Borderline Testosterone Levels – Higher Rates of Depression

Researchers at George Washington University found that men referred for tertiary or lower level care for borderline testosterone levels had much higher rates of depression and depressive symptoms than those of the general population. “In an era where more and more men are being tested for “Low T” — or lower levels of testosterone — there is very little data about the men who have borderline low testosterone levels,” said Michael S. Irwig, M.D.,associate professor of medicine and director of theCenter for Andrology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “We felt it important to explore the mental health of this population.”

The research involved 200 adult men, aged 20-77, with an average age of 48, who were referred for borderline total testosterone levels between 200 and 350 ng/dL. Depression and/or depressive symptoms were present in 56 percent of the subjects. Furthermore, one quarter of the men in the study were taking antidepressants and that the men had high rates of obesity and low rates of physical activity. The most common symptoms were erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, fewer morning erections, low energy, and sleep disturbances. When we see a male patient entering the “andropause” or male “change of life” in their late 30′s to early 50′s, we typically see a male patient who complains of:

• lack of sex drive and or erectile dysfunction
• Muscle weakness or loss of strength
• Belly fat, obesity
• Depression, mood swings
• Or, they just don’t “feel the same."

These are classic symptoms of low testosterone levels or more commonly referred to “Low T.” Men can suffer from sex hormone deficiency just as women do, and be treated for this deficiency in the same manner as women that is with prescribed hormonal replacement or supplementation. The difference of course is in the primary hormone; Estrogen for women, Testosterone for men.

So when these male patients’ testosterone levels are checked and many find that their levels are below normal or at the bottom reaches of the “normal level,” the first thing they want to know is “what can you do for me?”

Four factors you can't ignore when balancing your hormones

Healthy hormones are as sweet as a well-orchestrated symphony. When working well they provide abundant energy, generous sleep, smooth skin, and emotional well-being. However, when they become imbalanced, the sky seems like it's falling and it can be a struggle to even get through a day without an emotional breakdown. This is why you need to know the major factors that affect hormones, so you can take a more comprehensive approach to rebalancing them.

Get enough vitamin D

Even though vitamin D is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin, it is actually a neuro-regulatory hormone. This may explain why people experience mood swings, depression, and irritability when they are low on vitamin D exposure, such as the winter months or other areas which experience much less sunlight.

To maximize the absorption and storage of vitamin D, get in the sun and allow it to penetrate the skin for 15 to 30 minutes in peak hours of the day (the further north, and the darker the skin, the longer the exposure required), of at least the arms and legs. Vitamin D is NOT absorbed through glass, so get directly into the sun outdoors.

If sunlight is not a good option, especially during the winter months, consider a liquid Vitamin D3/K2 supplement or foods with good vitamin D content such as fermented cod liver oil.

Restore adrenal function

The adrenal glands govern much of the hormonal system and become exhausted due to overwork, stress, lack of sleep, and stimulants (caffeine, nicotine, etc.) Long term abuse of the adrenal glands can causes cellular damage that takes considerable time to repair. This damage causes the adrenals to be unable to produce the hormones we need to focus, feel alert, control our moods, etc.

Normalizing the adrenal glands often has a cascading effect on the other glands in the body and helps balance hormone production. It can take 4-6 months to restore depleted adrenals and even longer if sources of adrenal depletion are not improved (ie. stress or a daily coffee habit).

To help restore adrenal function, eat clean, whole foods and avoid any stimulants. Also consider adaptogenic herbs, B-vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium, probiotics, and enzymes.

Nourish the thyroid

Thyroid imbalances can be attributed to many factors, including environmental pollutants (heavy metals), exposure to radiation (EMF's), dietary excesses or insufficiencies, certain medications, stress, and yeast infections.

A poorly working thyroid will eventually affect the production of all the other hormones in the body until every aspect of health is negatively impacted. Like the adrenal glands, many natural health care physicians will focus on the thyroid in order to restore proper functionality to all other glands and the entire body.

Rebuilding your thyroid can be tricky, depending on whether it is underactive or overactive. In either case, cleansing the digestive system is necessary, as well as reducing stress and avoiding exposure to EMFs and environmental pollutants. If you have hypothyroid (or want to know the signs) and want to heal it naturally, visit the first source below.

Eliminate bad estrogens

Xenoestrogens are man-made estrogen mimicking molecules that are significant hormone disruptors. These chemicals and disruptors cause imbalances that eventually can cause thyroid related disorders such as hypothyroidism.

Examples of xenoestrogens, which should be avoided, include:

- Plastic containers - Lining of canned food - Styrofoam cups and containers - Cosmetics and toiletries - Agricultural chemicals - Non-organic meat and dairy

Avoiding xenoestrogens after decades of exposure is only half of the equation. You must also eliminate them from your body by stimulating proper liver function so they may be eradicated from your body.

Sexual desire as Important in Elders

A new study by University of California researchers, just published in the journalPsychology and Aging, surveyed 5,500 users, aged 20-95, of the dating site eHarmony and found that desire was considered just as important as companionship by those aged 60 and over. It’s not the first, nor will it be the last, piece of research to find that sexual desire doesn’t expire. But what’s interesting is that this has to be rediscovered again and again, as though it so contradicts the dominant narratives around both ageing and sex that we somehow can’t believe it.

Our thinking about sex has been so colonized by the gymnastic model – all acrobatic contortions, supposedly inimical to arthritic hips and dodgy knees, that the finding simply seems counterintuitive. The old saw about the most erogenous zone being between the ears is buried when this kind of position-speak prevails.

Then there’s the presumption that desire thrives on, even demands, novelty, as if it were some transnational corporation that needs to come up with ever-changing products to keep us interested (hence the cliche about passion inevitably declining in long-term relationships). We undervalue, perhaps, the experienced lover, as against the rookie. Certainly, enshrined in the idea of the asexual old are some pretty dubious stereotypes. It appears that sexual desire is too fierce an emotion to reconcile with the caricature of old age (don’t get yourself too excited, dear, you’ll have a coronary).

It’s all part of the pastel-isation of old age, the notion that when the hair goes grey so does the emotional palette: that advancing age requires a winceyette nightdress and mug of cocoa, a companion (a word that carries a whiff of the commode) not a lover.

Wrinkled old bodies are often described as though they were inherently repellent. While women are particularly vulnerable to this kind of disgust and often internalise it, the sexually active old man is also the subject of jokes and distaste, regarded as either an inadequate Viagra needer or a dirty old man.

How ill-served men – and women – have been by the hydraulic view of male sexuality: sex as mechanics, pressure, angles.

In reality, and despite cultural differences, sexual desire for many (but not all) is a basic human appetite: while some people may grow less interested in, say, food as they grow older, or eat less, we wouldn’t therefore assume that old people in general don’t get hungry or enjoy eating.

Indeed old people often report a craving to touch and be touched. Though there are many other, non-sexual ways that can happen, sex is a pretty good one. But this has proved particularly problematic in the more paternalistic care homes where any hint of sexual congress between residents is frowned upon.

Indeed, many older people’s reactions to the new study will be a frank “if only”. It’s lack of opportunity and not desire that they rue. The new study is based on users of a dating site, and it’s conceivable that the older people using these are a touch racier than the rest of their age cohort. Yet where’s the evidence that long-term relationships inevitably get less sexy? Might it not be the case that when men become less sexually impatient and women more sexually assertive, when a couple get to know each other’s needs and bodies better, the sex – while different – can get more and not less erotic? Or, when there’s no need for contraception, or no prospect of children wandering in, at any rate less anxious?

We know that the experience of ageing is changing. The current cohort of older people came of age sexually in the 1960s – they’re the generation of the pill, gay liberation and so on. Caitlyn Jenner, new trans poster woman, is 66. Polymorphous sexuality isn’t the preserve of the young.

It would be a pity if successive findings that desire doesn’t necessarily decline with age are used as another edict – you must keep at it – to add to all the other punitive norms about “good ageing”.

Some men, and women, are only too pleased to be rid of the whole business. But then, this applies to people of all ages.