen status in men . Eur J Endocrinol. (2015)
- Cote KA, et al. Sleep deprivation lowers reactive aggression and testosterone in men . Biol Psychol. (2013)
- Leproult R, Van Cauter E. Effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone levels in young healthy men . JAMA. (2011)
- Penev PD. Association between sleep and morning testosterone levels in older men . Sleep. (2007)
- González-Santos MR, et al. Sleep deprivation and adaptive hormonal responses of healthy men . Arch Androl. (1989)
- Cortés-Gallegos V, et al. Sleep deprivation reduces circulating androgens in healthy men . Arch Androl. (1983)
- Nedeltcheva AV, et al. Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity . Ann Intern Med. (2010)
- O'Leary CB, Hackney AC. Acute and chronic effects of resistance exercise on the testosterone and cortisol responses in obese males: a systematic review . Physiol Res. (2014)
- Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA. Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training . Sports Med. (2005)
- Daly W, et al. Relationship between stress hormones and testosterone with prolonged endurance exercise . Eur J Appl Physiol. (2005)
- Hackney AC, Aggon E. Chronic Low Testosterone Levels in Endurance Trained Men: The Exercise- Hypogonadal Male Condition . J Biochem Physiol. (2018)
- Grossmann M. Low testosterone in men with type 2 diabetes: significance and treatment . J Clin Endocrinol Metab. (2011)
- Tajar A, et al. Characteristics of secondary, primary, and compensated hypogonadism in aging men: evidence from the European Male Ageing Study . J Clin Endocrinol Metab. (2010)
- Hall SA, et al. Correlates of low testosterone and symptomatic androgen deficiency in a population-based sample . J Clin Endocrinol Metab. (2008)
- Grossmann M, Matsumoto AM. A Perspective on Middle-Aged and Older Men With Functional Hypogonadism: Focus on Holistic Management . J Clin Endocrinol Metab. (2017)
- Corona G, et al. Body weight loss reverts obesity-associated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Eur J Endocrinol. (2013)
- Camacho EM, et al. Age-associated changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular function in middle-aged and older men are modified by weight change and lifestyle factors: longitudinal results from the European Male Ageing Study . Eur J Endocrinol. (2013)
- Pilz S, et al. Effect of vitamin D supplementation on testosterone levels in men . Horm Metab Res. (2011)
- Wehr E, et al. Association of vitamin D status with serum androgen levels in men . Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). (2010)
- . Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D . . ()
- Heaney R, et al. Letter to Veugelers, P.J. and Ekwaru, J.P., A statistical error in the estimation of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D. Nutrients 2014, 6, 4472-4475; doi:10.3390/nu6104472 . Nutrients. (2015)
- Veugelers PJ, Ekwaru JP. A statistical error in the estimation of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D . Nutrients. (2014)
- Netter A, Hartoma R, Nahoul K. Effect of zinc administration on plasma testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and sperm count . Arch Androl. (1981)
- Chang CS, et al. Correlation between serum testosterone level and concentrations of copper and zinc in hair tissue . Biol Trace Elem Res. (2011)
- Tang YM, et al. Relationships between micronutrient losses in sweat and blood pressure among heat-exposed steelworkers . Ind Health. (2016)
- Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc .
- Singh M, Das RR. Zinc for the common cold . Cochrane Database Syst Rev. (2011)
- Valentiner-Branth P, et al. A randomized controlled trial of the effect of zinc as adjuvant therapy in children 2-35 mo of age with severe or nonsevere pneumonia in Bhaktapur, Nepal . Am J Clin Nutr. (2010)
- Willis MS, et al. Zinc-induced copper deficiency: a report of three cases initially recognized on bone marrow examination . Am J Clin Pathol. (2005)
- Afrin LB. Fatal copper deficiency from excessive use of zinc-based denture adhesive . Am J Med Sci. (2010)
- Maggio M, et al. The Interplay between Magnesium and Testosterone in Modulating Physical Function in Men . Int J Endocrinol. (2014)
- Uwitonze AM, Razzaque MS. Role of Magnesium in Vitamin D Activation and Function . J Am Osteopath Assoc. (2018)
- Costello RB, Moser-Veillon PB. A review of magnesium intake in the elderly. A cause for concern? . Magnes Res. (1992)
- Nielsen FH, Lukaski HC. Update on the relationship between magnesium and exercise . Magnes Res. (2006)
- Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Military Nutrition Research; Marriott BM, editor. Washington (DC). Nutritional Needs in Hot Environments, “Influence of Exercise and Heat on Magnesium Metabolism” . National Academies Press (US). (1993)
- Consolazio CF, et al. Excretion of sodium, potassium, magnesium and iron in human sweat and the relation of each to balance and requirements . J Nutr. (1963)
- Yoshimura Y, et al. Pharmacokinetic Studies of Orally Administered Magnesium Oxide in Rats . Yakugaku Zasshi. (2017)
- Firoz M, Graber M. Bioavailability of US commercial magnesium preparations . Magnes Res. (2001)
- Gonzales-Arimborgo C, et al. Acceptability, Safety, and Efficacy of Oral Administration of Extracts of Black or Red Maca (Lepidium meyenii) in Adult Human Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study . Pharmaceuticals (Basel). (2016)
- Zenico T, et al. Subjective effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) extract on well-being and sexual performances in patients with mild erectile dysfunction: a randomised, double-blind clinical trial . Andrologia. (2009)
- Gonzales GF, et al. Effect of Lepidium meyenii (MACA) on sexual desire and its absent relationship with serum testosterone levels in adult healthy men . Andrologia. (2002)
- Dording CM, et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of maca root as treatment for antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction in women . Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. (2015)
- G. D’Aniello, et al. D-asparate, a key element for the improvement of sperm quality . Advances in Sexual Medicine. (2012)
- Topo E, et al. The role and molecular mechanism of D-aspartic acid in the release and synthesis of LH and testosterone in humans and rats . Reprod Biol Endocrinol. (2009)
- Melville GW, Siegler JC, Marshall PW. Three and six grams supplementation of d-aspartic acid in resistance trained men . J Int Soc Sports Nutr. (2015)
- Willoughby DS, Leutholtz B. D-aspartic acid supplementation combined with 28 days of heavy resistance training has no effect on body composition, muscle strength, and serum hormones associated with the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis in resistance-trained men . Nutr Res. (2013)