Men on the verge of a nervous breakdown. 27 August, 2009 By Dini Cohen

Unlike women who cease menstruation within a set time frame, usually in their mid 40s-50's, for men the timeframe is a little more blurred and can continue over decades, making andropause that much harder to diagnose. After the age of 30 testosterone levels decrease slowly, about ten percent per decade, and by the age of seventy, men have approximately fifty percent the testosterone they did when they were younger. Approximately thirty percent of men will see declining levels as early as their mid 40s to 50's. This early decline in testosterone is mainly due to psychological stress, attitude, alcohol, injuries or surgery, medications, obesity and infections, all or which can contribute to its onset.

Testosterone to men is like estrogen to woman. Besides playing a role in the sexual function, it helps to build protein and affects many metabolic activities such as production of blood cells in the bone marrow, bone formation, lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, liver function and prostate gland growth. Above and beyond the bothersome symptoms that can impact your quality of life with declining testosterone levels, there are other silent symptoms you need to be aware of, mainly the risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

Most men think of osteoporosis as being something that happens to women as a result of declining estrogen levels. As testosterone levels decline so does bone density. Men can experience as much as a 15% loss between the ages of 40-70. The facts are quite alarming, one in eight men over 50 have osteoporosis and within 5-10 years of diagnosis, there is a rise in hip fractures in both men and women. But what is more astonishing is we are seeing an increase in hip fractures in men, 20-30%, while women's hip fractures have stabilized, mainly due to HRT (hormone replacement therapy), lifestyle changes and calcium supplementation. Beside the risk of increase hip fractures and pain, up to one third of people never regain full mobility,

It is well known fact that as women go through menopause, they increase their chance of heart disease. Natural therapies as well as estrogen replacement therapy seem to reverse this trend. New evidence suggests that a similar phenomenon occurs in men as their testosterone levels diminish with age. While research is not as complete as for women, the clinical findings point to an association between low-testosterone levels and an increase in cardiovascular risk factors in men. A cause and effect relationship has not yet been established in large clinical trials. Further clinical research is needed into this important area of study.

One word of advice when you go for you next check-up: throw out the macho image and be totally honest with your doctor. He/she will simply perform a physical exam, discuss your symptoms to rule out any other conditions and do a series of blood tests to determine hormone levels.

While androgen replacement therapy is an option, it does have its share of side effects, mainly that it is not indicated for males who have breast or prostate cancer. If you have kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, edema or an enlarged prostate, androgen therapy might not be suited for you. Discuss all options with your doctor so he can help you make the right decision.

If you think you life is over, it isn't, and making some simple changes can make both you and your partner a lot happier.

Eat clean - try to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. They will provide you with all the nutrients and phytochemicals to keep your immune system strong.

Get moving - try to do at least 30 minutes of exercise per day, and if you have not exercised before, start slowly and build up. Not only does exercise help boost your immune system, it will help you sleep better and help maintain your energy, strength and lean muscle mass.

Bone up! Eat plenty of calcium-rich foods such as yogurt, collard greens and legumes. If you cannot get enough calcium rich foods in your diet consider taking a supplement. Aim for 1,000-1,200 mg of calcium from food and supplements. If you are on HRT Therapy or have a history of kidney stones, speak to your doctor about supplementing with calcium.

So when we look at things in totality, are men really from Mars and women from Venus? In most ways we are very different, but in some ways we are more alike than we think.

Resources:
Cnnhealth.com
Webmd.com
Mayoclinic.com

Dini Cohen BA, RHN holds a degree in Psychology from York University and is Registered Holistic Nutritionist from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and is an First Line Therapy Lifestyle Educator. She began her career in advertising and migrated into various IT Channel Marketing roles with large Vendors and Marketing organizations. Her career took a change when she decided to go back to school and chase her dreams as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. Today, she is busy running corporate wellness programs, is a contributing writer to several leading health magazines, is a corporate presenter and school Ambassador for the Heart and Stroke Foundation does one on one consultations and is a cooking instructor. She is the owner of KickStart Nutrition, co-founder of Kick Start4Life and Hockey4Life. Dini's passion is to educate and inspire people to make healthy life style changes and to be the best that they can be. She co-runs the Trusted Business Advisor Healthy Living Column. Dini can be reached at dini@kickstartnutrition.com


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