Sure there are cases where TRT or GH is prescribed for genuine low testosterone levels, although it is still far more common in the US than the rest of the world. In Europe the jury is still out on testosterone replacement and in the medical community they have not even agreed a clear benchmark figure for what a low testosterone level is. TRT brings its own risks and introducing TRT is only going to lower a patients testosterone levels even further. It may be better to attempt to look at ways to boost a patients own natural testosterone levels, especially if they have multiple lifestyle issues that can be addressed, ie lack of exercises, poor diet, high stress. Again the jury is still out, but there is more evidence coming out that steroids affect the structure of the heart itself (more than just thickening of the arteries) leading to reduced efficiency and possible risk of sudden death syndrome. The question has to be asked is TRT going to put the patient at risk of different medical condition.
From a anti-aging perspective, a lot of the literature suggests lower levels of testosterone are better for longevity (not necessarily better for your mental wellbeing or physical performance). Phytoestrogens can have positive benefits to men in terms of longevity. One of the reasons women live longer than men is because of the protective effects that estrogen has on the cardiovascular system.
Nobody really knows what the effect of low dose TRT will have.
Certainly recreational use of large amounts of steroids, will massively increase IGF-1. The whole bodybuilding lifestyle is based around achieving this. Eat large amounts of calories and especially protein, which again has been shown to increase IGF-1, this is what we want and what we need to build bigger muscles. But there is a trade off which is the increased cell division.
