The Testosterone Controversy
By William Faloon
Doctors Overlook Lethal Impact of Estrogen Imbalance
When Life Extension® started offering comprehensive blood test panels back in 1996, men did not understand why we were checking their estrogen levels. Back in those days, estrogen was considered a hormone of importance only to women. We tested estrogen based on published data indicating that when estrogen levels are unbalanced, the risk of degenerative disease in aging men skyrockets.38,47-52 Of concern to us 16 years ago were reports showing that excess estrogen contributes to the development of atherosclerosis.74,75 Human clinical studies conducted more than a decade later confirmed our suspicions. Men with even slightly elevated estrogen levels doubled their risk of stroke and had far higher incidences of coronary artery disease.43,76,77 Our early observations also revealed that men presenting with benign prostate enlargement or Insufficient estrogen, on the other hand, predisposes men to osteoporosis and bone fracture. 87,88. The fact that 99% of men today have no idea what their blood estrogen levels are helps explain the epidemic of age-related disease that is bankrupting this nation’s medical system.
The men in the balanced quintile—with the fewest deaths—had serum estradiol levels between 21.80 and 30.11 pg/mL. This is virtually the ideal range that Life Extension has long recommended male members strive for. The men in the highest quintile who suffered 133% increased death rates had serum estradiol levels of 37.40 pg/mL or above. The lowest estradiol group that suffered a 217% increased death rate had serum estradiol levels under 12.90 pg/mL. The dramatic increase in mortality in men with unbalanced estrogen (i.e., estradiol levels either too high or too low) is nothing short of astounding. It uncovers a gaping hole in conventional cardiology practice that is easily correctable and explains why clinical trials on aging men that fail to measure estradiol have serious shortcomings. This study revealing the lethal dangers of estrogen imbalance was published in conventional medicine’s Bastille of knowledge—the Journal of the American Medical Association, yet doctors continue to design clinical trials on aging men that measure total and/or free testosterone levels, but fail to account for estradiol, which can sharply increase when large doses of testosterone are administered.
We at Life Extension suggest that men maintain their free testosterone in the range of 20 to 25 pg/mL of blood.98 Others with expertise in this area believe free testosterone as low as 15 pg/mL is adequate.70 Conventional blood labs, on the other hand, say aging men are alright with as little as 6.6 pg/mL of free testosterone in their blood—an absurdly low level! Mainstream medicine’s ignorance regarding the need to maintain free testosterone in the higher ranges is a significant cause of premature disability and death in aging men. When Life Extension conducted a study of its members free testosterone blood levels two years ago, a startling 86% of the men had less than 15 pg/mL of free testosterone, placing them at high risk for virtually every age-related disease. Free testosterone is the biologically active form of this hormone measured in the blood. When looking at total testosterone blood levels, one should strive for a moderately youthful range of 700-900 ng/dL, though conventional reference ranges state that levels as low as 193 ng/dL are sufficient, a range that we at Life Extension believe is woefully inadequate. Low Estradiol and Testosterone Predict Mortality in Aging Men Sales of testosterone replacement drugs have surged more than 20-fold in response to studies linking low testosterone to a host of common maladies.