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post : Men Need Testosterone & an Estrogen Blocker
Men Need Testosterone & an Estrogen Blocker
PrintAnyone who’s watched television these days has seen the ads touting testosterone as the cure for a man’s midlife blues, and as a way to enhance his romantic life. But here’s what they don’t tell you.
The vast majority of midlife men in America have too much fat on their midsection. Male abdominal fat contains an enzyme called aromatase that converts testosterone into estrogen. Failing to compensate for the increased estrogen production may result in that already-suffering midlife man suddenly discovering that he is in need of a bra. Filling a C-cup is not the goal of the typical low-testosterone man.
So before your doctor puts you on testosterone, make sure he carefully follows your estrogen level. If your ratio of free testosterone to estrogen is not at least 7 to 1 in favor of testosterone, you need to be taking an estrogen blocker.
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Dr. Mixon's Longevity Journal
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2 comments
August 10, 2013 at 2:16 PM
For those who have sufficient want-to, I would think that the best course of action would be to FIRST lose the abdominal fat to bring down BMI/Fat% to a "normal" level, THEN take a hormone profile. The belly fat appears to have such a significant affect on the various hormones (and thus symptoms/behavior) that getting that out of the way first (since it has to be done anyway) would be the necessary preliminary-before undertaking the cost and trouble of any other supplemental measures. Of course I recognize the problem with having "sufficient want-to" when it comes to life-style changes. Maybe that would be prompted by the first set of lab reports.
August 13, 2013 at 4:22 AM
TomThank you for the comment. The problem with your suggested approach is that losing the abdominal fat is an incredibly difficult project in a man who has low anabolic hormone levels and a relatively elevated estrogen. That hormonal balance, which is common in older people, shifts their metabolism dramatically towards fat production and away from lean body mass. Re-creating the anabolic hormone balance, normally seen in younger people, makes losing the fat much easier. The second common hormonal intervention that we used to assist losing body fat, is moving the thyroid levels to about the 50th percentile from the more common 10 to 20 percentile range seen in people over 50. This modification of both anabolic hormones and thyroid hormone levels tends to increase metabolic rate, increases physical and emotional energy, and enhances fat loss.
You are right in your comment that having sufficient “want to” is a critical component in success. As we undergo the normal, but undesirable hormone shifts of aging, a loss of emotional energy, ambition, and self-confidence are common. Moving the hormone balance back to the center of a healthy younger person’s range usually has a dramatic impact on attitude.
JN Mixon M.D.
