When men hear or read that dreaded word combination, their mind can only go to one place. Because when people think of low testosterone, they only think of how testosterone affects men sexually, which is admittedly the biggest part of the hormone’s purpose.
But in reality, testosterone is a hormone with many different functions, and they’re not just sexual. It is a very important hormone that is produced not only in the male body, but in the female body as well.
In addition to having more functions than just promoting sexual health and growth, testosterone deficiencies have more effects on the body than just a decreased sex drive and decreased efficiency of sexual organs. In reality, many chronic illnesses are linked to low testosterone levels, and many of these illnesses can be life altering or even life threatening.
1. Diabetes
Diabetes is a metabolic disease that is caused by the body’s inability or difficulty to produce insulin. Deficiency of insulin causes high levels of glucose in the blood. There are two types of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s immune system destroys cells that create insulin for the body to use. Type 2 diabetes, the more common of the two, is when the body cannot process and use insulin in the correct way, so the pancreas begins to produce less insulin.
Your chances of developing diabetes are higher if you have low testosterone levels. One of testosterone’s functions in the body is to assist the body’s tissues with absorbing sugar in the bloodstream created by insulin. When there are low levels of testosterone, the body struggles to use the sugars and other nutrients that come from insulin, increasing the body’s chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.
2. Obesity
Obesity and low testosterone are linked in many ways, and it has been determined that those with low testosterone are more likely to be obese, and those who are obese are more likely to have low testosterone.
Fat cells are the cells that convert testosterone into estrogen. When there are more fat cells, more of the testosterone in the body is converted to estrogen. Estrogen is testosterone’s female hormone counterpart, and of the many functions it has, one is to help the production of soft fat tissues that make up the breasts and tummy. When there is too much estrogen, people, men in particular, develop chronic obesity.
3. Hypertension
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is when the blood pumps through your veins and arteries and puts higher pressure on the walls of your arteries than normal, causing damage to the walls of your arteries and other parts of your body.
Hypertension and low testosterone are related because of the relationship between low testosterone and obesity and between obesity and hypertension.
When a person has low testosterone, they are more likely to be obese because of their fat cells converting testosterone to estrogen. And when a person is obese, they are at a higher risk for hypertension because it is harder on the body to pump blood through the veins and arteries.
On the most basic level, people with low levels of testosterone are more likely to develop obesity, and people who develop obesity are more prone to high blood pressure.
4. Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic Syndrome is a condition where the metabolism, or the chemical change sites in your body that convert food to useable energy, is ineffective. This condition can include many chronic illnesses such as obesity, abnormal cholesterol levels, obesity, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.
All of these illnesses can be attributed to or caused by low testosterone. And in order for the development of these diseases to cause metabolic syndrome, they combine to cause your metabolism to fail.
5. Heart Disease
Heart disease is a comprehensive term that includes heart attack, coronary heart disease, congenital heart disease, stroke, and congestive heart failure. It is the leading killer of both men and women in the United States.
Although a direct link has not yet been determined, it is obvious that there are links. Low testosterone tends to indicate that a certain individual may have high cholesterol, a surplus of waxy substance in the blood vessels that builds up and blocks the vessels, causing heart disease. This is because one of the jobs testosterone takes on is to break down the cholesterol buildups, converting cholesterol into useable nutrients. When there are low levels of testosterone, it is easier for cholesterol to build up and clog the arteries.
Source:
http://www.webmd.com/men/what-low-testosterone-can-mean-your-health