High ALT reading and low testosterone

I just had my bloods done and it came back that my ALT levels were twice the upper level of the reference range.

My ferritin is ok and sitting mid range.

I am in my early 40's and weigh about 210lbs. I lift weights regularly as well.

In the past, I have tried milk thistle and choline. I donate blood regularly as well.

My testosterone is really low and sitting around 245 ng/dl.

I am currently working on improving my sleep, dieting to get leaner. I am also playing with pregnenolone (50mg) and a teaspoon of natural progesterone cream each day.

I think the testosterone will be a long haul and I have also decided to take a good month off weights just so that my body can recover and reset itself.

The ALT is a real worry and I am surprised my Doc did not do a double take with those numbers...

Do you do liver flushes?

A higher ALT level may be recorded after a liver flush, this is only temporary though.

If you do not practice the liver flush (cleanse), then it may be an idea to look into this effective method for cleaning out toxins and stones. This may help get your organ back to normal.

Your level being elevated may mean the onset of fatty liver disease, this is a symptom of too much fructose in your diet. Check your sugar intake.

Thanks HealMy Gut!

My ALT currently sits at 80 U/L. The lab says the upper range should not exceed 40 U/L. The past couple of years it has been around 55 - 60 and this latest blood work showed it being 80. Previous blood work showed high ferritin, but I have halved this with doing blood donation and my ferritin is now really good. My iron seems to be good too. I have never done a liver flush, so don't know what this is.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the low testosterone?

Oh and I forgot some important detail.....

My Doc had me some genetic testing done and it appears there is a C28Y gene mutation and I am a haemochromotosis carrier. I only have the one gene for this though and the Doc was not worried...

The Hulk wrote:Oh and I forgot some important detail.....

My Doc had me some genetic testing done and it appears there is a C28Y gene mutation and I am a haemochromotosis carrier. I only have the one gene for this though and the Doc was not worried...

That's probably your issue.

Thanks CS, but what do I do about it? Do I just accept it and live with it?

I also have one of my C282Y genes mutated!

If you have the full blown hemochromatosis, then care would need to be taken with any iron intake. If you have just one mutation, then to help limit iron absorption, supplement with magnesium, and eat turmeric with any foods that can be high in iron. Also limit vit c with a high iron meal as vit c is great for helping absorb other minerals.

I am erring on the side of doubt whether this mutation has caused your high ALT level. This is most likely caused by a diet high in sugar, or even alcohol.

I feel that having an inherited genetic flaw is not too much of a problem if you follow a sensible diet. When you have multiple mutated genes, then more care is needed. I have a few, which keeps me searching for my optimum diet and supplement regime in order to get to optimum health.

HealMyGut wrote:I also have one of my C282Y genes mutated!

If you have the full blown hemochromatosis, then care would need to be taken with any iron intake. If you have just one mutation, then to help limit iron absorption, supplement with magnesium, and eat turmeric with any foods that can be high in iron. Also limit vit c with a high iron meal as vit c is great for helping absorb other minerals.

I am erring on the side of doubt whether this mutation has caused your high ALT level. This is most likely caused by a diet high in sugar, or even alcohol.

I feel that having an inherited genetic flaw is not too much of a problem if you follow a sensible diet. When you have multiple mutated genes, then more care is needed. I have a few, which keeps me searching for my optimum diet and supplement regime in order to get to optimum health.

I hear you HealMyGut...

I am a natural bodybuilder and really watch my diet. I also feel that donating blood has been very worthwhile for me. When my ferritin started leaping up and up, I completely stopped the vitamin C. I have not been game to take it again. I don't drink alcohol and I try and curb the sugar intake too. My Doc never even commented on my ALT levels, so I am not sure if this is a concern? I just saw it was double the upper range and that was an alarm to me.

Bump....

http://longevitypost.com/elevated-iron-and-ferritin-recipe-for-a-living-hell/

In the past I went a little conventional and recommended to avoid vitamin C with meals...However, I have done a complete reversal for Hemochromatosis patients. Meaning that high-dose vitamin C improves the metabolism of iron (prevents frequent anemia from blood letting practice) or building back levels of hemoglobin. Vitamin C repairs one major problem.

Also, most of the advice to alter diet, etc is really a waste of time. It's all about the metabolism of iron. And the conventional approach only deals with phlebotomy and the other advice mentioned above. It totally fails to solve the real problem.

CausticSymmetry wrote:http://longevitypost.com/elevated-iron-and-ferritin-recipe-for-a-living-hell/

In the past I went a little conventional and recommended to avoid vitamin C with meals...However, I have done a complete reversal for Hemochromatosis patients. Meaning that high-dose vitamin C improves the metabolism of iron (prevents frequent anemia from blood letting practice) or building back levels of hemoglobin. Vitamin C repairs one major problem.

Also, most of the advice to alter diet, etc is really a waste of time. It's all about the metabolism of iron. And the conventional approach only deals with phlebotomy and the other advice mentioned above. It totally fails to solve the real problem.

Thanks so much for the response CS. I had shelved the vitamin C for months and months. I will have a go at taking 2g of vitamin C just before bed along with 2g of Taurine, 3g of Glycine and 800mg of Magnesium. Does this sound ok? I am trying to group these supplements together at bed time to help improve sleep.

My Doc seemed to think that just because I only have the one gene mutation, I was only likely to have my ferritin go up so far and then just sit there. I was not sure I bought into that, so I plan to stay with the blood donations and keep it in check. It is at a great level right now.

What do you think about the really low testosterone? It seems to be stuck at around 245 and has me beat on what I can do to raise it. I am on a crash diet at the moment to try and lose a few pounds and I am working on getting to bed earlier. I am also starting to play with natural progesterone, pregnenolone and DHEA. Are these things safe? I saw some Countries outside the US have banned them. I am only looking to use 50mg of pregnenolone and 5-10mg of DHEA and a teaspoon of natural progesterone cream.

If you're careful with the dosages with the hormones, although it is usually just a temporary measure if you want to experiment. On the vitamin C, aim for at least 10 grams (10,000 mg). 2 grams just isn't enough. If you feel better in short order, you'll know you're on the right track.

Thanks CS!
Are doses of 50mg Pregnenolone and 10mg Dhea ok? Being in my early 40's, I felt that I was a candidate for these now anyway.
What about natural progesterone cream?
With the vitamin C, is that megadose a short term thing and is it ok to take with the other supplements before bed?

The Hulk wrote:Thanks CS!
Are doses of 50mg Pregnenolone and 10mg Dhea ok? Being in my early 40's, I felt that I was a candidate for these now anyway.
What about natural progesterone cream?
With the vitamin C, is that megadose a short term thing and is it ok to take with the other supplements before bed?

Everyone is different and situation, so cannot be specific. On the hormones, start as low as possible and work your way up to be safe.

If you do the blood donation, the vitamin C idea (assuming your ferritin is high) 10,000 would be on going.
If you Hemoglobin levels are decent, then you'll know it's working.

Hey CS, you seem very cautious on hormones? Can I ask why? I am in my early 40's and my Doc does not seem to have any idea about raising my testosterone. He is refusing to put me on artificial testosterone and that is fine by me as I question the long term side effects. He slams things like pregnenolone and DHEA though. I am just curious on your opinion on all this.
On another note, some Countries outside the US totally ban DHEA and pregnenolone. Why is this?

The Hulk wrote:Hey CS, you seem very cautious on hormones? Can I ask why? I am in my early 40's and my Doc does not seem to have any idea about raising my testosterone. He is refusing to put me on artificial testosterone and that is fine by me as I question the long term side effects. He slams things like pregnenolone and DHEA though. I am just curious on your opinion on all this.
On another note, some Countries outside the US totally ban DHEA and pregnenolone. Why is this?

Very few health "providers" are familiar with hormones. Also, since the synthetic variety are what is permitted for them to use, most of the literature has accumulated a lot of dangerous effects. Mainstream medicine used hormones for over 60 years until enough outcry of cancer and heart disease began to show up.

Hormones (concentrate toxins) as to the why, and the synthetic variety are worse because the body cannot get rid of them easily.

The right amount could give a boost, however resolving the reason for why they are low is better for the long term.

Thanks CS.

So just to confirm.... I need to watch it with DHEA, pregnenolone and even natural progesterone? I was keeping doses low anyway, but maybe I need to just use these things as an interim measure to get my testosterone to go up?

245 ng/dL cannot be good long term? My Doc didn't seem too concerned, but when I see the average for a male around my age should be up in the 600's, it has me concerned.

so your T is low and you suffer AGA ?? do you think the missed T is converted to a DHT ? can your DOC tell your DHT level ?

Serum DHT is inversely correlated in balding (only salivary is directly correlated).

Inflammation (from X source) is what keeps T levels suppressed.

Thanks CS.

So just to confirm.... I need to watch it with DHEA, pregnenolone and even natural progesterone? I was keeping doses low anyway, but maybe I need to just use these things as an interim measure to get my testosterone to go up?

245 ng/dL cannot be good long term? My Doc didn't seem too concerned, but when I see the average for a male around my age should be up in the 600's, it has me concerned.

The Hulk wrote:Thanks CS.

So just to confirm.... I need to watch it with DHEA, pregnenolone and even natural progesterone? I was keeping doses low anyway, but maybe I need to just use these things as an interim measure to get my testosterone to go up?

245 ng/dL cannot be good long term? My Doc didn't seem too concerned, but when I see the average for a male around my age should be up in the 600's, it has me concerned.

From the labs I have examined in the last ten years, most of them seem to "average" at around 300 to 500.
Seeing 600 has been much less of a norm. That said there is a good reason and I have seen some people in their 50's, 60's and even 70's with T levels beyond 800 (even over a 1000), but they were on a special cocktail of products and doing a variety of pro-health measures.

There are definitely some benefits with judicial use of natural hormones, the problem is that it does not address the cause of hormonal imbalances.

That would be inflammation of known or unknown origin.

CausticSymmetry wrote:

The Hulk wrote:Thanks CS.

So just to confirm.... I need to watch it with DHEA, pregnenolone and even natural progesterone? I was keeping doses low anyway, but maybe I need to just use these things as an interim measure to get my testosterone to go up?

245 ng/dL cannot be good long term? My Doc didn't seem too concerned, but when I see the average for a male around my age should be up in the 600's, it has me concerned.

From the labs I have examined in the last ten years, most of them seem to "average" at around 300 to 500.
Seeing 600 has been much less of a norm. That said there is a good reason and I have
seen some people in their 50's, 60's and even 70's with T levels beyond 800 (even over a 1000), but they were on a special cocktail of products and doing a variety of pro-health measures.

There are definitely some benefits with judicial use of natural hormones, the problem is that it does not address the cause of hormonal imbalances.

That would be inflammation of known or unknown origin.

Hey CS, I remember wearing an electro vests in gym. They are currents that contract your musculature while you are training, and it is fashionable now in the gyms. That raised testosterone incredibly up, after the sessions was a sensation of well-being and rise of libido.

What exactly do you mean: 'but they were on a special cocktail of products and doing a variety of pro-health measures'? Can you give details?


You can tell us everything you know about how to raise testosterone. How can we correct hormonal imbalances before using natural hormones? What may be the causes of inflammation (adrenal fatigue may be the main, perhaps) of both unknown and known origin?

nando - So many things. You hit on a great way is in the gym or various anabolic exercises.

The hidden factors, endocrine disruptors, high cortisol, iron and copper metabolism), heavy metals, toxins in foods (glyphosate just for one), liver problems, sunscreens and much more.

CS - I am sure my issues revolve around hypothyroid and low testosterone. Inflammation... I am sure I still have some, but am throwing everything at it. Resveratrol, Curcumin, Quercetin and Krill. My liver enzymes seem quite elevated (Doc never even looked at those numbers). Not sure what else there is left for me to do? I am already on most of the IH regimen and some of that I think I can drop off some supplements.
In some research, I have read that hypothyroid can also cause elevated AST. I also wonder whether having that gene mutation might mean that I will always be susceptible to higher ALT readings?

The Hulk wrote:CS - I am sure my issues revolve around hypothyroid and low testosterone. Inflammation... I am sure I still have some, but am throwing everything at it. Resveratrol, Curcumin, Quercetin and Krill. My liver enzymes seem quite elevated (Doc never even looked at those numbers). Not sure what else there is left for me to do? I am already on most of the IH regimen and some of that I think I can drop off some supplements.
In some research, I have read that hypothyroid can also cause elevated AST. I also wonder whether having that gene mutation might mean that I will always be susceptible to higher ALT readings?

Take a look at this:

www.worldsciencepublisher.org/journals/index.php/JOS/article/download/1186/899