Natural Hormone Replacement T... Health Article

Men's symptoms and NHRT

Symptoms of low testosterone levels or hormone imbalances in andropausal men are very similar to those in women. Additional symptoms may include:

• fatigue
• nighttime urination
• impotence or decreased ability to maintain an erection
• decrease in muscle-building ability
• inability to lose weight

A natural androgen replacement protocol, lasting 3–14 months, might consist of:

• pine pollen, 0.5–5 gm, once or twice daily; a one-quarter-teaspoon tincture, three times daily; 5–10 gm daily in warm milk, in Chinese and Korean medicine
• David's lily flower, one-quarter-teaspoon tincture, twice daily
• Panax/tienchi ginseng tincture, one-third teaspoon daily
• nettle root (Urtica dioica), 300–1,200 mg daily
• tribulus (Tribulus terrestris), 250–500 mg standardized extract as pills or tablets, three times per day
• pregnenolone, a primary steroid hormone (prohormone) in men and women, 5–50 mg daily
• androstenedione (andro), 50–100 mg, one to three times per day, as a pill dissolved under the tongue
• androstenediol (andiol, 4-andiol, androdiol), 100 mg once or twice daily
• DHEA, 25–50 mg daily
• zinc, 20–40 mg daily
• celery juice, daily from three fresh stalks
• a diet high in oatmeal, corn, and pine nuts

Zinc is required for the transformation of androstenedione to testosterone. Zinc preparations usually include copper to prevent copper depletion.

Ginseng as an androgen replacement:

• Asian ginseng as 1–9 gm daily tablets
• Asian white (20–40 drops) and Kirin or dark red (5–20 drops) as a daily tincture
• Asian ginseng combined with tienchi (Panax pseudoginseng), one to one, one-third teaspoon daily in water
• Siberian ginseng

Foods & supplements

Most researchers believe that the human body cannot utilize the phytoestrogens in soy or the progesterone in yams; nor can the body transform these phytohormones into biologically available hormones. However some researchers believe that phytoestrogens called isoflavones (genistein and daidzein) found in soy can serve as short-term estrogen supplements. Soy protein in a low-fat diet reduces the risk of heart disease and isoflavones may help prevent bone loss. Isoflavones are found in tofu, tempeh, and soy drinks but not in soy oil.

Wild Mexican yam creams may contain phytoestrogens; however they are ineffective as progesterone supplements because they contain only a progesterone precursor which is inactive in the human body.

Phytoandrogens have been reported to increase androgen levels and the androgen-to-estrogen ratio in men. Foods containing high levels of phytoandrogens:

• celery
• parsnips
• corn
• oats (Avena sativa)
• garlic (Allium sativum)
• onions
• pine nuts

Foods that lower androgen levels and suppress androgenic activity in men include:

• licorice
• black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), which is very high in estrogen and sometimes used to treat hot flashes in menopausal women
• hops, one of the most powerful estrogenic foods
• grapefruit, which interferes with removal of estrogen from the body

Preparations

Blood hormone levels may be measured before and/or during NHRT:

• Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH): high FSH levels indicate low sex hormone production and menopause.
• Estrogen blood tests measure how much of one type of estrogen is circulating in the blood and the total amount present in the bloodstream. However most estrogen in the body is bound to other molecules or cell receptors and cannot be measured.

Other tests include:

• Saliva hormone testing: inexpensive as performed by mail-order laboratories or with home test kits
• Urine testing reveals how much hormone is excreted through the kidneys over a 24-hour period. It is expensive and may be difficult to interpret.
• Yearly bone mineral density tests for those using NHRT to improve bone density
• Annual pelvic ultrasounds can be used to monitor the effectiveness of NHRT. These tests are inexpensive and enable the physician to view the thickness of the uterine lining and the shape of the ovaries, both of which are affected directly by estrogen and progesterone. Pelvic ultrasound also can detect and monitor ovarian cysts that may develop with hormone therapies.

Testosterone and/or DHEA levels in the blood or saliva are monitored regularly when DHEA is used in NHRT. However hormone levels are constantly changing and most tests reflect only the measurable hormone present at a single point in time.