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Osteocalcin & Testosterone
A few years ago endocrinologists at Columbia University in the US came up with the theory that the hormone osteocalcin, which is involved in bone growth, enhances the synthesis of anabolic hormones such as testosterone. The researchers were able to show in animal studies that osteocalcin controls the testes, and not only is it partially responsible for determining the amount of testosterone that lab animals synthesise but it also helps determine the animals' fertility.
More recently the researchers at Columbia have extended their theory. In animal experiments they have now shown that osteocalcin also plays a role in insulin synthesis. The more osteocalcin the bones produce, the more insulin the beta cells in the pancreas produce.
Study
The more fat the men had in their trunk area, the less testosterone there was circulating in their body. The relationship between overweight and a low testosterone level is already known. But the researchers also found that the men with high levels of trunk fat also had less osteocalcin in their blood.
Results
There was a relationship between osteocalcin and testosterone.
Mechanism
In addition, the higher the concentration of osteocalcin, the lower the HOMA. The HOMA is an index calculated on the basis of the amounts of glucose and insulin in the blood. It gives an indication of how well the insulin mechanism is working. The more insulin your pancreas produces, and the more glucose that insulin chases into the cells, the lower your HOMA.
Body fat hampers the insulin mechanism and reduces bone health. As a result of this the secretion of osteocalcin also falls, and therefore also the production of testosterone. That's a very brief summary of the mechanism that the Italians' findings suggest.
Research on the endocrinology of osteocalcin is starting to become interesting for athletes who want to boost their testosterone levels. It was already known that losing excess fat can help, but now it looks as though testosterone levels can also be boosted by strengthening the skeleton.
Source:
Int J Endocrinol. 2013;2013:182753.
A few years ago endocrinologists at Columbia University in the US came up with the theory that the hormone osteocalcin, which is involved in bone growth, enhances the synthesis of anabolic hormones such as testosterone. The researchers were able to show in animal studies that osteocalcin controls the testes, and not only is it partially responsible for determining the amount of testosterone that lab animals synthesise but it also helps determine the animals' fertility.
More recently the researchers at Columbia have extended their theory. In animal experiments they have now shown that osteocalcin also plays a role in insulin synthesis. The more osteocalcin the bones produce, the more insulin the beta cells in the pancreas produce.
Study
The more fat the men had in their trunk area, the less testosterone there was circulating in their body. The relationship between overweight and a low testosterone level is already known. But the researchers also found that the men with high levels of trunk fat also had less osteocalcin in their blood.
Results
There was a relationship between osteocalcin and testosterone.
Mechanism
In addition, the higher the concentration of osteocalcin, the lower the HOMA. The HOMA is an index calculated on the basis of the amounts of glucose and insulin in the blood. It gives an indication of how well the insulin mechanism is working. The more insulin your pancreas produces, and the more glucose that insulin chases into the cells, the lower your HOMA.
Body fat hampers the insulin mechanism and reduces bone health. As a result of this the secretion of osteocalcin also falls, and therefore also the production of testosterone. That's a very brief summary of the mechanism that the Italians' findings suggest.
Research on the endocrinology of osteocalcin is starting to become interesting for athletes who want to boost their testosterone levels. It was already known that losing excess fat can help, but now it looks as though testosterone levels can also be boosted by strengthening the skeleton.
Source:
Int J Endocrinol. 2013;2013:182753.