Should I volunteer for this medical research study?

I am usually, as George Bush so aptly put it, the decider guy. I listen to the facts, look a few things up if I need to, then pick a direction. It’s rare for me to agonize over a decision, but I find myself doing so on this. I’d like some input from the Fluther Collective. Here’s the “opportunity” I am contemplating.

Being in Boston provides the “opportunity” from time to time of volunteering to be a test subject in medical research. I say opportunity in quotes because being a medical guinea pig has real plusses and minuses, and it’s hard to asses which you will get. More on that below, as it relates to this particular research.

This trial is for men 65 and older who are in reasonably good health and who have not been eating a high-protein diet. I qualify on all those points. There are a long list of disqualifying ailments, and I’m free of any of those. The study is a 7-month study to see if a high-protein diet and daily testosterone supplements produce an increase in the ratio of lean muscle mass to fat in older men.

Direct benefits to me would be all the medical attention, feeling like I might contribute to science and, if it works, even to my own health and strength, and last but not least, 6 months worth of free food delivered weekly to my door. On the downside, the diet and testosterone might have undesired side effects, and it’s about a half-hour commute to get to the research facility; a trip I will be making 2 to 3 times a month for monitoring over the 7-month project.

What do you think? Should I go for it or let it pass?