Testosterone and Diabetes
Past news articles reported the results of a medical study which concluded that one third of male diabetics are testosterone deficient. (The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 89, No. 11 5462-5468). Further testing suggested that the disturbance may have been caused by failure of pituitary master hormones to adequately stimulate the gonads. Another interesting finding was that the more overweight the patients were, the lower their testosterone levels were. The authors concluded that more studies should be done to explore this connection.

Clinically speaking, natural medicine doctors have been aware of this connection since the 1980’s when Dr. Moeller from Denmark reported his success using testosterone for the treatment of coronary disease and the vascular problems of diabetics. The root cause of adult onset diabetes is insulin resistance. Testosterone deficiency contributes to insulin resistance, and replacement therapy helps reverse it.

I always test for hormone levels in male diabetics, and I use testosterone replacement therapy in these patients. It helps reduce lipid levels, supports aerobic metabolism, prevents abnormal clotting, and helps control blood sugars. Many diabetic men are impotent as a triple result of their diabetes induced vascular disease, their low testosterone levels, and their high blood pressure medications. Attention to the vascular disease with chelation therapy can also reduce blood pressure in these patients, and testosterone replacement therapy helps overall health, libido, and many other cardiovascular risk factors as well. Together with dietary management and nutritional supplementation, we help diabetics reverse their disease every day.

I should comment here that the conclusion of the quoted study that more research is needed is an almost standard phrase in many medical studies. More studies won’t hurt anything, but if you are sick and a study applies to you, then I think you don’t want to wait for the next study to come out. This is especially true when the beneficial treatment is safe, but "non-patentable" like testosterone replacement therapy is.

Don’t hold your breath for the next study. The drug companies are in business to produce patentable drugs that make money, not to directly advance the care of patients or to fund research that would achieve better outcomes at less cost. This means that the only way many people will have access to or even hear about helpful therapies will be through a physician whose only interest is in helping the patient. If you have health problems, see a natural medicine doctor in addition to your own physician. Remember that most orthodox physicians mistakenly believe that all progress in medicine will come from new drugs. That’s our system. Don’t let it slow you down on your quest to better health. Get a natural medicine opinion right away.