Modern men, take note: Excess iron could be the silent thief of your vitality. Understand the intricate dance between iron and testosterone to reclaim your energy.”
Click to listen to the audio…
Don’t let iron knock out your manhood
Low testosterone is a big deal, both for men and women. But today’s story is for THE GUYS. Unfortunately, LOW T in modern men, is an all too common and a growing problem.
There are several things contributing to the shortages…
- Too much estrogen in the environment
- Fat cells doing a number on the testosterone that is present
- Transport problems
- And…… too much iron This is what I want to talk about today.
Low T shows up in THE BEDROOM and the old age home.
Low T problems in the bedroom
Today’s story is more about the BEDROOM, but even if pro-creating is not high on your agenda, this story may still have some very important insights.
It is estimated that 1 in 6 “modern’ couples are “infertile” i.e. they can’t GET PREGNANT despite trying for a year. Numerous studies suggest sperm quality and quantity is on the decline.
The pinnacle of manhood usurped
When we think testosterone the thinking is usually focused on THE NETHER REGIONS.
The testicles are the pinnacle of manhood.
Both sperm and testosterone are made here.
But the signals to make these manly things don’t start in the testes, they start in the brain, specifically in a little gland that is tucked away in a little cavern, just behind your nose, the pituitary gland.
He is MR HORMONE so to speak.
He spits out a diverse array of hormones and neuropeptides. Most of these hormones are not house hold names….but OMG, they RUN BIOLOGY.
They carry brain signals to distant parts.
Mr Hormone’s antics
You’ve got
- TSH (thyroid stimulating hormones) which cues the thyroid to release thyroid hormones and effectively sets, basal metabolic rate.
- Adrenocorticotropic hormone, that among other things controls your stress response
- Endorphins moderate your happiness, specifically in response to pain
- Growth hormone which well helps you GROW literally and once you’re all grown up keeps you going.
- The trio of gonadotrophins (LH,FSH and prolactin) take care of reproduction.
In the context of BEING A MAN, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone move the testicles into ACTION, while prolactin discreetly adds a bit of ‘voilà’ to the mix.
Testicle ACTION
At the end of the day…
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) tells the Sertoli cells to get their groove on to raise the next generation of sperm.
Luteinizing LH, tells the Leydig cells to pump out testosterone.
When things go awry with these guys making babies goes out the window. The official name for this problem is hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, it can be caused by iron toxicity.
Iron collecting
You see among the many talents of MR HORMONE, is the ability to take up free iron via NTBI transporters. At this stage, exactly how the pituitary does this is not 100 % established, but it does. And the gonadotrophic cells (these are the cells responsible for making reproductive hormones) seem especially TALENTED. And this makes them VULNERABLE.
We know this because in iron overload disorders such as hemochromatosis and beta thalassemia, the gonadotrophic cells “suffer”.
Gonadotrophins missing in action
This constrains the production of LH and FSH and…………… TESTOSTERONE.
It is especially devastating in people suffering from beta thalassemia because it often happens at a very young age, putting a stop to puberty.
So what ? Thankfully you don’t have one of these horrendous problems.
Well yes, but…….
Iron is plentiful
The average Western male consumes 10-15 times more iron than is needed 2 replenish daily losses.
There is no official mechanism to ELIMINATE excess iron, but this is NOT a problem for the average Jo, iron levels are kept in check all depends on regulating iron absorption.
But this “tightly” regulated system is subject to INTERFERENCE.
Being insulin resistant is a notable impediment.
So……… could it be, that “ordinary” dudes, struggling to get “PREGNANT”, could be running into something similar i.e. could they be “suffering” from a milder version of gonadotrophic cell iron overload ?
Iron levels in infertile men
This was what a team of physicians helping out desperate TO GET PREGNANT couples in Toronto decided to take a closer look. Now they had no shortage of men seeking help, they sifted through the cases, excluding those with obvious problems. In the end they had 303 gents on their books.
They quizzed the gents about lifestyle and then took blood samples to test their HORMONES. All the reproductive hormone levels were measured and in addition to these, the participants iron status was also checked.
When they crunched the numbers, they got a HIT.
Supporting the idea that extra iron maybe contributing to fertility problems.
It’s complicated….
Now to be fair, it’s actually a two way street…..
Testosterone impacts iron levels and it’s one of the problems associated with testosterone therapy via the suppression of hepcidin, something that insulin also does.
It’s biology….
Research from the 1970s, showed “normal” men, begin accumulating iron in their pituitary glands, in their forties and this trend continues as they age, corresponding with the inevitable age related testosterone decline.
Graph showing iron accumulates in pituitary gland (hypophysis). J Gerontol (1975) 30:531–538
Consequence or co-incidence ?
I’m leaning towards consequence…….
It’s an inevitability
Iron is going to accumulate in the gonadotrophic cells….
YES, BUT………..
Making extra iron available is likely to speed things up. And this is something YOU DON’T want to do. Be vigilant.
One way to keep those iron levels in check is to rein in insulin.
And be very cautious of supplementing with iron. In the moment an iron supplement releases lots of iron into the circulation, it circulates as non-transferrin iron and is targeted by NTBI transporters.
NOTE : Many processed foods e.g. breakfast cereals, are fortified with iron, adding to your iron load.
What about the ladies ?
It’s the same but different….
Just like men, iron disorders are associated with an increased risk of infertility, but iron only starts to accumulate when menstruation ceases, so iron is a problem for post-menopausal ladies.
The pathogenesis of hypophyseal fibrosis in aging: its relationship to tissue iron deposition. J Gerontol (1975) 30:531–538. SR Greenberg.
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