Ask Dr. Mike: Low Testosterone & Heart Disease PLUS Birthday Cake Blues

Here you'll find the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions posed by Healthy Talk fans.

Listen in, because what you come to know helps ensure healthy choices you can actually live with! Today on Healthy Talk, you wanted to know:

How can I enjoy birthday cake without all of the guilt?

Sometimes, the best part of a birthday is being able to eat cake. If you've recently indulged in a few slices, it's important to know that's okay. Don't beat yourself up; it happens to everyone. The next time you're at a party, try not to let your eyes be bigger than your stomach. This is easier said than done, but it can help you from feeling like your pants button might pop off... not to mention a little less guilty.

A trick Dr. Mike utilizes is to first look at the normal serving size, then he cuts it in half and eats the half of anything sweet. However, Dr. Mike suggests moving away from the other half of the cake (and any other pieces) before you overindulge.

There's also a way you can minimize the amount of sugar that comes into your blood by taking transglucosidase, or green tea phytosome.

My doctor refuses to give me testosterone because he says it increases heart disease risk. But you said low testosterone was a risk factor for heart disease. I'm confused!

A little over a month ago, Dr. Mike did a segment on 17 risk factors for heart disease. Unfortunately, many doctors are believing the evidence produced in a flawed study, which may be happening in your case. Back in November 2013, health headlines were published saying that testosterone treatments were linked to heart risks.

In the study, it stated men who used testosterone were 30 percent more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or to die during a three-year period than men with low hormone levels who didn't take any testosterone supplements.

But, there were many issues with how this study was conducted. First, there was an inadequate testosterone replacement. In studies designed to test the impact of testosterone therapy, you have to think about how much you're giving a person, how much you're changing the testosterone levels already present in the blood, etc. But, in this study, only 60 percent of the study subjects receiving testosterone had follow-up blood tests to actually assess testosterone levels.

Another flaw was the failure to account the impact of estrogen. When men age, they convert testosterone into estrogen. When there is a lowering of testosterone and estrogen levels, there tends to be a handful of problems, including cardiovascular risk factors.

If you want to take testosterone, Dr. Mike suggests seeing a different doctor and getting your blood tested.

If you have a health question or concern, Dr. Mike encourages you to write him at askdrmikesmith@radiomd.com so he can provide you with support and helpful advice.