Introduction

A lot of people will have heard of TRT and its benefits in the media or typically within the fitness world, but there are a lot of reasons for why someone would want to supplement their naturally low levels of testosterone and improve the functionality of their bodily functions, behaviour and general mood.

There are a number of symptoms that would indicate that someone is experiencing low levels of T (Testosterone), such symptoms can include changes in mood such as depression as well as low energy levels also known as fatigue.

More obvious and physical symptoms of low T can be erectile dysfunction, hair loss, obesity (inability to properly metabolise fat stores), low sex-drive, loss of lean muscle mass and more.

10 Benefits of TRT

• Improve sex drive and desire:
• Positive outlook
• Decrease LDL levels
• Better metabolisation of body fat
• Improved sleep quality (could improve sleep in patients with clinical diagnosis of nocturia)
• Improved cognitive function (when compared to low levels of testosterone)
• Bone density
• Lean mass development
• Energy improvement
• Assists in combating erectile dysfunction

What are the benefits of TRT?

The benefits of TRT range from improvement in the quality of life, to an increase in muscle mass and strength, to an improved mood and more positive mental outlook.

Testosterone is responsible for the development of characteristics such as aggression, moodiness, and body hair. As testosterone levels decrease with age, these negative characteristics can become more pronounced the older someone gets.

Testosterone plays a critical role in the production and maintenance of healthy male sexual health such as assisting in combating erectile dysfunction and increasing your libido.

A lack of this hormone has been linked to an increased risk of erectile dysfunction, a decrease in sperm count, and an increased risk of multiple sexual health disorders.

For these reasons, men who are experiencing symptoms of reduced testosterone levels should consider TRT.

Increased muscle mass and strength are another of the benefits of TRT. Muscle mass retention is obviously vital for a number of reasons, including performing physical tasks, lifting weights, running, and working out at the gym.

Having low levels of testosterone can inhibit the ability to achieve and maintain peak levels of muscle strength. Increased muscle mass and strength provide increased energy and the feeling of greater physical well-being.

Greater energy means that you will be able to do more activities and enjoy your life more.

Physical exercise releases chemicals in your body called endorphins which interact with your pain receptors in your brain telling it that pain levels in your body have been reduced.

Not only is physical exercise important for physical and cardiovascular health for example, but the mental health benefits that are also linked with exercising is extremely beneficial to one’s overall mental wellbeing.

Improved mood and mental outlook are other benefits of TRT.

Depression and stress are common occurrences in the lives of men as they age due to the fact that T levels decrease by 3% – 10% for every 10 years after they reach the age of 20.

The symptoms of depression, such as severe sadness and a loss of interest in daily activities, can have serious negative impacts on your body functions.

Muscle mass and strength allow you to feel better and help to reduce the impact of depression on your body functions.

Reduced body fat and increased muscle mass and strength mean improved posture and balance amongst other immediate benefits such as being able to metabolise fat more efficiently.

The larger your muscles, the more efficient your body becomes at burning fat and calories in general.

As you age your body starts to lose efficiency and your muscles are not as strong and limber as they used to be.

This means that your posture can start to suffer as you get older and can lead to sore back muscles as well.

All of these issues can be alleviated by taking supplements that improve testosterone levels.

One of the most common side effects of testosterone replacement therapy is depression.

While it is important that you keep upbeat and positive in your life, it is important that you remember to take this supplement in moderation and when it is needed.

While you can purchase the testosterone cream and gel from your compounding pharmacy, it is important to talk to your doctor before you do so.

Depression can be a serious side effect and should never be taken lightly.

Another of the important benefits of TRT is improved bone density.

Estrogen levels tend to decline with age, but it is possible to counter this by taking supplements that boost testosterone levels.

In men the levels tend to drop by about 0.7% per month. As you get older, the effects of low testosterone levels on bone density can be very negative, but it is possible to offset this through the use of supplements.

Administering testosterone

It is extremely important to note that before a prescription of TRT, all of the relevant blood work has to be thoroughly analysed in order to determine the proper dosage of testosterone to be administered to the individual in order to place them back into the range of what is ‘normal’ for their age range.

It is important that you consult a doctor before pushing forwards so that you understand all of the risks and benefits that would be involved with supplementing T.

There are various forms that you can use testosterone in such as gels, patches, and injections to name a few (find out more about the different application methods of testosterone and where you can purchase them in the UK here).

But there is a method that is becoming more popular within the TRT industry.

Micro-dosing is used by administering the smallest possible effective dose in order to regulate androgen levels and reduce the potential for negative side effects.

When using the proper dosage to boost T levels back into the normal range for a specific age group, the possibility of experiencing negative side effects becomes increasingly smaller.

Typically, an overestimation of how much testosterone an individual will need to stated by a large amount of medical professionals in order to benefit financially rather than to put the health and wellbeing of the patient first.

By implementing a micro-dosing method into your TRT, the aim of this would be to replicate the natural physiological production of testosterone that the body would be producing.

When being prescribed a certain dosage of T, we would advise that you contact a third party with no relational bias in order to gage whether the amount that you are being prescribed is simply too much.

Micro-dosing is a preferred method for a lot of clinics due to the fact that you can more accurately replace the amount of testosterone that your body should be producing without causing an internal ‘shock’ and causing the balance of hormones to be skewed by a massive introduction of testosterone.

Is it safe to take TRT?

To sum this up in a few words, yes it is.

As is the same with introducing a foreign hormone into the body, there is the possibility for negative side effects to occur.

However, if the dosage being prescribed is of a level that will bring your T levels into the realm of ‘natural’ for your age range, then the chances of an individual seeing said side effects would be minimal.

In order to cause as little disturbance as possible to the body when being placed on TRT is to ensure that the administered dosage of T is that which would replicate that natural levels that the body would be producing instead of supplementing with an amount that would ‘shock the system’ and increase your T levels to above that of what is naturally attainable.

Another way that doctors have been able to mitigate the risk of the possible rejection of these foreign hormones is to treat any hormone imbalances with bioidentical hormones which again, aim to replicate the make-up of the patients’ natural biomolecular ‘identity’.

It is important to note that there are instances where undergoing TRT will not be beneficial for you.

If you are currently obese or having trouble breathing (suffering from sleep apnoea for example) , or have another conflicting medical issue such as diabetes, then you must first consult with a medical professional who will be able to advise you on whether TRT is the best option for you.

Typically, issues such as Erectile Dysfunction can be helped by consulting a nutritional consultant and reducing the amount of adipose tissue that you have through more holistic methods such as improving your diet and exercising more frequently.

If you are experiencing extremely low T levels, then it is possible that you have developed hypogonadism.

Many people believe that this condition only develops during the foetal development stage in the human life cycle, however, hypogonadism occur throughout any stage of the human life cycle.

If you have concerns over your general mood, sex drive, or have used our blood test and know that you have low T levels, then get in contact with us so we can consult on what the nest best steps for you will be in terms of TRT.

An in-depth look of how TRT benefits the human body

In this article, we’ve taken a brief look at the major benefits that one can receive from boosting their naturally low T levels up to that of a ‘normal’ level with the use of TRT.

Now we would like to take a look exactly what goes on in the body in order to provide the benefits that we have spoken about in this article previously.

Testosterone in the human body aids with the production of red blood cells and sperm.

The more regulated and optimal your red blood cell count is, the more oxygenated blood is travelling through your veins back to your heart and through your arteries away from your heart.

Erectile dysfunction is a major cause for a drop in motivation for sexual desire and overall sex drive.

ED (Erectile Dysfunction) can be caused by a number of factors from anxiety and stress, to health related problems such as obesity and diabetes.

If you are not suffering from mental health related problems such as depression and anxiety and your erectile dysfunction can be related to excessive weight gain for example, then it is important to understand how TRT can play a role in benefiting your situation.

The testosterone hormone is vital for a range of bodily functions and is directly linked to the body’s ability to metabolise fat stores.

Being overweight can lead to erectile dysfunction due to the clogging of the arteries that an increased amount of LDL cholesterol causes.

When your arteries are partially blocked with fat stores otherwise known as plaque, then the passageway for oxygenated blood to travel to your organs are restricted.

As there are no muscles or bones in the human penis, it relies solely on the flow of blood in order to maintain an erection.

If there is a smaller volume of blood travelling to the penis then erections will not be either possible or as strong as they can be.

TRT should not be prescribed to a patient who is overweight or suffers breathing problems such as sleep apnoea as there have been various studies that have refuted the claims that testosterone supplementation can be beneficial for overweight men with low T levels.

If you are overweight and are experiencing erectile dysfunction, there are other more holistic methods that are available such as nutritional counselling, switching to a plant based diet for example has been shown to reverse heart disease.

Reducing the overall percentage of body fat through diet and nutrition should be of the forefront of someone who is currently overweight before considering TRT.

ED is more likely to be linked to atherosclerosis and things like side effects from medications rather than a low level of testosterone according to harvard.edu.

Where TRT can help is through the desire and mood changes that supplementing testosterone can prove to be beneficial. TRT can be linked to an improvement of cognitive function and is likely to reduce the signs of depression as well.

Positive outlook

Low testosterone levels can be linked to a reduction in cognitive function and overall mood. T replacement therapy was tested on a group of 51 men suffering from hypogonadism (reduction in testosterone production in the body) over a period of 60 days. The patients were taken off their previous supplementation programme of T for at least 6 weeks prior to the experiment to create a more accurate representation.

After the 60 days period, results showed that there was a ‘significant decrease’ in the patients level of anger, irritability, sadness, tiredness, and nervousness.

This significant increase in mood and decrease in anger, tiredness, and sadness etc.is a great indicator that can be used to see the benefits of TRT.

Decrease LDL levels

Although studies appear to be inconclusive when it comes to proving the consistent benefits of testosterone in relation to lowering LDL levels in the body (Low Density Lipoproteins). There is a common belief amongst doctors that TRT can aid the regulation of blood pressure and cholesterol at a manageable risk level.

The main reasons behind the general inconclusivity of opinion when talking about how TRT can reduce LDL levels, is that the influx in testosterone prescriptions in the USA (where this information is based on) has lead to a wide range of dosage being administered to patients.

The benefits of microdosing with testosterone in order to replicate the natural levels of T that a patient would be experiencing at their age is providing much more beneficial results and has been labelled as the ‘future of TRT’. The way the body absorbs and releases hormones is based on the persons’ genetics, absorption, bioavailability, and more. By tailoring the amount of testosterone and adhering the TRT to the individual, the greater the benefit the patient will see from the therapy being prescribed.

Better metabolisation of body fat

Testosterone plays an important part in the composition of the body when it comes to lean muscle vs ‘body fat’.

There have been numerous studies showing the ‘inverse’ correlation between testosterone and obesity. It is believed that testosterone can limit the activity of, and even inhibit the production of LPL (Lipo Protein Lipase), in patients that had been injected with testosterone for nine months. LPL is associated with obesity, knowing that testosterone injected into patients can inhibit the activity of LPL in subcutaneous fat which is the fat that lies underneath the layer of the skin.

Improved sleep quality

The quality of sleep has been linked to higher levels of adipose tissue found within a study testing the correlation between testosterone and quality of sleep.

Within the conclusion of this study, it was found that older men with a lower quartile volume of testosterone spent more time awake during the test and less time asleep.

It was also shown that men with lower testosterone levels had a worse sleep efficiency.

Improved cognitive function (when compared to low levels of testosterone)

Studies have shown that there may be a level of T where cognitive function can be improved upon. There is a particularly strong case for this statement in older men with lower T levels.

In particular, testosterone has been seen to improve spatial cognition more so than anything else. Spatial cognition refers to the knowledge of spatial environments which can relate to the organisation and ability to manage basic everyday tasks.

Lean mass development

Building and maintaining muscle allows for the body to function properly, especially when completing forms of physical exercise.

Testosterone plays a beneficial role in building and maintaining muscle whilst also assisting in the decrease of body fat mass as well.

It is important to note that large quantities of T can produce negative side effects such as acne, depression, heart palpitations, and more.

When administering the proper dosage of testosterone for an individual with naturally low T levels, the most benefit is seen as the patients’ T levels are being elevated back to within the normal range.

Always speak to a medical professional and it is not advisable to self-administer testosterone due to the increase in risk of negative side effects such as a heart attack. When monitored and controlled by a doctor, TRT is a great way to alleviate a number of health deficiencies.

Conclusion

Overall, the benefits of TRT can be seen throughout a number of mental and physical benefits.

It is extremely important to consult a medical professional before any action is taken through supplementing your testosterone levels.

In order to gain the most benefit from TRT it appears that micro-dosing testosterone is the best way to replicate the normal T levels that one would see within their particular age range.

By administering T with the consideration of ones’ absorption and bioavailability etc. a more tailored and bespoke approach is always more beneficial and will incur significantly fewer, if any negative side effects to any TRT.

Men suffering from more extreme levels of hypogonadism, will benefit the most out of TRT as opposed to those who are experiencing slightly lower than normal levels, however, with the use of micro-dosing, the benefits of regulating testosterone can be seen in most people’s situations who are suffering from low T levels.

If you are suffering from symptoms of low T and want to find out whether you have developed hypogonadism or a reduction in testosterone below that of what can be considered normal, we would advise for you to take our quick questionnaire which goes through all of the major symptoms of low T.

Once you have taken the quick questionnaire, we have our qualified medical professionals on hand with over 35 years experience on hand to answer any follow-up questions that you may have. You can then follow up your conversation with our medical professional by buying a blood test in order for us to be able to give you the most accurate prescription advice possible for your specific requirements.