Testosterone and exercise help weight gain in HIV wasting

Testosterone is the androgen secreted in the male testis and in the female ovaries. It is very important hormone for the proper growth of the human body. In men, testosterone plays a very important role in development of the secondary sexual characters. The sexuality of the men is dependent considerably on the testosterone levels in his body. The men with the less level of testosterone are often found to be weak and usually fail to perform well during the sex, whereas men with high level of testosterone are always healthy and found to excellent during the sexual encounter. It is the testosterone that helps to build the sexual stamina and guides the erection mechanism. But, due to low levels of testosterone many of the men are failing to perform well during the sex.

The main reason for the reduction in the testosterone level is aging. Also few other factors like stress, tensions, injuries to testis, inadequate sleep, and too much exercising decrease the testosterone levels in the body. There are various medications available to increase the levels of testosterone, but please don’t take them as they may affect your health adversely or if at all you want to take them consult the doctor. But, guys you can increase the levels of testosterone even without taking any of these medicines. So, go through the list of the food items mentioned below and have them regularly to increase the testosterone levels:

Eggs: Daily intake of egg is found to be very good source to increase the testosterone levels. Even it has been proved through the research that egg are very good source of proteins that promote the production of the testosterone. Eggs along with the proteins also contain the Vitamin A that stimulates the production of the testosterone. If you are having very low testosterone content then you should certainly start eating egg daily and you would be able to see the difference in few months.

Meat: Non-vegetarian food items are found to be very rich in the testosterone content. You can certainly boost the testosterone levels in the body by including meat in your daily diet. Meat includes the high amount of proteins that in accordance with the minerals like zinc that promotes the production of the testosterone. White meat chicken is one of the healthiest lean meats available that is best to increase the testosterone levels. But, please make a note that keep the meat intake in control otherwise it may also increase the fats and carbohydrates in the body and make you prone to many other hazardous diseases.

Vegetables: The intake of vegetables regularly will never make you prone to the low testosterone levels. Spinach is specifically very good to boost the testosterone levels in the body. The most important benefit of vegetable intake is that it doesn’t promote any hazardous effect to your health like the non-vegetarian food items. Tomatoes also are found to prop up the testosterone levels as they are rich in Vitamin A. Vegetables intake increase the testosterone levels in the body very fast, and you can see the effects in short span of time in comparison to other food items.

Fruits: One of the best methods to increase the production of the testosterone in the body is to eat the fruits regularly. Fruits are the rich source of the vitamins and minerals that prop up the testosterone production in the body. Fruits also are found to decrease the influence of the factors that affects the testosterone production adversely. Fruit intake reduces the production of the dihydrotestosterone that is found to reduce the testosterone levels in the body. The best fruit to induce testosterone levels is Apple, which if you eat regularly for about 2 months will surely increase the testosterone levels in your body. The other fruits are Pineapple, Orange, and Mango that also increases the testosterone level in body.

Milk and Milk Products: Drinking milk daily can help you to improve the testosterone levels in the body. Milk is considered as the whole food so its intake can boost the production of testosterone. Milk contains adequate amount of minerals, vitamins, and proteins that maintains the level of the testosterone in the body and doesn’t allow it to drop below the normal level. Milk products are also rich in nutrients. So, if you having the low level of testosterone, you need to include the milk and milk products in your daily diet routine.

Further evidence that anabolic steroids or resistance exercise (weight training) can help replace lean muscle tissue lost in HIV wasting appears in a study published in this week's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. However, using anabolic steroids with an exercise programme did not result in any greater benefit than using one element on its own.

61 HIV-positive men whose body weight had declined by more than 5% in the previous 6 months, and who had low serum testosterone levels (< 12.1 nmol/L (349 ng/dL) were randomly assigned to receive either 100mg Testosterone Enanthate weekly as an intramuscular injection or a placebo injection. They were also randomly assigned to a programme of resistance exercise or to maintain their normal activity levels.

Daily food intake was standardized for all four groups at 1.5g of protein per kg of body weight and 40kcal per kg of body weight, a diet very high in protein and carbohydrates. The authors cannot explain why the testosterone and exercise group failed to perform better than the exercise alone or testosterone alone group, despite the expected additive effect of combining the two interventions.

After 16 weeks, muscle strength had improved by 20-30% in all groups apart from the placebo group, and this improvement was statistically significant.