Hormonal Imbalance in Men

As men pass the age of 40 they can experience hormonal changes that inhibit their physical, sexual, and cognitive function. This process begins to accelerate after the age of 50 and notable symptoms can begin to manifest such as increased abdominal fat, decreased muscle mass, loss of libido, irritability, depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, decreased facial and leg hair.

The underlying metabolic cause of this disorder is too little free testosterone and too much estrogen. Until recently these changes were greeted by a slap on the back and a statement that you were just growing older and not to worry. This left men facing a hormonal imbalance causing a slow degenerative process eventually resulting in premature death.

Recent research has amassed data indicating that many of the diseases the aging male experiences, from hypertension to prostate and heart disease are directly related to hormonal imbalances. Research is also showing that proper diet and nutraceutical intervention can correct these hormonal imbalances and reduce the occurrences of these health problems. To men’s detriment conventional doctors are increasingly prescribing multiple drugs to treat the depression, elevated cholesterol, hypertension and many other diseases that may be caused by this underlying hormonal imbalance. It is made worse for the middle-aged male by the fact that very few doctors know what hormonal blood test to order, how to interpret them and what nutraceutical approach to take to reverse imbalances found.

It’s Not Enough to Raise Testosterone- You Have to Set It Free!
Everyone is talking about low testosterone, but it is only testosterone not bound by proteins, called free testosterone that is available to stimulate cell function. It is free testosterone that makes the real difference between abdominal weight gain, decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction and optimal health. Free testosterone is much more than a sex hormone, it assists in controlling blood glucose levels, cholesterol regulation, optimizing cardiac output, improving tissue oxygenation and immune system function and mood regulation. Recent multiple studies have shown that men who suffer with depression have lower levels of free testosterone.. Many of these studies have also shown that elevating free testosterone levels can be an effective antidepressant therapy.

Actually Too Much Estrogen
The primary hormonal imbalance in the aging male is not just decreased total and free testosterone but also increased estrogens. Small amounts of estrogen are necessary but as estrogen levels increase they block free testosterone which leads to decreased libido, arousal, and increased abdominal weight gain. One of the primary causes of excess estrogen in the aging male is the action of an enzyme called aromatase. This enzyme primarily found in abdominal fat converts available testosterone into estrogen. Increasing abdominal fat amplifies aromatase activity further depleting available testosterone by converting it into ever higher levels of estrogen, thus creating a feed forward cycle.

This imbalance of estrogen to free testosterone has been shown to increase the risk of heart attack, benign prostatic hypertrophy along with erectile dysfunction. Research has shown that the inhibition of the aromatase enzyme does result in a significant decline in estrogen levels while often increasing free testosterone to youthful levels. Therefore, natural aromatase inhibition and the lowering of available estrogen is a primary goal in any Andropause therapy program.

Multiple studies have shown that the decline in testosterone levels in males is an escalating problem in todays society. This phenomena is taking place within our modern life not only because of drastic dietary changes but also because of increased exposure to chemical toxins and pesticides in our environment.

Maintaining a proper free testosterone to estrogen ratio is essential for men to maintain optimal health and vitality. By combining specific standardized extracts of the botanical Tribulus Terrestris plus pharmaceutical grade DHEA, you can improve testosterone production to enhance vitality, libido and sexual function. Specific Stinging Nettle root extract with Zinc can help to reduce the conversion of testosterone to estrogen and enhance ‘free’ Testosterone levels.

Over 60 Billion Doses a Year and Not ONE Death, But Still Not Safe?

Interesting article by Dr. Mercola:

Story at-a-glance

• Data from the U.S. National Poison Data System’s annual report, which tracked data from 57 U.S. poison centers and showed vitamin and mineral supplements caused zero deaths in 2010, while pharmaceuticals caused more than 1,100 of the total 1,366 reported fatalities
• The top categories associated with the largest number of fatalities were ALL medications, including analgesics, sedatives, hypnotics, cardiovascular drugs, opioids, antidepressants, acetaminophen and antipsychotics
• Ironically, the FDA's Draft Guidance on New Dietary Ingredients would require the supplement industry to prove the safety of natural ingredients that, in many cases, have been on the market and used safely for decades, using safety thresholds that are in excess of those required by pharmaceutical drugs -- despite data showing supplements are far safer than drugs
• You can defend your right to access safe dietary supplements by taking action today

 Link to article: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/23/defend-your-right-to-access-safe-dietary-supplements.aspx?e_cid=20120423_DNL_art_2 

Why Die Before Your Time? What is Anti-Aging Medicine?

By Dr. Greg Fors

Are you now living the life you dreamt of when you were young? Filled with vitality and personal power creating happiness you knew you were meant for? Too often individuals find themselves plagued with muscle and joint pain, chronic fatigue and the loss of vitality and drive. Premature aging can sap your strength, vitality and ability to enjoy life, cripple you, and even can kill you all too soon! Tens of millions die early from age-related conditions each and every year, but few people realize that degenerative aging can be slowed with diet and lifestyle choices.

Anti-aging medicine is a clinical specialty founded on the application of advanced laboratory medicine for the early detection, prevention, treatment, and reversal of age-related dysfunction, disorders, and diseases. Doctors who practice Anti-aging medicine use proper diet, lifestyle choices, and proven functional medicine to help their patients live healthy, longer lives. A longer life gives you more time in which to lead a better life.

First stop the self inflicted injury. Do you smoke or do recreational drugs? Do you eat junk food or are overweight? Do you exercise little or not at all? Haven't seen a doctor in years or your present doctor does not know how to keep you healthy without drugs? If so, you have a clear starting point. These negative things can hurt more than any healthy life extension techniques can compensate for. What is the point of painting the house if you are letting the foundation crumble? Begin now to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Find a doctor you can trust and talk to about actually improving your health instead of treating symptoms with more drugs. The body is a complex, resilient wonder. However, unlike your car you can't just replace it when it breaks down.

The primary cause of early aging and degenerative disease is ‘oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.’ With this it's like your tissues are “on simmer, sort of cooking away at an accelerated rate.” A primary cause of this is free radicals, small molecules lacking an electron. These free radicals steal an electron from healthy cells; it's like pulling out a cog wheel from a fine Swiss watch and expecting it to keep proper time. Free radicals can even start destroying your cellular DNA. One of the primary causes of free radicals is the increased chemicals and toxic metals in our environment today.

A doctor knowledgeable in anti-aging medicine knows how to measure laboratory biomarkers to identify if you have high levels of chronic inflammation and free radical damage leading to premature aging and degenerative disease. Furthermore this knowledgeable doctor would then have the know how to assist you in stopping the damage caused by these aging factors to improve your health and vitality, and prevent further degenerative diseases.

Another vital factor in anti-aging medicine is to make sure you have proper balanced hormone function. One of the most important aspects balanced hormone function is to thoroughly assess proper thyroid function. To fully understand a patient's thyroid function a knowledgeable doctor must run at least 6 to 8 thyroid tests. Just running the typical TSH and T4 only catches 17% of the individuals with thyroid dysfunction. This is especially true in women.

In men the most important hormone balance to fight premature aging is proper assessment of testosterone levels to properly diagnose male hormonal imbalances. A doctor must run at least at least six male hormone tests and not just total testosterone to properly diagnose and treat this hormonal balance. With this proper assessment men can achieve better hormone balance to defeat premature aging and the loss of vitality, drive and intimacy.

Proper hormonal balance and anti-aging medicine, and the lab tests to properly diagnose these conditions will be the subject matter of my upcoming seminars. I will also discuss natural solutions for healthy aging.

Is Your Thyroid in Reverse?

By Dr. Greg Fors

Does it feel like something has slammed on the brakes to your body's metabolism? No matter what you do you can't get going, lose weight or you're fatigued and cold. Your skin and hair is dry and thinning. You're constipated, have a low sexual desire and may feel depressed. You're sure there's got to be a physical explanation for all of this but your doctor tells you "your tests are all 'within normal limits' Perhaps you've heard that your thyroid might be the problem, so you get the doctor to run tests for this but again the doctor says "your TSH levels are fine, but don't worry let's try Cymbalta."

But you are worried, because this is not the life you had planned for yourself. You do not want to live your life as if you have a foot on the accelerator and the brake at the same time.

OK, stay with me on this. To understand what's going on you are going to have to put a thinking cap on and apply a little brain power. It might be that the brake pedal to your metabolism is slammed to the floor boards, and no one is looking deep enough to discover it.

What you hear about the thyroid is correct; it truly does have a major influence on your metabolism and your overall health. In fact, every cell in your body has a receptor for the active thyroid hormone, T3. If your doctor had found that your TSH levels were abnormally high, meaning your thyroid was under active, you may already be on a synthetic thyroid medication known as Synthroid or levothyroxine. Let's cross some T's and look at how these and other things in your life affect the thyroid.

The drug Synthroid is actually T4, similar to the T4 your thyroid produces. The problem is T4, whether produced by your thyroid or taken orally T4 is not biologically active, so your liver must convert it into the biologically active T-3. This active T-3 is the accelerator to your metabolic engine. At the same time, your liver also creates a hormone called Reverse T-3 which is the biological brake to your metabolism. You need a proper balance of both active T-3 and Reverse T-3 for optimal metabolism (not too fast and not too slow). However, whenever you are emotionally, physically, or biologically stressed, such as being chronically ill or recovering from surgery or a car accident you produce more Reverse T-3. If you are diabetic, aging, or taking drugs like beta blockers you produce more Reverse T-3. Also, if you are taking T4, Synthroid, or levothyroxine and your body cannot properly convert it to the active T-3 it may be converting into excess Reverse T-3. Whenever Reverse T-3 is elevated it acts as a brake. This blocks the accelerator active T-3 from binding to your cells and doing its job, thus you end up with more foot on the brake than on the accelerator. Let's continue...

...In this situation you can develop many or all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism while your TSH levels and T4 levels will almost always show to be within normal limits. This is a problem in that the only tests that are typically used to diagnose a thyroid issue are TSH or possibly T4, thus the condition of having Reverse T3 syndrome is never properly diagnosed by your doctor!

To properly understand and diagnose your condition a knowledgeable doctor must run at least eight different thyroid tests TSH, total T4, free T4, total T-3, free T3, reverse T-3, and calculate the reverse T-3 and total T-3 ratio. Along with this, thyroid antibody tests must be run to determine if you have the most common cause of thyroid dysfunction, the autoimmune disorder known as Hashimoto's disease. Over time, Hashimoto's disease destroys your thyroid and generally elevates reverse T-3 levels giving you a double whammy.