Natural Remedies Can Reverse Male Menopause.

What do you expect? You're 50 ( male menopause ). That's how most conventional doctors respond to descriptions of vague but troubling symptoms that are commonly experienced by guys whose personal odometers are a few years or more past 40. Symptoms such as flagging energy. More pounds around the middle. A duller mind. Less drive and ambition. Sore muscles. A libido at half-mast."The most important health change that many men go through in their entire lives— male menopause, or the gradual decline in levels of the hormone testosterone is not recognized or treated by most of the medical profession/' says Eugene Shippen, M.D., a physician in Shillington, Pennsylvania. He believes that this change can be as dramatic in men as it is in women going through menopause.

As men age into what Dr. Shippen calls the gray zone, factors such as disease, stress, diet, obesity, and general health tend to change the signals that the pituitary gland sends to the testes, causing the production of testosterone to lessen.

This gradual decline in testosterone doesn't sabotage just your sex drive. "Every system in a man's body is impacted by a decline in testosterone, particularly the circulatory system, the muscles (including the heart), the bones, and the nervous system and brain," Dr. Shippen says.
Men can opt for testosterone replacement therapy, but there are also home remedies that can help stop or reverse testosterone decline. Using just one or two won't work, though, says Dr. Shippen.

"One self-care factor by itself is not powerful enough to maintain testosterone levels," he says, "but combining multiple factors can keep male menopause at bay." Here is the array of remedies that he recommends.


EXERCISE: A Must for Maintaining Testosterone
"All overweight men have lower-than-normal levels of testosterone," Dr. Shippen says. That's because, as your body accumulates fat, it manufactures less testosterone and converts some of the testosterone you do have into estrogen. Yes, men have estrogen, but the balance between the two hormones is different from that in women.

Then the next domino falls: As your testosterone levels drop and your estrogen levels rise, your muscles become weaker and can't burn as much fat. In other words, being overweight leads to being even more overweight and to even lower levels of testosterone.
Exercise is the one sure way to reduce body fat and stop the rise in estrogen and the decline in testosterone. And it doesn't take a whole lot of activity. Just a brisk 20-minute walk three times a week can help a middle-aged or older man maintain lean body mass, says Dr. Shippen.
'As the pounds fall off, so will your estrogen, allowing your testosterone levels to rise," he says. "Many of the symptoms of male menopause will vanish as well."
Of course, you can't overeat and expect to lose weight, even if you exercise. But Dr. Shippen says that no matter how healthy your diet, you won't lose weight unless you exercise regularly.

ZINC: Deactivate a Dastardly Enzyme
The mineral zinc helps the body deactivate aromatase, an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen. "Many men will restore a proper balance of testosterone to estrogen just through supplementing their diets with zinc," Dr. Shippen says.
He recommends 50 milligrams twice a day until you see an improvement in your symptoms, which might take a month or two, at which point you should reduce your intake to 30 to 50 milligrams daily

VITAMIN C: Low Levels Are a Midlife Risk
When the body's level of vitamin C is low, levels of aromatase are high, possibly leading to lowered testosterone, Dr. Shippen says. He recommends 1,000 to 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C a day for a month or two. If you don't sec any results by then, reduce your daily dosage to 1,000 milligrams or less.

MULTIVITAMIN/MINERAL SUPPLEMENT: Thrive into Old Age
Along with zinc and vitamin C, Dr. Shippen recommends a high-potency multivitamin/mineral supplement (one that provides amounts that meet or exceed the Daily Value of the vitamins it contains) containing antioxidants such as beta-carotene and vitamin E to deactivate free radicals, the cell-destroying molecules that contribute to many age-related diseases.
The antioxidants will also help protect your pituitary gland (the body's "control panel" for hormone production) from free radical damage. That's important, says Dr. Shippen, because a problem with the pituitary gland often triggers a decrease in testosterone production in men over 75.

CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES: On Your Plate or in a Pill
Memorize these words for more manliness: broccoli, brusscls sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower. These are the cruciferous vegetables, and they're good for you in ways that your mother never imagined.
"All the cruciferous vegetables contain compounds called indoles, which help break down estrogen more efficiently so it doesn't build up in the system and depress or destroy testosterone," Dr. Shippen says. He recommends eating three or four servings of cruciferous vegetables a week.
I le emphasizes that supplements are no substitute for the vegetables themselves, but if the thought of regular servings of those things curdles your taste buds, take heart. There is an alternative: You can take an in-dole-containing supplement. Follow the dosage recommendations on the label.

SOY: High in Estrogen-Replacing Isoflavones
Found primarily in soy products, food chemicals called isoflavones rev up your liver's ability to process and excrete excess estrogen, so you end up with more testosterone. Dr. Shippen recommends that you drink one cup of soy milk a day, or use it on your morning cereal.
If you don't like soy milk, take a supplement that contains 30 to 50 milligrams of isoflavones, following the dosage recommendations on the label.

ALCOHOL: Ditch the Drinks
If you drink too much alcohol, you have two strikes against middle-age male health: Alcohol decreases zinc levels (zinc, remember, is necessary for adequate testosterone) and cuts down the clearance of estrogen from the bloodstream.
If you drink, make sure you have no more than two drinks a day, says Dr. Shippen. If your estrogen level is high, any alcohol may be too much.

GRAPEFRUIT: Maybe Not for the Middle-Aged
Grapefruit is a healthy food, but it can block the liver's breakdown of estrogen, says Dr. Shippen. If you're experiencing male menopause, you may want to take grapefruit oft your shopping list.