Testosterone And Aging
Bob Livingston | Feb 16, 2012 | Comments 25
As you age, your testosterone level drops. But you can improve your physical, sexual and psychological health by increasing and maintaining normal testosterone levels.
Aging Factors
Male menopause (andropause), a syndrome related to aging, may begin in men as early as their 40s. Andropause consists of physical, sexual and psychological symptoms that include sexual dysfunction, weakness, fatigue, reduced muscle and bone mass, anemia, diminished reproductive abilities, depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, memory impairment and reduced cognitive function.
In short, males experience a mid-life crisis caused by declining levels of the dominant male hormone, testosterone. Testosterone levels begin dropping at a rate of 2 percent per year after age 40. That’s why approximately half the men 60 to 80 years old have testosterone levels well below normal.
As testosterone levels begin to decline around age 40 to 50, male virility begins a gradual decline attended by distinct and visible health problems.
Testosterone levels in women are about one-tenth that of men, and their levels also decline with age.
Complications
A complicating factor that affects hormonal balance as we age is our exposure to xenoestrogens, environmental and chemical estrogenic compounds. These estrogenic pollutants are found in plastic bowls and cups, Styrofoam™ products, household pesticides, farm chemicals, herbicides and the linings of cans that store our food products. From these sources they make their way onto and into our fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meats. Consumption of these toxins can lead to unnatural weight gain, especially around the mid-section.
Life Changes
The change-of-life syndrome and shift in hormone balance often result in a wide range of physical complaints, poor concentration and memory lapses. And with increasing age all these health maladies intensify.
It is now becoming understood, mostly from the research and clinical practice in other countries, that natural testosterone offers significant benefits, including preservation of libido and protection against heart disease, osteoporosis and prostate enlargement.
Profitable Protocols
Well-known is the fact that establishment medicine has a harsh and unworkable protocol for heart disease and cancer. Profits roll in from treating cardiovascular disease as primarily a plumbing problem, focusing on the mechanical care of the pipes (arteries). Conventional doctors pay exclusive attention to the symptoms of heart disease: high cholesterol, hypertension, atherosclerosis, thrombosis, intermittent claudication, angina, etc. They totally ignore the true causes of cardiovascular disease.
The simple and sensible approach to these health problems is the restoration of hormonal balance. And this certainly does not include hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or synthetic estrogen therapy, which has, by the way, already been disclaimed officially after being dispensed to millions of women and sending thousands or even millions to their deaths.
Police Power
Of course, the pharmaceutical companies can’t patent natural substances, but they can use the police power of the government and the Food and Drug Administration to put natural hormone boosting supplements under their jurisdiction, effectively making them drugs.
Nevertheless, the natural health revolution, now a huge multibillion-dollar business, is still growing exponentially. It is also quietly being subverted by the medical trust. Already many words, phrases and expressions connected with natural therapies cannot even be used without regulators raising a fuss. No matter how true, certain words cannot be spoken by researchers and vendors. The miracle is that natural hormone balancing supplements have succeeded in producing pronounced health benefits right under the nose of establishment medicine.
In men, natural testosterone minimizes risk factors for heart attack by reducing cholesterol and triglycerides, angina, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure and helps normalize blood clotting and obesity.
Balancing Act
Hormone balance should be maintained to maximize health. A hormone is not a temporary fix and must be maintained over time for optimum health.
Testosterone and all hormones are derived from cholesterol. Cholesterol is also a vital component of all membranes. Negative cholesterol balance can lead to impotence as well as impaired cardiovascular function, sometimes resulting in angina pectoris and other indicators of cardiovascular disease. Evidence continues to mount that cholesterol-lowering drugs are causing heart disease. Read The Cholesterol Hoax: 101+ Lies by Sheldon Zerden (available here).
Medical focus should be on the age-related decline in testosterone as it relates to cardiovascular disease and a pronounced decline in libido.
Dr. Jens Moller’s clinical findings using natural testosterone replacement fall into four general categories:
1) Complete healing of gangrene of the upper and lower extremities. This means that testosterone therapy greatly improves circulation — a very important factor.
2) Great improvement of impaired carbohydrate metabolism.
3) Milder and fewer angina attacks, as well as normalized EKG findings.
4) Measurable increase of libido.
Well-Known Therapy
The treatment of cardiovascular disease with testosterone is not new. In the 1930s, the Germans were using testosterone to successfully treat vascular disease. They learned early on that impotence is a hormone imbalance as well as a vascular problem and that testosterone therapy not only helped impotence but also libido. It is well known that libido declines as testosterone declines in men and women. In men, testosterone directly affects sexuality, provided of course that the penile arteries have not become seriously occluded.
You can read more about these issues in Testosterone Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases: Principles and Clinical Experiences by Jens Moller and Helge Einfeldt (here) and Cholesterol: Interactions With Testosterone and Cortisol in Cardiovascular Diseases by Jens Moller (here).
Filed Under: Alternative Medicine • Easy Health Digest™ • Men’s Health
The article in itself is interesting, but I would greatly appreciate to be informed on two aspects:
a) what can we men eat to increase the apparently necessary cholesterol that would regenerate my testosterone levels; and
b) how can you preclude that same cholesterol from becoming the “bad” cholesterol that clogs arteries.
I am 64 (going on 65) and still keep an active sexual life with a very pretty 57-year old wife and, as far as I can recall, I had never suffered from any of the impairments mentioned in the article but, then again, maybe this is due to the fact that I have always earned my livinf with the sweat of my brain, so to speak (I am a professional translator/interpreter and university professor). All of this, however, does not mean that by now I am feeling with somewhat lower energy levels, as regards physical activity and mental capacity.
Thank you
So… what are your “options” for testosterone replacement? Any recommended products?
What are the options for testosterone replacement?
Saw Palmetto 800 to 1000 mg /day, Zinc 30 mg /fay , tribulus terrestris extract.
all them in the web.DHEA 5 mg/day,
and good look, be happy
“The miracle is that natural hormone balancing supplements have succeeded in producing pronounced health benefits right under the nose of establishment medicine.” What are some of these natural hormone balancing supplements? My doctor recently started me, at age 51, on Testim to treat chronic fatigue. Might it be preferable for me to avoid products such as Testim?
I researched and started taking Tribulus Terrestris Extract Powder (1/8 tsp per day), the recommended amount to restore proper levels.
What about men who have had prostate cancer and recieved non-surgical treatment?
What asbout HcG?
Nice info…but does not go far enough. So what does one do if one thinks that one is on the andropause train? What about synthetic androgens v naturally occuring androgens?
Or is this a teaser to get us waiting for the next ‘release’ of info?
Does working out and increasing muscle mass increase the production of testosterone…naturally, or is that BS?
Ok, not to sound cynical, but I get the feeling that this article is just a tease. I’ll bet you’re already selling a product that addresses this problem…..I’ve seen ads for such products elsewhere….so, why not add it at the end of the article??
So, what do you know about this ‘Tribulis Terrestris’ extract?? Safe??
SO, WHAT ABOUT WOMAN? IN 60, YOUR RECOMMENDATION, IS IT SAFE?
Yes, I agree with the other posts – we need an answer to the problems. Also, what if the woman has as great or greater problem than the husband ? What is required or possible to raise and renew the woman’s desire and ability ?
In answer to all the queries about this article, synthetic hormones are not as healthy for you in the long term compared with the hormones that are compounded from animal and plant hormone sources. Because of the wide interest in this topic, we plan on providing further information in columns that Dr. Cutler has planned for March that deal with natural hormone replacement. This will also include foods and supplements that will help your body make more testosterone.
Do you need a prescription to obtain Tribulus
terrestris extract powder, or is it available in health stores?
I’m 55 and have been working out for about a year now. There are a lot of testosterone supplements out there. Be sure to get those that will address SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) and is Free Testosterone. Just taking a Testosterone supplement (i.e. Trbulis) will not answer your problems…it MUST be FREE TESTOSTERONE. What SHBG does is prevents most of the Testosterone from entering your system.
Many weight lifters will use these products after they have come off of a cycle using Pro hormones…this helps them bring their Test levels back to normal…it’s called PCT = Post Cycle Therapy. Do a search on SHBG or Free Testosterone and you’ll start to understand better what you really need.
I hope this helped.
Aloha!
Im 52-exercize-pain managment 3yrs–my test is 162 with 5 grams of test per,scripted from endocrinoligist its affecting my testiculs now been2yrs other wise very healthy..low pituatary # also,head injurys…were or what happens from here???
Hi gentlemen. Tribulus Terrestris is a safe herb if taken correctly. I am an herbalist; if you visit my website you will see a product called Granny’s Herbal Adrenal Formula, it has herbs in it that not only benefit the adrenal glands but all the glands of the body from the Pituitary Gland to the Pancreas that I developed over several months with extensive testing and has helped many. Those herbs, like Tribulus Terrestris and some others, help your body produce its own testosterone and estrogen,if you are a woman, so it benefits both men and women. I have many other herbs available including Tribulus, that nourish the body and help it function like it should.
If you send me an email via the email listed here, I can work with you one on one to improve whatever health problems you have.
Helping your body function naturally is always the best way to go.
Be blessed.
I had a total hysterectomy around 34 years old, and now libido is almost none exsistent, I gain weight easily, can’t seem to lose weight, hair falls out more than it should, skin is aging on my hands too quickly( I am 57). Do you have something for libido/
Iam interested in testosterone supplement
Sorry, I thought my email would be displayed here. If you go to my website, just click on my name, about half way down the main page you will see “We also offer one on one health counseling, which can be obtained by Emailing me here.” You can email me via that link.
Have a blessed day!
would like access to your email
Very much needed info on foods and or natural methods to increase my sexual
ability to perform without viagra or cealis. I am a reader of healthy news including
vitamins that make sense.
Your article was too brief but very much to the point,and very easy to read
and digest,
Malcolm Brown
Excellent article, keep it up.
Malcolm Brown
Check out the Jens Moller link at the end of the article, a book. It includes a comparison of testosterone and exercise induced testosterone. Dr. Moller is Danish and has been treating gangrene , the ultimate circulatory failure, with testosterone for years!!