Should elderly adult men take testosterone supplements?

It is common knowledge, as you get older, your body functions will decrease, including male sex drive. Testosterone is a hormone that regulates the ups and downs of male sexual desire. That is why, men whose sexual interest is decreasing, often choose to take testosterone supplements in order to restore their passionate love back.

Actually, should testosterone supplements be consumed by men who are elderly?

Testosterone levels in elderly adult men

Testosterone is one of the main sex hormones in men, which is responsible for regulating male growth such as the development of wider shoulders, broad chest, facial hair, and denser muscles. Testosterone levels will change with age. Generally, testosterone levels begin to peak during adolescence and enter early adulthood.

As you get older, the testosterone levels in your body will gradually decrease too. Reporting from the Healthline page, the average testosterone level will decrease by about eight percent every 10 years or 16 percent every 20 years.

This condition then results in decreased male sex drive, accompanied by loss of muscle strength, increased abdominal fat, bone loss, and decreased cognitive function.

Do older men need testosterone supplements?

In order to avoid decreased sexual function and various health problems, not a few elderly adult men choose to take testosterone supplements. Not without reason, besides aiming to increase sex drive, this supplement is also believed to help treat hypogonadism, a condition when the body is unable to produce enough of the hormone testosterone.

Starting with this, in 2010 researchers at the National Institute of Aging conducted a testosterone trial to see if testosterone supplements could improve health problems associated with low testosterone levels in old age.

The results show that there are benefits to be gained by taking testosterone supplements, but on the other hand this can also pose health risks. In simple terms, the sexual function of an elderly adult male will increase to the normal range, but it does not support a man's physical abilities to a better direction.

These findings were also supported by scientists from Utrecht Medical Center, who gave testosterone supplements to 237 men aged 60 to 80 years with low testosterone levels. According to the study, male body mass increases accompanied by a decrease in fat mass, but is unable to improve male muscle strength.

In addition, men who take testosterone supplements actually have lower HDL cholesterol levels, even though this type of cholesterol is classified as good and needed by the body. If left unchecked for a long time, elderly men are likely to develop metabolic syndrome, which is a "collection" of various health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Not only that, testosterone supplements are less likely to play a role in improving cognitive function, increasing bone mineral density, and overall quality of life. In fact, as mentioned earlier, decreased testosterone levels not only affect sexual function, but also affect various other body functions.

So, taking this supplement should be able to fix the problem completely, but in fact it is not. That is why, taking supplements to increase testosterone levels for elderly men is not really recommended.

Natural way to increase testosterone levels

Testosterone supplements are not the only solution to increasing testosterone levels in older adult men. Therefore, there are other ways that are considered more natural and of course you can easily try, such as:

• Get your body's zinc needs. Research shows that the mineral zinc plays an important role in regulating testosterone levels in the male body.
• Meet the body's potassium needs. Potassium is believed to support testosterone in the body.
• Exercise routine. The goal is to naturally increase testosterone levels.
• Enough sleep.
• Manage stress well.

We recommend that you also consult with your doctor in order to find the best way if you want to increase levels of the hormone testosterone.

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