Medication is the first line of defense in treating hypertension (high blood pressure).  Weight loss and endurance exercises are usually effective for reducing blood pressure.  Brazilian scientists showed that weight training reduced resting blood pressure in hypertensive men.  The subjects stopped taking blood pressure medication for six weeks before the study.  They trained with weights three times a week for twelve weeks.  Resistance exercise reduced systolic blood pressure by 12 to 18 mmHg.  Reduced blood pressure remained stable for four weeks after the exercise.  Weight training increases arterial stiffness, so these findings are surprising.  The study showed that resistance exercise is a viable lifestyle modification for reducing blood pressure in hypertensive men.  (Journal Strength Conditioning Research, 26:  1122-1129, 2012)

Testosterone was first synthesized in 1934, and physicians have argued about its usefullness in medicine ever since.  Julie Deardoff from the Chicago Tribune discussed the controversy.  Testosterone declines naturally after the age 30 and continues decreasing about 1 percent a year after that.  Most experts agree that men with testosterone levels less than 200 ng per hundred milliliters of blood should receive testosterone therapy.  Increasing levels above that is highly controversial.  testosterone supplements increase muscle mass and decrease fat, and often make middle-aged and older men feel better.  However, low testosterone often accompanies poor physical fitness and obesity, so following a healthy lifestyle might restore a normal testosterone level.  Most aging men need to exercise more and eat less.  If they do, testosterone will take care of itself.  (Chicago Tribune, March 14, 2012)

L-leucine is one of the eight essential amino acids, which means the body does not produce it naturally.  So this protein building block must come from the diet.  Plant and animal proteins that contain L-leucine include lentils, peanuts, and other nuts and seeds, beef, chicken, egg yolk, fish and milk.

In one study, 26 untrained healthy men, ages 20 - 36, took 4,000 mg of L-leucine per day or a placebo.  Twice per week during the study, professional trainers supervised the men in eight standard resistance-training machine exercises.  Researchers tested strength before and after the study, measuring the maximum weight each participant could resist in five machine repetitions.  After 12 weeks, the placebo group had increased its maximum five repetition weight resistance ability by 31% while the leucine group increased its ability by 41%.  (International Journal of sports physiology and performance; 2001, Vol. 6, No. 1, 38-50)