Male hormone balancing is an issue that has come to prominence only in the last generation or so. Prior to this, it was assumed that only women suffered from a decreasing amount of hormones and the side effects associated with this process. Yet ‘Andropause’ is very real and involves a falling level of testosterone amongst men.
Some scientists believe that hormonal imbalance in males is actually manmade and is a result of exposure to an increasingly more polluted environment coupled with an unhealthier diet. There are studies which support this hypothesis and show that 40-50 year old men today have far lower levels of testosterone than their equivalent from half a century ago. As men grow older, the ratio of testosterone to estrogen falls and the ensuring hormonal imbalance can lead to conditions such as an enlarged prostrate.
Due to our increasingly industrialized world and the extraordinary level of pollution, we are now surrounded by Xenoestrogens, new environmental compounds that have an estrogen-style activity. They are virtually everywhere; in the air, plastics, clothing, personal care products and herbicides. Even our respective diets are laden with hormones since synthetic estrogens are used to bulk up cattle and other animals to speed up the production of eggs and milk. As a result, we are actually ingesting hormones with our meals.
As we get older and our testosterone levels begin to decline, there comes a point where estrogen becomes dominant and this leads to the symptoms of Andropause. These include allergies, fatigue, impotence, urinary problems, lower sex drive, enhanced risk of stroke and much more.
For most men, the answer to a hormonal imbalance is to increase their testosterone levels. A relatively simple solution is for doctors to look at the hormone balance of a healthy young man and aim to replicate it in patients with an imbalance. Obviously, it is not always that simple since other hormones are involved. For example, a man’s level of Human Growth Hormone, DHEA and Androstenedione all fall steadily as the years go by. Testosterone Replacement Therapy does carry certain risks but any perceived dangers can be greatly reduced by using bio identical hormones that replicate the hormones produced in the human body.
Doctors are finding that accurately measuring a man’s hormone levels can be a complicated procedure. Common protocols include serum and saliva tests. Most scientists agree that serum testing is relatively inaccurate and prefer saliva testing. Oral dosing of hormones has proven to be weak with transdermal dosing believed to be at least 10 times more effective. Oral dosing involves the hormones passing through the liver and 90% of the dose fails to reach its intended target.
If you are suffering from symptoms which suggest you are going through Andropause, it is important to submit yourself to a doctor for a saliva test to find out the level of your hormonal imbalance. Once it has been uncovered, only use bio identical testosterone and other required hormones as there will be few side effects and the results will be far more satisfactory. The majority of men who have their hormones balanced once more report a significant increase in energy levels and feel much better about themselves and life in general.
